Westerhoek, Luuk (2026) Fate of Cosmic Voids: Collapse or Expansion in a Dark Universe. Bachelor's Thesis, Physics.
|
Text
bPHYS2025WesterhoekLR.pdf Download (3MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Using the IllustrisTNG50 simulation, we track how cosmic voids evolve from their primordial to their present-day state. The voids begin only slightly aspherical, at the level expected for a Gaussian random field, and become elongated, prolate ellipsoids by z = 0. Our pipeline uses Delaunay Tessellation Field Estimation (DTFE), implemented in C++, and critical point theory, implemented in Python, to identify voids as density minima. Using the Hessian eigenvalues and the Bardeen-Bond-Kaiser-Szalay (BBKS) parameters, we can track the void shape evolution. The minor-to-major axis ratio (c/a) decreases from 0.532 at z = 20.05 to 0.432 at z = 0. Ellipticity increases from 0.188 to 0.244, and prolateness increases more than fourfold, from 0.017 to 0.075. Prolate, pencil-like shapes therefore become more abundant than oblate, pancake-like shapes.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Weijgaert, M.A.M. van de and Roest, D. |
| Degree programme: | Physics |
| Thesis type: | Bachelor's Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Jul 2026 15:02 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Jul 2026 15:02 |
| URI: | https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/37341 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |