Chapter 23

Large-Scale
Structure in the
Universe

21st CENTURY ASTRONOMY

Fifth EDITION
Kay | Palen | Blumenthal
What does this image tell us about galaxy evolution?"

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Clusters and Superclusters, Part 1
Large collections of
galaxies are called
clusters.
Virgo cluster has
many spirals.
Coma cluster is
dominated by
elliptical and S0
galaxies.
Clusters and groups
bunch together to
form superclusters.
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Clusters and Superclusters, Part 2
Redshift surveys
reveal the
distribution of
clusters and
superclusters.
They are often
extended and
filamentary, with
voids in between.
This is called
large-scale
structure.
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Clusters, Superclusters, and Gravity
Clusters and
superclusters
interact with each
other
gravitationally.
The Local Group
has a peculiar
velocity due to
pulls from the
Great Attractor and
the Shapley
Supercluster.
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 Dark Matter Domination, Part 1

Dark matter dominates the mass of groups

and clusters.
Hot (X-ray emitting) gas can be bound in
clusters only due to dark matters added
gravity.
Revealed through gravitational lensing.

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Dark Matter Domination, Part 2
Gravitational lensing
by galaxies and
galaxy clusters
produces bright arcs
of deflected light.
The greater the
deflection, the
greater the mass.
Reveals the amount
of dark matter.

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 Gravity Formed Structure

Gravitational instabilities in the early

universe collapsed to form galaxies.
Studies suggest hierarchical clustering:
small objects formed first, then grouped
together.
Calculate structure formation with models.
Models need:
Amount of dark matter and dark energy.
Size of original density variations.
Complete list of all ingredients, including the
use of the Lambda-CDM model.

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 ParallelsGalaxy and Star Formation

Galaxy formation has many of the same

processes as star formation:
Gravitational instability.
Fragmentation.
Compression, heating, and thermal support.
Angular momentum and formation of disks.
End product: centrally concentrated
material with surrounding disk.

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 Galaxies Form Because of Dark Matter, Part 1

Dark matter is required to form galaxies.

Recombination: density uniform to 1/100,000.
Gravity cannot grow galaxies from such a poor
starting point.
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 Galaxies Form Because of Dark Matter, Part 2

There is not enough normal matter to form

structures: Dark matter provides the seeds!
Dark matter must be >30 more abundant
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 Types of Dark Matter

Dark matter is characterized by its

average speed and its composition.
Cold dark matter:
Slow speeds compared to c.
Candidates: unknown elementary particles,
axion, photino.
Hot dark matter:
Moving rapidly.
Likely contributor: neutrinos from Big Bang.
Only cold dark matter works to form
smaller-scale satellite galaxies.
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Galaxies Form in Dark Matter Clumps, Part 1
Investigate
models of
formation with
expansion.
Dark matter
clumps
expansion is
slowed by its
gravity.
Cannot lose
energy to
collapse fully.
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Galaxies Form in Dark Matter Clumps, Part 2
Dark matter
clumps gravity
pulls in normal
matter.
Normal matter
radiates light
and cools, then
falls to the
center of the
dark matter
clump, since it
can collapse
more
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 The First Stars

First stars potentially formed in dark matter

minihalos, concentrating neutral hydrogen.
Second stars would have formed from
these, and could potentially be seen today.
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 The First Galaxies, Part 1

First galaxies most likely formed from the

second stars or low-mass first stars.
Need to be gravitationally bound.
Shaped by radiation and the first stars
heavier elements and black holes.
Formed 400500 million years after Big Bang.
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 The First Galaxies, Part 2

Highest-redshift (youngest) galaxies

appear in the infrared.
Small, 20x smaller than the Milky Way,
perhaps were ultrafaint dwarf galaxies.
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The First Galaxies, Part 3
Galaxies appear
to have evolved
hierarchically.
Small
protogalactic
fragments
merged into
larger ones.
Faint dwarf
satellites of the
Milky Way may be
left over from this.
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 Young Galaxies and Mergers, Part 1
Six billion years ago, over half the galaxies
were peculiar.
Many fewer spirals.
Young galaxies are messier.

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Young Galaxies and Mergers, Part 2
Supermassive black
holes and galaxy
bulges appear to have
grown together.
Hierarchical merging
most likely triggered
star formation, which
peaked when the
universe was 23
billion years old.

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 Young Galaxies and Mergers, Part 3

Mergers are observed to happen often.

Elliptical galaxies can be made by mergers
of spiral galaxies.
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 Galaxies First

Star formation must have occurred as an

ongoing process.
Galaxies form early.
Structures, voids, and filaments form later.
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Simulations Reproduce Structure
Simulations with only
certain combinations of
mass, CMB variations,
types of dark matter, dark
matter halos, and values
for the dark energy
produce structures like we
observe in the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey
(SDSS).

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

 Future of the Universe

Based on our current ideas, the universe will

probably expand forever.
In 1014 years, stars die out, leaving white
dwarfs, brown dwarfs, and neutron stars.
In 1039 years, normal matter will decay (if
protons decay), leaving only black holes.
In 10100 years, even the largest black holes
will evaporate.
This is the heat death of the universe.

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

 We Are the 4%
Ordinary matter (that which concerns life) is
only 4.6 percent of what makes up the
universe.
~22 percent dark matter.
~74 percent dark energy.
When galaxies were forming, the universe
was dominated by matter and its
gravitational effects.
We currently exist in a universe dominated
by dark energy.

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

 PROCESS OF SCIENCE

It may be embarrassing to note that 83% of

all matter is not understood, but we have to
accept what nature tells us. 2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
 Check Your Understanding 23.1

Place the following types of galaxy collections in order

of increasing size:
a) wall;
b) cluster;
c) group;
d) supercluster.

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 Check Your Understanding 23.2

The dominant factor in the formation of galaxies is the

distribution of ______ in the early universe.

a) ordinary matter;
b) dark matter;
c) energy;
d) dark energy.

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 Check Your Understanding 23.3

The first stars formed in the universe had ______

compared to the stars formed today:

a) more heavy elements and higher mass;

b) more heavy elements and lower mass;
c) fewer heavy elements and higher mass;
d) higher mass and longer lifetimes.

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

 Check Your Understanding 23.4

We expect the kinds of galaxies that we see at a

redshift of z = 4 to be:

a) much like what we see today;

b) smaller and much more irregular looking than today;
c) far more numerous but with more spiral galaxies;
d) larger versions of what we see today.

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Working It Out 23.1Mass of a Cluster of Galaxies

We can apply Newtons and Keplers laws to

calculate the mass of a galaxy cluster.
Assume an orbital speed of 1,000 km/s, at a
distance of 3 Mpc from the center.

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Working It Out 23.2Observing High-Redshift Objects

Neutral hydrogen in gas clouds absorbs light

at wavelengths shorter than 121.6 nm.
A galaxys light output drops at this
wavelength, which for nearby (z = 0)
galaxies is in the ultraviolet.
Galaxies at the highest redshifts are seen in
the infrared, not the visible, due to this.
z = 9:

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 This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter 23

For more digital resources, please

visit the student Site for 21st
Century Astronomy at
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21st CENTURY ASTRONOMY

Fifth EDITION
Kay | Palen | Blumenthal