An efficient and robust method to estimate halo concentration

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wang, Kai, Mo, H. J., Chen, Yangyao, Schaye, Joop
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Wang, Kai
Mo, H. J.
Chen, Yangyao
Schaye, Joop
author_facet Wang, Kai
Mo, H. J.
Chen, Yangyao
Schaye, Joop
contents We propose an efficient and robust method to estimate the halo concentration based on the first moment of the density distribution, which is $R_1\equiv \int_0^{r_{\rm vir}}4πr^3ρ(r)dr/M_{\rm vir}/r_{\rm vir}$. We find that $R_1$ has a monotonic relation with the concentration parameter of the NFW profile, and that a cubic polynomial function can fit the relation with an error $\lesssim 3\%$. Tests on ideal NFW halos show that the conventional NFW profile fitting method and the $V_{\rm max}/V_{\rm vir}$ method produce biased halo concentration estimation by $\approx 10\%$ and $\approx 30\%$, respectively, for halos with 100 particles. In contrast, the systematic error for our $R_1$ method is smaller than $0.5\%$ even for halos containing only 100 particles. Convergence tests on realistic halos in $N$-body simulations show that the NFW profile fitting method underestimates the concentration parameter for halos with $\lesssim 300$ particles by $\gtrsim 20\%$, while the error for the $R_1$ method is $\lesssim 8\%$. We also show other applications of $R_1$, including estimating $V_{\rm max}$ and the Einasto concentration $c_{\rm e}\equiv r_{\rm vir}/r_{-2}$. The calculation of $R_1$ is efficient and robust, and we recommend including it as one of the halo properties in halo catalogs of cosmological simulations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2310_00200
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An efficient and robust method to estimate halo concentration
Wang, Kai
Mo, H. J.
Chen, Yangyao
Schaye, Joop
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We propose an efficient and robust method to estimate the halo concentration based on the first moment of the density distribution, which is $R_1\equiv \int_0^{r_{\rm vir}}4πr^3ρ(r)dr/M_{\rm vir}/r_{\rm vir}$. We find that $R_1$ has a monotonic relation with the concentration parameter of the NFW profile, and that a cubic polynomial function can fit the relation with an error $\lesssim 3\%$. Tests on ideal NFW halos show that the conventional NFW profile fitting method and the $V_{\rm max}/V_{\rm vir}$ method produce biased halo concentration estimation by $\approx 10\%$ and $\approx 30\%$, respectively, for halos with 100 particles. In contrast, the systematic error for our $R_1$ method is smaller than $0.5\%$ even for halos containing only 100 particles. Convergence tests on realistic halos in $N$-body simulations show that the NFW profile fitting method underestimates the concentration parameter for halos with $\lesssim 300$ particles by $\gtrsim 20\%$, while the error for the $R_1$ method is $\lesssim 8\%$. We also show other applications of $R_1$, including estimating $V_{\rm max}$ and the Einasto concentration $c_{\rm e}\equiv r_{\rm vir}/r_{-2}$. The calculation of $R_1$ is efficient and robust, and we recommend including it as one of the halo properties in halo catalogs of cosmological simulations.
title An efficient and robust method to estimate halo concentration
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.00200