Betti numbers of Gaussian fields

We present the relation between the genus in cosmology and the Betti numbers for excursion sets of three- and two-dimensional smooth Gaussian random fields, and numerically investigate the Betti numbers as a function of threshold level. Betti numbers are topological invariants of figures that can be used to distinguish topological spaces. In the case of the excursion sets of a three-dimensional field there are three possibly non-zero Betti numbers; $beta_0$ is the number of connected regions, $beta_1$ is the number of circular holes, and $beta_2$ is the number of three-dimensional voids. Their sum with alternating signs is the genus of the surface of excursion regions. It is found that each Betti number has a dominant contribution to the genus in a specific threshold range. $beta_0$ dominates the high-threshold part of the genus curve measuring the abundance of high density regions (clusters). $beta_1$ dominates the genus near the median thresholds which measures the topology of negatively curved iso-density surfaces, and $beta_2$ corresponds to the low-threshold part measuring the void abundance. We average the Betti number curves (the Betti numbers as a function of the threshold level) over many realizations of Gaussian fields and find that both the amplitude and shape of the Betti number curves depend on the slope of the power spectrum $n$ in such a way that their shape becomes broader and their amplitude drops less steeply than the genus as $n$ decreases. This behaviour contrasts with the fact that the shape of the genus curve is fixed for all Gaussian fields regardless of the power spectrum. Even though the Gaussian Betti number curves should be calculated for each given power spectrum, we propose to use the Betti numbers for better specification of the topology of large scale structures in the universe.

Probing Dark Energy with Alpha Shapes and Betti Numbers

We introduce a new descriptor of the weblike pattern in the distribution of galaxies and matter: the scale dependent Betti numbers which formalize the topological information content of the cosmic mass distribution. While the Betti numbers do not fully quantify topology, they extend the information beyond conventional cosmological studies of topology in terms of genus and Euler characteristic used in earlier analyses of cosmological models. The richer information content of Betti numbers goes along with the availability of fast algorithms to compute them. When measured as a function of scale they provide a Betti signature for a point distribution that is a sensitive yet robust discriminator of structure. The signature is highly effective in revealing differences in structure arising in different cosmological models, and is exploited towards distinguishing between different dark energy models and may likewise be used to trace primordial non-Gaussianities. In this study we demonstrate the potential of Betti numbers by studying their behaviour in simulations of cosmologies differing in the nature of their dark energy.