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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Adamek, Julian, Boschetti, Renan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20606
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author Adamek, Julian
Boschetti, Renan
author_facet Adamek, Julian
Boschetti, Renan
contents Spatial curvature is one of the fundamental cosmological parameters that is routinely constrained from observations. The forward modelling of observations, in particular of large-scale structure, often relies on large cosmological simulations. While the so-called separate universe approach allows one to account for the effect of curvature on the expansion rate in small sub-volumes, the non-Euclidean geometry is harder to accommodate. It becomes important when observables are computed over large distances, e.g. when photons travel to us from high redshift. Here we present a fully relativistic framework to run cosmological simulations for curved spatial geometry. The issue of consistent boundary conditions is solved by embedding a spherical cap of the curved spacetime into a hole within a flat exterior, where it can undergo free expansion. The geometric nature of gravity is made explicit in our framework, allowing for a consistent forward modelling of observables inside the curved patch. Our methodology would also work with any Newtonian code to a good approximation, requiring changes only to the initial conditions and post-processing.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_20606
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Incorporating curved geometry in cosmological simulations
Adamek, Julian
Boschetti, Renan
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Spatial curvature is one of the fundamental cosmological parameters that is routinely constrained from observations. The forward modelling of observations, in particular of large-scale structure, often relies on large cosmological simulations. While the so-called separate universe approach allows one to account for the effect of curvature on the expansion rate in small sub-volumes, the non-Euclidean geometry is harder to accommodate. It becomes important when observables are computed over large distances, e.g. when photons travel to us from high redshift. Here we present a fully relativistic framework to run cosmological simulations for curved spatial geometry. The issue of consistent boundary conditions is solved by embedding a spherical cap of the curved spacetime into a hole within a flat exterior, where it can undergo free expansion. The geometric nature of gravity is made explicit in our framework, allowing for a consistent forward modelling of observables inside the curved patch. Our methodology would also work with any Newtonian code to a good approximation, requiring changes only to the initial conditions and post-processing.
title Incorporating curved geometry in cosmological simulations
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20606