Cosmological zoom-in perturbation theory as a consistent beyond point-particle approximation framework

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteur principal: Umeh, Obinna
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Umeh, Obinna
author_facet Umeh, Obinna
contents Modelling structure formation across the full dynamical range of the Universe remains a major challenge in cosmology. This difficulty originates from a fundamental limitation of geodesics in general relativity: a one-parameter family of geodesics can cease to be geodesic at a finite time. This implies that the conventional point-particle approximation is not the primary issue; rather, the breakdown of geodesic flow restricts a consistent description across scales. We develop a covariant multi-scale framework that resolves this problem by decomposing spacetime into hierarchical regions separated by matter horizons. We show how to match shared boundary consistently at the level of the action, leading to a covariant backreaction contribution. The resulting construction provides a first-principles theoretical foundation for cosmological zoom-in simulations and yields an effective energy-momentum tensor capturing the impact of the geometric backreaction effect. As an application, we demonstrate that this backreaction naturally produces flat galaxy rotation curves without invoking an additional dark matter component. Our results establish a new perspective on nonlinear structure formation, in which long dynamical range is resolved through a hierarchy of discrete geodesic domains.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_01112
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Cosmological zoom-in perturbation theory as a consistent beyond point-particle approximation framework
Umeh, Obinna
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Modelling structure formation across the full dynamical range of the Universe remains a major challenge in cosmology. This difficulty originates from a fundamental limitation of geodesics in general relativity: a one-parameter family of geodesics can cease to be geodesic at a finite time. This implies that the conventional point-particle approximation is not the primary issue; rather, the breakdown of geodesic flow restricts a consistent description across scales. We develop a covariant multi-scale framework that resolves this problem by decomposing spacetime into hierarchical regions separated by matter horizons. We show how to match shared boundary consistently at the level of the action, leading to a covariant backreaction contribution. The resulting construction provides a first-principles theoretical foundation for cosmological zoom-in simulations and yields an effective energy-momentum tensor capturing the impact of the geometric backreaction effect. As an application, we demonstrate that this backreaction naturally produces flat galaxy rotation curves without invoking an additional dark matter component. Our results establish a new perspective on nonlinear structure formation, in which long dynamical range is resolved through a hierarchy of discrete geodesic domains.
title Cosmological zoom-in perturbation theory as a consistent beyond point-particle approximation framework
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.01112