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# Constraining CMB-consistent primordial voids with cluster evolution

## 1 Introduction

The emergence of the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM scenario as the standard model for both the evolution of the cosmological background and the development of large-scale structure has recently received dramatic confirmation from the *WMAP* microwave background experiment (Spergel et al., 2003) and from the large-scale distribution of galaxies (Peacock et al., 2001; Tegmark et al., 2003a).

In this picture of minimal complexity, adiabatic gaussian fluctuations in the energy density with scale–invariant power law power spectrum generated in the early Universe are stretched during inflation to astrophysically relevant scales. Gravitational instability is then responsible for amplifying the resulting overdensities and for the collapse of structure. In hierarchical models like cold dark matter (CDM), small objects collapse first and the more massive clusters form relatively recently. Although successful in many aspects, the ability of the model to reproduce the mass function of satellites of the Milky-Way (Tully et al., 2002; Stoehr et al., 2002), the rotation curves of LSB galaxies (McGaugh et al., 2003), or the bulk properties of the stellar populations of massive ellipticals (Peebles, 2001) is still uncertain, even if recent hints towards tilt and/or running of the primordial spectrum index (Peiris et al., 2003) might help resolve some of the discrepancy on small scales.

On larger scales, the voids seen in the nearby galaxy distribution (El-Ad & Piran, 2000; Peebles, 2001; Hoyle & Vogeley, 2002) or the still controversial large-scale features (Broadhurst et al., 1990; Percival et al., 2001; Frith et al., 2003) justify the development of more complex, non-gaussian scenarios where linear, two-point predictions are in agreement with observations of the CMB, with the hope that simulations of galaxy formation in different environments and of the Lyman-$`\alpha `$ forest will agree with observations at least at the level of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM (Kauffmann et al. 1999; Springel et al. 2001; Mathis & White 2002; Croft et al. 2002, see also van den Bosch et al. 2003).

We consider one such alternative to the concordance model, where primordial bubbles of true vacuum that formed in a first-order phase transition during inflation can survive to the present day and result in cosmological voids (La, 1991; Liddle & Wands, 1991; Occhionero et al., 1997; Occhionero & Amendola, 1994). This model is typically implemented in the context of so-called ’extended inflation’ (La & Steinhardt, 1989). With reasonable values for the distribution of voids, Griffiths et al. (2003, hereafter G03) (see also Baccigalupi et al. 1997; Baccigalupi & Perrotta 2000) have shown that the angular power spectrum of CMB temperature anisotropies in this primordial void model with $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM-type cosmological parameters fits the observations at $`l<800`$. The signature of voids emerges at $`l>1000`$ and, if $`\sigma _8=0.9`$, could account for the excess power seen by the Cosmic Background Imager (CBI) on cluster scales ($`l2500`$) if it is not due to an underestimate of the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) (see fig. 3 of G03). While viable in terms of the temperature angular power spectrum, we note that Corosaniti et al. (2001) derive constraints on the underdensity and volume fraction of voids at recombination from the COBE-DMR three-point correlation function and that Baccigalupi & Perrotta (2000) predict non-gaussian features in the CMB temperature fluctuations that have yet to be tested against high-resolution maps. On galaxy scales, G03 note that their void model may naturally account for the large underdensities seen in the local galaxy distribution which may be difficult to explain within the gaussian $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM paradigm (Peebles 2001; Gottloeber et al. 2003, however see Mathis & White 2002), and use the observed typical local void radii and filling fractions to set two of the free parameters of their void model.

To assess this void model from another direction which could lead to simpler observational constraints, we simulate large-scale structure formation using collisionless dark matter simulations of a network of compensated voids embedded in a $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM cosmology. Due to the strong non-gaussianity, using concordance values for $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0`$, $`\sigma _8`$ results in a present-day cluster mass function (MF) that departs from the gaussian case. Non-linear structures develop much earlier in the void model, the result both of gravitational instability in the compensating dark matter shells surrounding the voids and of the large-scale motions triggered by the nonlinear evolution of the voids + shells systems. Integrating the cluster evolution up to $`z5`$, we show that simple number counts of SZ sources and optical depth to strong lensing are enhanced with respect to the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM scenario and that such observations may easily rule out the void model. Note that Amendola & Borgani (1994) have compared the angular two-point correlation function and the scaling of higher-order moments of a series of models with primordial voids to available observations of galaxy clustering. Their approach was however semi-analytical and lacked dynamical evolution of the structures.

This paper is organised as follows. In Section 2, we recall the parameters of the void distribution and the approximations we make, the same as G03. In Section 3, we discuss the set-up of the initial conditions, make simple checks and present results at $`z=0`$. We deal with the high-z cluster evolution in Section 4, and motivate our choice of observables. We conclude in Section 5.

## 2 Phenomenological model

### 2.1 Parameters

We take the parameters of the fiducial void model of G03. The background is a flat, dark energy dominated cosmology with h=0.7, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.3`$, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_0=0.7`$ and we normalize the amplitude of the mass fluctuations so that $`\sigma _8=0.9`$. This set of parameters is close to the best-fit obtained from the combined *WMAP* \+ SDSS data (Tegmark et al., 2003b). We assume that fluctuations of the field driving inflation produce the usual gaussian adiabatic scale invariant perturbations, filtered as they reenter the horizon by a CDM transfer function. Variants of extended inflation predict that the first bubbles to nucleate during the phase transition can reach cosmological sizes at recombination. The cumulative number density of the voids is taken to be :

$$N_V(>r)=Ar^\alpha $$
(1)
where $`r`$ is the physical void radius, $`A`$ a normalisation constant adjusted to match the present-day filling fraction of voids seen in galaxy redshift surveys, and the exponent $`\alpha `$ is related to the gravitational coupling $`\omega `$ of the inflaton if extended inflation can be described with a Brans-Dicke formulation :

$$\alpha =3+\frac{4}{\omega +1/2}$$
(2)
Solar system experiments require $`\omega >3500`$ (Will, 2001) and we will take here $`\alpha =3`$. The lower and upper cutoffs in the void radii $`r_{\mathrm{min},\mathrm{max}}`$ are chosen to agree with redshift surveys. Plionis & Basilakos (2002) and Hoyle & Vogeley (2002) measured the typical size of voids in the *PSCz* and *UZC* surveys and found that up to half of the volume of the universe is underdense with $`\delta \rho _{\mathrm{gal}}/\rho _{\mathrm{gal}}<0.9`$. The void radii they obtain range from $`10`$ to $`30h^1\text{ Mpc}`$ with an average of $`15h^1\text{ Mpc.}`$ Following G03 we assume $`r_{\mathrm{min},\mathrm{max}}=10`$, 25 $`h^1`$ Mpc. (The contribution to the CMB temperature anisotropy angular power spectrum on CBI scales is mostly due to the voids with the largest radii; an analysis constraining $`r_{\mathrm{max}}`$ using the CMB data alone is in progress.) Examples of physical motivations for the lower and upper cutoffs are that (1) on subhorizon scales, matter flows relativistically back into the voids after inflation during radiation domination, and suppresses the growth of small voids and that (2) the tunnelling probability of inflationary bubbles is modulated through the coupling to another field, resulting in a maximum radius. (See Occhionero et al. 1997 for a model of extended inflation involving two scalar fields and which gives a lower cutoff.) Last, we take an observed $`z=0`$ void filling fraction of $`f_{\mathrm{voids}}=40\%`$.

### 2.2 Approximations

In this section, we briefly review the assumed profiles and spatial distribution of the voids.

We neglect the contribution of baryons as our purpose is to obtain statistics for massive clusters, where the dynamics is controlled by the dark matter. As the CDM becomes non relativistic early in the expansion, it is expected to travel only minimally into the voids which reenter the horizon later and are of interest for structure formation. On the other hand, due to the tight coupling to photons, baryons will fill in voids which are within the horizon before decoupling at the adiabatic sound speed (Liddle & Wands, 1991), before gravitation takes over from radiation pressure. If at some point the mass of baryons inside the voids reaches a substantial fraction of the mass of the shell, the growth of the void radius will be slower than expected for a fully empty, compensated region. We simply mention that the precise dynamics of void filling by the baryons is complex and needs further study when comparing for instance the high-redshift distribution of voids with the clustering of the Lyman-$`\alpha `$ forest, and that the precise density profile of the voids depends on the physics of reheating and of the subsequent filling by baryons.

Smooth void density profiles have been considered in analytical work: rounded step functions (Hoffman et al., 1983; Martel & Wasserman, 1990), exponentials (Hausman et al., 1983) or periodic functions (Baccigalupi, 1998). However, with the exception of Regos & Geller (1991) who also use a smooth initial profile, numerical simulations of void evolution using particles often approximate voids as “top-hat” underdensities (Dubinski et al., 1993; White & Ostriker, 1990; Robinson & Baker, 2000, hereafter W90, R00). These authors do not consider any particular physical model, but rather use generic templates of single voids or void networks. Here, to follow G03 we suppose that the voids at decoupling are spherical “top-hat” underdensities with $`\delta \rho _{\mathrm{DM}}/\rho _{\mathrm{DM}}=1`$ surrounded by a thin compensating shell of dark matter.

In an EdS cosmology, the shell density profile can be exactly derived from the self-similar solution of the evolution of a spherical underdensity (Bertschinger, 1985, hereafter B85). We assume that all the matter swept up during the expansion of the void ends up in the compensating shell around it. This behaviour results naturally from the expansion of an underdense region in an EdS cosmology (where the thickness of the shell is very slowly growing, see B85), a very good approximation to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM when we start the simulations. Recall that G03 assume for simplicity an EdS cosmology to compute the void contribution to the angular power spectrum of the CMB anisotropies, and add the result to the power spectrum of the concordance $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model employed here. This makes sense, because (1) most of this contribution comes from voids close to the last scattering surface (LSS) where $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM is similar to EdS and (2) the contribution to the power spectrum varies smoothly with $`l`$, reducing the small impact of the correction for angular diameter distance even further.

As in G03 we ensure that the voids do not initially overlap, although there seems to be no physical motivation for such a restriction. In practice, given the starting redshift we choose, our results depend very weakly on this hypothesis. Finally, the positions of centers of the voids are initially uncorrelated.

## 3 Simulating the void network

### 3.1 Initial conditions

We focus on two collisionless simulations of side 200 $`h^1`$ Mpc using $`128^3`$ particles, carried out with the publicly available N-body tree-SPH code gadget without hydrodynamics 111http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/$``$volker/gadget/index.html. The first simulation, called $`G`$, is a gaussian $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model with the above parameters, the second, $`V`$, is the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids non-gaussian fiducial model of G03. Except for the total initial displacement field, all simulation parameters are similar in the two cases. The simulations employ a Plummer softening length $`ϵ=0.08`$ $`h^1`$ Mpc which was kept fixed throughout in comoving coordinates.

The size of the box is a compromise between the necessity of having enough primordial voids covering the whole radius range at $`z=0`$, $`[\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}10\hspace{0.33em}25}]h^1\text{ Mpc}`$, and the mass resolution. (The comoving radius range is $`[\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}3\hspace{0.33em}6.3}]h^1\text{ Mpc}`$ at the starting redshift $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$.) Even independently of the halo resolving power, $`N_{\mathrm{parts}}=128^3`$ is a stringent lower limit to the number of particles as simulations need to (1) propagate information about the smallest voids present at the starting redshift, (2) have sufficient initial power in the cosmological displacement field with respect to the power due to shot noise as one approaches the Nyquist frequency of the particles not to alter significantly the formation of the smallest haloes one can resolve and (3) ensure that 2-body scattering effects are not important. While condition (1) is easy to verify with our number of particles, (2) and (3) are a little more complex, as these issues can be amplified because we use non-gaussian initial conditions for $`V`$. In addition, because of the strong primordial non-gaussianity, the formation of structure may also depend on the type of the initial distribution of particles which is employed before applying the initial displacement field, *i.e.* whether one starts from a grid, a random (Poissonian), or a glass (Baugh et al., 1995; White, 1996) distribution. In the case of a grid, shot noise is minimal but the mesh introduces a characteristic scale and three preferred directions. A fully random, Poissonian distribution has no preferred direction but shot noise is significant. As a compromise between the two, we have used a glass distribution, which does not have any preferred direction, but with intrinsic power spectrum rising as $`P(k)k^4`$. We find haloes with a friends-of-friends algorithm (Davis et al., 1985) with a $`z=0`$ linking length $`b\overline{l}=0.164`$ times the mean interparticle separation $`\overline{l}`$. At redshifts $`z=1`$, 2 and 3, we have used the usual EdS linking length parameter $`\overline{b}=0.2`$ since $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM behaves as an EdS cosmology at these epochs (this corresponds well to the $`b(\mathrm{\Delta }_\mathrm{c}/\mathrm{\Omega })^{1/3}`$ scaling proposed by Eke et al. 1996, see also Jenkins et al. 2001). We keep only the groups with more than 10 particles and the minimum total halo mass we can resolve is $`M_{\mathrm{min}}=3.16\times 10^{12}h^1\text{ }M_{}\text{.}`$ To address the issue of the choice of the initial distribution, we have checked that using a grid rather than glass for the initial distribution of particles in $`V`$ does not change the $`z=0`$ MF of dark matter haloes. To deal with the impact of the level of shot noise compared to the amplitude of the initial cosmological perturbations, we verify below that the simulated $`z=0`$ MF of $`G`$ matches analytical results (this is sufficient as we will show that the initial power spectrum of $`G`$ is smaller than that of $`V`$ over all simulated scales). Finally, we have found the $`z=0`$ number of dark matter haloes of $`V`$ to depend on the starting redshift when using only $`N_{\mathrm{parts}}=64^3`$ particles, a signature of unphysical resolution effects, but to have converged with $`N_{\mathrm{parts}}=128^3`$ particles.

In $`G`$, the initial displacement field $`\stackrel{}{𝐝}`$ is given by the usual Zel’dovich approximation applied to the CDM power spectrum, normalised to a present $`\sigma _8=0.9`$. We compute $`\stackrel{}{𝐝}`$ on a $`128^3`$ mesh. In $`V`$, it is the *same* $`\stackrel{}{𝐝}`$ for particles outside any primordial void and the displacement predicted by the similarity solution of B85 taken in the EdS regime ($`rt^{4/5}`$ where $`r`$ is the physical void radius and $`t`$ the time) for all particles that fall within a primordial void. Given the assumptions of paragraph 2.2, we put all particles falling in a void at its radius, and assign them the radial velocity of the expanding shell, following W90. In that sense, our $`V`$ simulation would be close to that of a “spontaneous creation” of voids at $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$.

To follow G03, we use the similarity solution of an EdS universe (in particular the EdS time elapsed from $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$ to $`z=0`$) to compute the initial radii and shell velocities of the voids, although we run the simulations with a $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM background. In doing so, we neglect differences expected with respect to EdS in the initial radii if voids were scaled back from $`z=0`$ using a theoretical solution for a $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM cosmology. However, we verify below that this enables simulations to correctly reproduce single $`25`$ $`h^1`$ Mpc radius voids at $`z=0`$. Furthermore, the similarity scaling between void radius and shell velocity remains strictly valid at $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$ if it is high enough as EdS is then a very good approximation to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM (see B85).

The starting redshift for simulations of cosmological models with gaussian initial conditions is usually set by requiring the maximum particle displacement to be $`30`$ percent of the mean interparticle distance. An upper limit on $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$ results from condition (1) on $`N_{\mathrm{parts}}`$ and translates the lower limit on the amplitude of the power spectrum of the initial perturbations. To choose $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$ for their simulations of a non-gaussian model with primordial voids, R00 ensure that $`\mathrm{\Delta }^2<0.15`$ at the Nyquist frequency of the particles and that no shell crossing occurs when initially displacing the particles. This is feasible as they compute the displacement for all their particles only from the Zel’dovich scheme applied to a linear density field. Their density field is the superposition of a gaussian field and a distribution of mildly underdense spherical regions with $`\delta _{\mathrm{void}}0.1`$. Because we start our simulations with compensated empty voids, we immediately probe the non-linear regime on void scales. As a consequence, the MF of haloes that we obtain at $`z=0`$ in the void model could depend on $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$: it is possible that some dark matter haloes that our simulation can resolve have formed before $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$ by fragmentation of the void shells, and starting at $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$ could ignore them. Therefore we conservatively start the simulations soon after decoupling with a high $`z_{\mathrm{init}}=1000`$, still satisfying condition (1). We have checked that the $`z=0`$ halo mass function in $`V`$ obtained from starting at $`z_{\mathrm{init}}=1000`$ is similar to that obtained from starting at $`z_{\mathrm{init}}=3000`$ (this is not true for a simulation of $`V`$ with only $`N_{\mathrm{parts}}=64^3`$ particles). Independently of the shape of the one-point PDF of the initial overdensity field, a worry from such a high starting redshift is that numerical integration of the equations of motion might suppress the growth of small-scale modes (see the introduction of Scoccimarro 1998). Again, we use below the $`z=0`$ halo MF of $`G`$ to check that this does not affect our conclusions.

The initial gravitational potential $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{tot}}(\stackrel{}{𝐱})`$ that we construct in the simulations can be linked to CMB observations. On void scales in the simulation $`V`$, like the overdensity field, $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{tot}}`$ will deviate from a realisation of a gaussian random field. As an example, Komatsu et al. (2003) look for a signature of non-gaussianity in the *WMAP* CMB temperature fluctuations maps using variants of the bispectrum and Minkowski functionals. They then constrain the relative contribution $`f_{\mathrm{nl}}^2`$ of second-order deviations from a gaussian field expected in single-field inflation models (e.g. Gangui et al. 1994; Verde et al. 2000) to the standard deviation of the gravitational potential but on a scale larger than the typical size the voids studied here would have on the LSS. Nevertheless, analysis of non-gaussianity on smaller scales will be possible soon with interferometric maps, and further constraints on the fiducial $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids model will result from comparisons with the theoretical bispectrum obtained in simulated maps of CMB temperature fluctuations.

Here we adopt a simpler approach to the non-gaussian contribution to the gravitational potential and estimate the relative amplitude of the gravitational potential energy of the gaussian component with respect to the total energy in the compensated voids. All energies are computed in proper coordinates; note that the total (kinetic and gravitational) energy of a compensated void, including the shell, is always positive (see B85). Recall also that in an EdS universe $`W`$ is constant if the growth of the fluctuations is linear. We note $`E_\mathrm{v}`$ the total energy of the network of voids and shells in the $`V`$ simulation and $`W_\mathrm{g}`$ the total gravitational potential energy of the gaussian density fluctuations as realised in the $`G`$ (or $`V`$) simulation. At $`z_{\mathrm{init}}=1000`$, we obtain analytically $`E_\mathrm{v}=7.09\times 10^{22}`$ while $`W_\mathrm{g}=7.79\times 10^{22}`$ $`h^1`$ $`M_{}`$ km2 s-2. In the remainder of this section, we will implicitly assume this unit when quoting energies.

Our analytical estimates show that at the starting redshift, the energy due to the voids is similar to that of gravitational potential of the gaussian density perturbations. In addition, the probability distribution function of the gravitational potential of a network of compensated voids over a homogeneous background is not gaussian (it is strongly positively skewed). As a result, we expect $`f_{\mathrm{nl}}^2`$ in the expansion of Komatsu et al. (2003) to reach values of order unity on the angular scale of the voids, but a precise calculation also separating kinetic and gravitational energy of the voids+shells network is left for future work.

In practice, because of shot noise and of transients from the Zel’dovich approximation, it is not easy to obtain a precise value for the potential energy at high redshift directly from the particle distribution in the simulations (irrespective of a possible primordial non-gaussianity). We have checked that at $`z10`$ the predicted and measured values of $`W_\mathrm{g}`$ agree within 20 percent.

At $`z=0`$, using the EdS similarity solution for the evolution of the network of voids and shells in a $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM background, we obtain $`E_\mathrm{v}=4.45\times 10^{22}`$, and *assuming* the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM linear growth of the gaussian density fluctuations to be valid up to the Nyquist frequency of the particles we get $`W_\mathrm{g}=6.07\times 10^{22}`$. With this hypothesis of linearity in our whole box, the energy of the voids and shells drops at late times to 70 percent of the potential energy. In other words, from $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$ to $`z=0`$ the analytical $`E_\mathrm{v}`$ decreases by more than the factor $`D_{\mathrm{lin},\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}}/D_{\mathrm{lin},\mathrm{EdS}}(z_{\mathrm{init}}0)<1`$ describing the evolution of $`W_\mathrm{g}`$.

Directly in the simulations, we measure the total gravitational potential $`W_{\mathrm{sim}}=2.22\times 10^{23}`$ in $`V`$ and $`1.85\times 10^{23}`$ in $`G`$. The excess factor of 2-3 between measurements and analytical predictions for $`W_{\mathrm{sim}}`$ in $`G`$ is due to the non-linear evolution of the density field. The lower $`W_{\mathrm{sim}}`$ measured in $`V`$ compared to $`G`$ can be a consequence of the slightly larger number of haloes that we find in $`V`$ at $`z=0`$. On the basis of the predicted $`E_\mathrm{v}`$ at $`z=0`$, one would expect $`W_{\mathrm{sim}}`$ to be higher in $`V`$ than in $`G`$. This is not measured, however, because as seen in $`G`$ non-linear effects determine the late-time value of $`W_{\mathrm{sim}}`$.

For completeness, the total kinetic energy measured in the simulations right after setting the initial conditions is $`K_{\mathrm{tot}}=1.44\times 10^{16}`$ and $`1.60\times 10^{14}`$ in the $`V`$ and $`G`$ simulations respectively ($`K_{\mathrm{tot}}=1.19\times 10^{23}`$ and $`1.02\times 10^{23}`$ at z=0). The peculiar velocities assigned to dark matter particles constituting the void-compensating shells is responsible for the large excess of initial kinetic energy in $`V`$. At late times, this excess is washed out in the dominant contribution of the particles of virialized haloes.

### 3.2 Consistency checks

To check the effect of periodic boundary conditions, we simulate with gadget the growth from $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$ of a single void with final radius 25 $`h^1`$ Mpc centered on a 100 $`h^1`$ Mpc box without the gaussian part of the displacement field, in a EdS universe. We use the EdS similarity solution to scale back to $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$. At $`z=0`$, we find that the total mass enclosed inside 99 % (98 %) of the inner shell radius of $`25`$ $`h^1`$ Mpc is 9 % (3%) of that expected in a similar volume with mean density. The same test is repeated with the scaling method described above for simulations in a $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM background and we find a similar “leaking” mass fraction, see Fig. 1. In both cases a large fraction this remaining mass is contributed by particles of clusters formed on the shell. Down to $`z=0`$, the particle distribution remains smooth beyond a $`27`$ $`h^1`$ Mpc radius.

We verified that the $`z=0`$ halo MF of the $`G`$ simulation gives results in agreement with the fitting formula of Jenkins et al. (2001, hereafter J01) and that it is robust against changes in $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$. (Using $`N_{\mathrm{parts}}=32^3`$ rather than $`N_{\mathrm{parts}}=64^3`$ or $`128^3`$ for the $`G`$ simulation results in an excess of low mass haloes if $`z_{\mathrm{init}}=1000`$, and using $`N_{\mathrm{parts}}=64^3`$ rather than $`128^3`$ for the $`V`$ simulation leads to a redshift dependence of the MF: a factor 3 more massive haloes than for $`N_{\mathrm{parts}}=64^3`$ and $`z_{\mathrm{init}}=100`$).

The validity of using the Zel’dovich approximation when setting up the initial conditions is checked on large scales by the growth of the largest modes of the simulation, in agreement with linear theory down to $`z=0`$. We have finally performed two other simulations of the void model, changing both the gaussian random perturbation field and the positions of the voids, and found results very similar to those for $`V`$.

### 3.3 Results at $`z=0`$

Fig. 2 shows the projected (2D) density of two slices of side 200 $`h^1`$ Mpc and thickness 20 $`h^1`$ Mpc cut at the same position through the $`V`$ and $`G`$ simulations (left and right panels respectively). Recall that the two simulations use the same initial gaussian displacement field, which in the case of $`V`$ is combined with the displacement due to the primordial voids. The grey scale is the same in the two cases. Note the voids in the slice through $`V`$, apparent immediately below the centre of the picture and at the middle of the upper frame, together with a void network developing at the centre left.

Fig. 3 gives the initial and $`z=0`$ real-space overdensity power spectra (dotted and solid lines for the $`G`$ and $`V`$ simulations respectively). Also shown are the power spectra of the unperturbed glass initial particle distribution (dash-triple dotted line), and of the initial conditions for the $`G`$ and $`V`$ simulations (dashed and dash-dotted lines). All spectra have been divided by the linear growth factor for clarity. The diamonds with associated error bars show the real-space galaxy power spectrum as measured by Tegmark et al. (2003a) from the DR1 of the SDSS survey.

The imprint of the voids is significant at $`z_{\mathrm{init}}`$ at $`k>0.1h\mathrm{Mpc}^1\text{,}`$ as is clear when comparing the dash-dotted and dashed lines. At $`z=0`$, non-linear power is larger in the void model than in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model, and departure from the evolved $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM power spectrum occurs as early as $`k=0.1`$ $`h\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$. Of course a precise comparison between the $`V`$ power spectrum and the data would need to correct for bias, a quantity that might show a different behaviour in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids model than in $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM. If a precise assessment of galaxy bias falls beyond the scope of this work, we note that at $`k=0.25`$ $`h\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$, the dark matter bias of the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids model with respect to the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model is not more than 1.15. At the same scale, the bias of the evolved dark matter density field of the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids model with respect to the galaxy distribution reaches 1.3, a high but plausible value.

The main panel of Fig. 4 compares the halo MF measured at $`z=3,2,1`$ and $`0`$ from left to right in the $`G`$ and $`V`$ simulations (dotted and solid lines respectively) to the data and to the fitting formula of J01 calculated for the parameters of the gaussian $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model we have simulated (dash-dotted lines). While the $`G`$ simulation agrees well with J01, there are systematically more haloes in the $`V`$ simulation at $`z=0`$, for mass thresholds $`M_{\mathrm{min}}5\times 10^{14}h^1\text{ }M_{}\text{.}`$ The excess is a factor 1.5 in the abundance. For higher mass thresholds, the abundance is similar in the two models. This is more clearly seen in the insert in Fig. 4, which gives the differential halo MF measured around $`2\times 10^{14}`$$`h^1`$ $`M_{}`$. The excess of the non-gaussian model is apparent at all mass scales smaller than $`3\times 10^{14}`$$`h^1`$ $`M_{}`$. For higher masses the two curves are identical. We find one halo with $`M_{\mathrm{tot}}>10^{15}h^1\text{ }M_{}`$ in both the $`G`$ and $`V`$ simulations. (Recall that the gaussian part of the initial overdensity field is normalised to the same present-day $`\sigma _8=0.9`$.)

Bahcall & Cen (1993) give $`N_{>M}=2\pm 1\times 10^6`$ $`h^3\mathrm{Mpc}^3`$ at $`M=4\times 10^{14}`$ $`h^1`$ $`M_{}`$. Even assuming their uncertainty factor of 1.3 in the mass of rich clusters, this normalisation falls significantly below both our $`V`$ and $`G`$ mass functions. The present-day MF of the $`V`$ simulation is therefore only marginally consistent with this normalisation, but the level of disagreement is the same as that of a $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model with concordance cosmological parameters and $`\sigma _8=0.9`$. Diamonds with error bars on Fig. 4 show the more recent data of Bahcall et al. (2003); Bahcall & Bode (2003) who constrain the amplitude of mass fluctuations using the “optical” mass function of clusters selected from the SDSS EDR. They find a normalisation similar to that of Bahcall & Cen (1993), with best-fit values $`\sigma _8=0.9`$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.19`$. From a combination of X-ray and optical observations, Vikhlinin et al. (2003); Voevodkin & Vikhlinin (2003) derive constraints on the cosmological parameters $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0`$, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_0`$ from the evolution of the cluster baryon mass fraction up to $`z0.5`$, requiring $`\sigma _8`$ to be set by the observed amplitude of the $`z=0`$ baryon mass function. Their $`z=0`$ and $`0.4<z<0.8`$ total mass functions for massive clusters are reported with triangles and squares respectively on Fig. 4 (we have omitted their error bars for clarity, and corrected for a weak mass dependence of the cluster baryon fraction, see Vikhlinin et al. 2003). The $`z=0`$ mass function of Vikhlinin et al. (2003) agrees with Bahcall et al. (2003). At high redshift, the observed mass function has a lower normalisation than both the $`G`$ and $`V`$ $`z=1`$ mass functions, a repeat of the $`z=0`$ differences.

In fact, it is clear from Fig. 4 that the difference of the fiducial model of G03 with respect to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM is much more significant in the intermediate and high-z mass functions. Unfortunately, measurements of the cluster mass function at high redshift $`z>1`$ from X-ray observations are subject to uncertainties in, for instance, the redshift evolution of the L-T and M-T cluster scaling relations (see however Voevodkin & Vikhlinin 2003). In the following section we will consequently use integrated SZ cluster counts and the abundance of giant arcs to probe the signature of the void model, rather than the cluster mass function.

We conclude this section with two additional tests at $`z=0`$, first changing the parameters of the void model and then comparing with two gaussian models.

We have simulated another primordial void model $`V^{}`$ of the same type as $`V`$ but with a much steeper spectrum for the distribution of initial void radii (using $`R_{\mathrm{min},\mathrm{max}}=10`$, 40 $`h^1`$ Mpc, $`\alpha =6`$, $`f_{\mathrm{voids}}=40\%`$). G03 show that this model also agrees reasonably well with high and low-$`l`$ measurements of the angular power spectrum of the CMB temperature fluctuations. The $`V^{}`$ $`z=0`$ cluster MF shows a large excess compared to the $`V`$ MF (an order of magnitude more massive clusters and $`\sigma _82`$), so that this set of void parameters is directly ruled out.

Second, it is necessary to check the impact of non-gaussianity by comparing to a model with gaussian initial conditions but with an initial power spectrum similar to that measured in the void model right after setting the initial conditions. For this purpose, we have simulated two gaussian models $`V_1`$ and $`V_2`$ with the same cosmology and starting redshift as $`V`$ and $`G`$ but taking as initial power spectrum the dash-dotted line $`P_{\mathrm{voids},\mathrm{init}}`$ of Fig. 3. $`V_1`$ and $`V_2`$ correspond to two different normalisations of the input power spectrum: for $`V_1`$ we have taken $`P_{\mathrm{voids},\mathrm{init}}`$ of Fig. 3 divided by the linear growth from $`z=1000`$ to $`z=0`$, while for $`V_2`$ we have normalised so that the simulation has $`\sigma _8=0.9`$ at $`z=0`$ (the adopted normalisation for $`V_1`$ results in $`\sigma _84`$ at $`z=0`$). We have found the $`z=0`$ cluster mass function of $`V_1`$ to largely exceed that of $`V`$ and $`G`$ (there is a factor of 5 more haloes with masses $`M_{\mathrm{tot}}>4\times 10^{14}h^1\text{ }M_{}\text{)}`$ and that of $`V_2`$ to be abruptly cut at masses $`M_{\mathrm{tot}}10^{14}h^1\text{ }M_{}\text{.}`$ In addition, the matter power spectra measured at $`z=0`$ in $`V_1`$ and $`V_2`$ retained the strong feature (“bump”) seen in the initial conditions at $`k_{\mathrm{void}}>0.1h\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$ as a step-like increase at $`k_{\mathrm{void}}`$ which was only little modified by the late-time non-linear evolution. This is clearly ruled out by the data. To summarise, the non-gaussianity of the primordial void model is necessary to approximately reproduce the $`z=0`$ observed cluster mass functions and mass power spectra: employing the initial power spectrum of the void model in a gaussian primordial density field results in a large mismatch to the data. The large peculiar velocities of the compensating shells surrounding the voids and associated to the scale $`k_{\mathrm{void}}`$ are not realised in a gaussian model with same initial power spectrum as $`V`$. As a result, the pattern at $`k_{\mathrm{void}}`$ in the power spectrum is more stable and persists longer in our $`V_1`$ and $`V_2`$ tests than in $`V`$, where large velocities may dilute/broaden the feature. The particular shape of the power spectrum resulting from the void network is not transposable to a gaussian initial probability function.

## 4 Deriving observational constraints

In this Section, we make predictions for the thermal SZ effect and for simple statistics of strong lensing. We show that they differ substantially in the primordial void model from their values in a $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM cosmology. We note here that other observables like the cosmic shear or the clustering of the Lyman-$`\alpha `$ forest could also bring out the presence of primordial voids, but they are more complex than the former and may be affected by biases due to the non-linear evolution of the power spectrum.

### 4.1 SZ source counts

We first estimate the counts expected from the detection of the cluster thermal SZ effect, up to $`z=5`$. Kay et al. (2001) make detailed analytical predictions for the SZ number counts expected for the *Planck* satellite using large simulations of cluster formation in gaussian CDM cosmologies. We follow the same approach but with simplifying assumptions. We use 30 simulation outputs for $`G`$ and $`V`$ from $`z=0`$ to $`z5`$. Each dump has a comoving size 200 $`h^1`$ Mpc and we find their DM halos above the minimum mass threshold $`M_{\mathrm{min}}`$. For simplicity we assume for each halo an isothermal profile for the gas (see, e.g., Barbosa et al. 1996) with total mass $`M_{\mathrm{gas}}=f_\mathrm{b}\times M_{\mathrm{tot}}`$ where $`f_\mathrm{b}=0.13`$ is the cosmic baryon fraction. Taking the clusters to be point sources, we compute the magnitude of the flux change observed against the CMB at the *Planck* satellite frequencies 143 and 353 GHz, on both sides of the zero-point of the SZ thermal effect (217 GHz). Fig. 5 shows the minimum SZ flux that the simulations can resolve as a function of $`z`$. In the following, we show results for fluxes $`S_\nu >10\mathrm{mJy}`$.

Fig. 6 gives the expected redshift distribution of SZ sources with $`S_\nu >10\mathrm{mJy}`$ in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM models (solid and dotted, dashed and dash-dotted lines respectively), for 143 and 353 GHz. The curves have been fitted by polynomials in the relevant range. While there are virtually no sources with $`S_{143,\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}353}\mathrm{GHz}}>10\mathrm{mJy}`$ at $`z>1.6`$ ($`z>2.1`$) in $`G`$, the distribution of such objects in the void model is different. At 143 GHz, there are more sources in $`V`$ at low redshift compared to $`G`$ (a factor 1.3 in excess at $`z=0`$, reaching more than 2 at $`z=1`$), and the distribution of sources extends to $`z=2.6`$ on the window shown. At $`z>4.3`$, beyond the “dip”, the differential number counts of sources in $`V`$ at 143 GHz again exceed 0.1, and keep increasing to $`z5`$ and earlier. At 353 GHz, SZ sources are intrinsically brighter and the differential number counts in $`V`$ exceed 0.1 all the way to $`z5`$: the number counts decrease from $`z=0`$ to $`z3.4`$, then increase to $`z=5`$ and beyond. At $`z=0`$, there is an excess by a factor 1.6 over the same $`V`$ counts at 143 GHz, up to $`z2`$ where the ratio increases. At $`z=5`$ the ratio between the 353 and 143 GHz differential counts in $`V`$ is 2.5. With respect to $`G`$, the 353 GHz differential number counts in $`V`$ are higher by 60 percent at $`z=0`$, and by more than an order of magnitude at $`z=1.8`$. At low redshift $`z0`$, the excess of sources in $`V`$ compared to $`G`$ is accounted for by the excess of clusters of mass $`M_{\mathrm{tot}}10^{14}h^1\text{ }M_{}`$ seen Fig. 4. The slower decrease in the number counts between $`z=0`$ and $`z=3`$ in $`V`$ compared to $`G`$ is the direct consequence of the slower late-time evolution of the cluster mass function in $`V`$ compared to $`G`$. Finally, the increase in the differential number counts at $`z>4`$ in $`V`$ is due to the flattening and decrease of the angular diameter distance at such redshifts in $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM, together with the presence of massive, sufficiently hot haloes at these epochs in the void model.

In reality, there will be a residual number of sources with $`S_{143,\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}353}\mathrm{GHz}}>10\mathrm{mJy}`$ at $`z>5`$ in the void model, as the results shown here provide only a lower limits to the counts, but the difference with respect to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM is already a factor of 2 at $`z=5`$ and SZ surveys may therefore falsify the void model. The detection of sufficiently bright high-redshift SZ sources, on the other hand, would be a hint towards non-gaussianity.

To see how this conclusion varies with sensitivity, Fig. 7 gives the number counts of SZ sources expected (up to $`z=5`$) in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM (dashed and dash-dotted lines) and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids (solid and dotted lines) models as a function of the flux threshold. Above a flux limit of 10 mJy, there are $`2`$ ($`2.5`$) times more integrated counts at 143 (353) GHz in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids model compared to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM. The sensitivity of *Planck* to the SZ effect is of order 30 mJy (Bartelmann, 2001) as shown by the vertical dash-triple dotted line, and the corresponding counts are enhanced by a factor 1.8 (2) at the two frequencies. For sources brighter than 100 mJy however, the excess in the number counts of sources in the primordial void model compared to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM drops to a factor 1.5 (1.25) at 143 (353) GHz, a ratio maybe too small to falsify the void model against $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM with upcoming observations, even if a more detailed computation is needed at this level. Among many ground-based examples, the Bonn-Berkeley *APEX - SZ* survey 222http://bolo.berkeley.edu/apexsz/ will cover 100 square degrees and is expected to reach a sensitivity of 3 mJy at 150 GHz. This 300-hour experiment will detect $`1000`$ clusters with mass $`M_{\mathrm{tot}}>2\times 10^{14}h^1\text{ }M_{}`$ up to $`z=2`$ (assuming a $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model). It will provide strong constraints on non-gaussian models like primordial voids.

### 4.2 Strong lensing

The statistics of strong amplification of the images of background sources by massive concentrated structures is a powerful probe of the cosmological parameters (for example, Bartelmann et al. 1998). Clearly, they will also be directly affected by the primordial non-gaussianity considered here.

We assume that only the clusters that we can resolve in the simulations, ($`M_{\mathrm{tot}}M_{\mathrm{min}}`$) produce strong lenses. We model the haloes with singular isothermal spheres (SIS) (Peacock, 1982) and measure their velocity dispersions directly from the simulations. Perrotta et al. (2002) derive analytical predictions with NFW profiles for the differential amplification probability $`P(A)`$ and compare them to the predictions obtained with SIS profiles. For sources at $`z_\mathrm{s}=4`$ and 7, at $`A<3`$ they find their $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model with NFW profiles to be more efficient than with SIS profiles. At $`A>7`$, SIS profiles yield the higher $`P(A)`$, but the probabilities for NFW and SIS profiles stay within a factor 3 of each other even at larger amplifications. We note here that we also neglect the impact of substructure and asphericity on the cross section for strong lensing, which may be significant but needs better understanding (see, e.g., Meneghetti et al. 2002).

Bartelmann et al. (1998) have computed the number of giant arcs expected on the whole sky for a series of gaussian CDM models and shown that only open CDM models could reproduce the total number of arcs seen in the EMSS sample. In particular, their open CDM model produced an order of magnitude more giant arcs than their $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model, assuming a redshift $`z_\mathrm{s}=1`$ for their sources. In a recent work, Wambsganss et al. (2003) study the effect of the redshift distribution of sources in the predicted number counts of giant arcs in a $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM cosmology. They show that the lensing optical depth is a very steep function of the source redshift for $`0.5<z_\mathrm{s}<2.5`$ and that it increases further for $`z_\mathrm{s}>2.5`$.

In fact, the order of magnitude discrepancy between the EMSS counts and the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM prediction is solved if one takes a more extended distribution of sources to high redshifts. This is more realistic as a large fraction of the giant arcs Gladders et al. (2003) count in the Red-Sequence Cluster Survey (RCS) have high redshifts: $`1.7<z_{\mathrm{arc}}<4.9`$. Putting a third of the sources at $`z_\mathrm{s}=1.5`$ rather than all sources at $`z_\mathrm{s}=1`$ increases the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM predicted counts by a factor 3, and putting 7 percent of the sources at $`z_\mathrm{s}>3`$ increases the counts by a factor of 7, bringing $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM in agreement with the observations (Wambsganss et al., 2003).

Because the lensing optical depth is such a steep function of source redshift, one expects the large differences between the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM and the primordial voids models in the mass function of clusters at $`z13`$ (probing high source redshifts) to significantly affect the number counts of giant arcs, even without classifying the counts along arc (source) redshift. In the following, for simplicity, we compute our strong lensing statistics putting all our sources at high redshifts: $`z_\mathrm{s}=3`$ and then at $`z_\mathrm{s}=5`$. Detailed comparison to observations would require a more realistic model for the distribution of source redshifts, but our plots show the level of discrepancy expected between $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids.

Fig. 8 shows the cumulative probability $`P(A>A_{\mathrm{min}})`$ that a line of sight has an amplification larger than $`A_{\mathrm{min}}`$ in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids cosmologies and for the two values of $`z_\mathrm{s}`$. We take the strong lensing regime to be $`A>2`$. At $`A_{\mathrm{min}}>10`$, the cumulative probability for strong lensing is a factor $`2`$ ($`4`$) higher in the void model than in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM case, for $`z_\mathrm{s}=3`$ (5). For sources at $`z_\mathrm{s}=5`$, we note that the enhancement is also larger than the possible bias due to our choice of an SIS rather than NFW halo profile. We conclude that the optical depth to strong lensing is increased in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids model compared to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM, and that the number counts of giant arcs may differ by up to a factor of 4, hence overpredicting the observations compared to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM. The optical depth to high-redshift galaxies will be increased by a factor of 4 in the void model, and the the number counts of high-redshift giant arcs (with $`z_{\mathrm{arc}}5`$) will be increased by *more* than a factor of 4 in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids model compared to the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model, because the comoving density of bright ($`M_{}>10^{10}`$ $`h^1`$ $`M_{}`$) galaxies is also higher at $`z5`$ in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids model than in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model. (We verified this last point using a semi-analytical model for galaxy formation similar to that described in Mathis et al. 2002). If the density of the lensed population evolves similarly in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM and the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids models, then the mean redshift of the lenses will be shifted to higher values in $`V`$ compared to $`G`$: Fig. 9 shows the redshift distribution of the total optical depth $`\mathrm{d}\tau /\mathrm{d}z`$ to strong lensing as defined in section 4.2 of Peacock (1999), for $`z_\mathrm{s}=3`$ and 5. The total optical depth $`\tau `$ is larger in the $`V`$ than in the $`G`$ simulation (note the factors $`2`$ and $`2.5`$ decrease between the $`V`$ and $`G`$ curves at $`z_\mathrm{s}=3`$ and 5 in Fig. 9).

Finally, we have assumed initially compensated voids surrounded by a thin shell growing as the underdensity expands in comoving coordinates. This large-scale configuration could *per se* constitute an efficient lens. However, Amendola et al. (1999) show that only voids with radius larger than $`100`$ $`h^1`$ Mpc today induce weak gravitational lensing with a signal to noise ratio greater than unity in observables like color-dependent density magnification or aperture densitometry. Even for strong underdensities like $`\delta _{\mathrm{void}}1`$, none of these weak lensing techniques will be able to find a significant signature of the voids considered here.

## 5 Conclusions

We have simulated cluster formation in a physically plausible non-gaussian primordial void model where empty and fully compensated bubbles surviving from inflation together with the gaussian adiabatic CDM-type perturbations provide the seeds for the development of structure. This model shares the cosmological parameters of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM and possesses gaussian statistics on large scales while non-gaussianity only affects the one-point distribution on cluster scales. It is an attractive alternative to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM as it may explain the excess of CMB temperature anisotropy power at $`l2500`$ recently observed by CBI and as it could account for the large voids seen in the nearby galaxy surveys (Griffiths et al., 2003). While analysis of high-resolution CMB maps using higher-order moments will provide further constraints on primordial non-gaussianity, we have shown the evolution of the cluster mass function to be a strong constraint at low and intermediate redshifts.

At startup, the total energy of the network of voids and shells in our simulation is comparable to the potential energy of the gaussian fluctuations. Even if strong underdensities are present on Mpc scales very early on compared to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM, we have found that our $`200h^1\text{ Mpc}`$-side, $`128^3`$-particle simulations which start shortly after recombination can provide a reliable estimate for the cluster mass function of the non-gaussian model.

The power spectrum of the void model measured after setting the initial conditions shows a strong feature characteristic of the voids at $`k>0.1`$ $`h\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$, which is then erased during the evolution by the non-gaussian initial conditions. The $`z=0`$ matter power spectra of the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + void model is close to that of the gaussian model, with little additional small-scale power at $`k>0.5h\mathrm{Mpc}^1\text{.}`$ The $`z=0`$ mass function gives a similar number of massive clusters ($`M_{\mathrm{tot}}>4\times 10^{14}h^1\text{ }M_{}\text{)}`$ in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids model and in the concordance $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM scenario. Our high cluster abundance compared to observations is a consequence of the *WMAP*+SDSS normalisation. The evolution of the cluster mass function up to $`z3`$ in the void scenario differs strongly from that of the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model and is much more “efficient” than the sole $`z=0`$ mass function in distinguishing between the two. The substantial evolution in the cluster baryon mass function seen by Vikhlinin et al. (2003) between $`z=0`$ and $`z0.5`$ needs confirmation before we can falsify the non-gaussian model which has little late-time evolution.

In fact, better constraints on the void model are obtained from two other statistics at $`z>1.5`$. We have first shown that the integrated number counts of SZ sources is higher by a factor 2.5 (resp. 2) in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids model compared to the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM model, for 353 GHz flux greater than 10 mJy (resp. 30 mJy, the resolution of Planck). We have then used the optical depth to strong gravitational lensing as another possible discriminant between the primordial void model and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM. We have shown that the number counts of high-redshift, $`z>3`$ (resp. 5) arcs is expected to be more abundant by a factor of 2 (resp. 4) in the non-gaussian scenario, for the same underlying lensed population. Because the optical depth to strong lensing is a steep function of redshift, we expect the total number of giant arcs observed to be increased by a factor $`>2`$ in the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + voids model compared to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM. As a result, the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM + void scenario overpredicts the number counts of giant arcs seen in the EMSS compared to the concordance $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM.

An additional contribution to the CMB power spectrum at high $`\mathrm{}`$ will also be generated by the thermal SZ contribution from unresolved clusters. The joint limits on a non-gaussian contribution from clusters to the power spectrum, including the ROSAT/WMAP cross-correlation constraints (Diego et al., 2003) and the CBI and ACBAR experiments, will be presented elsewhere.

Not only do such simple tests give the opportunity to rule out a particular set of models, they also more generally bring out simple constraints that have to be satisfied (e.g. with numerical simulations) as one proposes non-gaussian alternatives to the current paradigm.

## Acknowledgements

We thank the referee for a number of remarks which significantly improved the manuscript. HM is supported by PPARC.


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# Defective vortex lattices in layered superconductors with point pins at the extreme type-II limit

## Abstract

The mixed phase of layered superconductors with no magnetic screening is studied through a partial duality analysis of the corresponding frustrated $`XY`$ model in the presence of weak random point pins. Isolated layers exhibit a defective vortex lattice at low temperature that is phase coherent. Sufficiently weak Josephson coupling between adjacent layers results in an entangled vortex solid that exhibits weak superconductivity across layers. The corresponding vortex liquid state shows an inverted specific heat anomaly that we propose accounts for that seen in YBCO. A three-dimensional vortex lattice with dislocations occurs at stronger coupling. This crossover sheds light on the apparent discrepancy concerning the observation of a vortex-glass phase in recent Monte Carlo simulations of the same $`XY`$ model.

High-temperature superconductors are layered and extremely type-IIblatter . This fact led to the suggestion early on that a state with phase-coherent yet decoupled layers is possiblefriedel . It was later demonstrated, however, that any amount of Josephson coupling between layers results in a macroscopic Josephson effect across layers at low temperaturekorshunov . In the presence of external magnetic field perpendicular to the layers, other workers made the analogous proposal that sufficiently weak coupling could lead to a decoupled stack of phase-coherent two-dimensional (2D) vortex latticessupersolid ffh . Monte Carlo simulationskoshelev97  and a partial duality analysisjpr02 cec03  of the corresponding frustrated $`XY`$ model demonstrate, however, that a highly entangled vortex lattice state with relatively small or no phase coherence across layers does not exist in practice.

The elusive decoupled vortex lattice state may exist at low temperature in the presence of random point pins, howeverlarkin bulaevskii . In this paper, we show that this is indeed the case through a partial duality analysis of the corresponding layered $`XY`$ model with uniform frustrationjpr00 . We show first that a defective vortex lattice stateffh  can exist in isolated layers. It exhibits macroscopic phase coherence in the zero-temperature limit, despite the presence of unbound dislocations that are assumed to be quenched in by the random pinsn-s . We next turn on Josephson coupling between adjacent layers and find that weak superconductivity exists across layers at sufficiently high layer anisotropyjpr00  in the zero-temperature limit. After assuming a continous 2D ordering transition for each layer in isolation, we then find that an inverted specific heat jump can occur inside of the vortex liquid state at weak coupling. This prediction compares favorably with the recent observations of such a peak in the high-temperature superconductor YBCObouquet .

2D. Consider a stack of isolated superconducting layers in a perpendicular external magnetic field. In the absence of Josephson coupling as well as of magnetic screening, the $`XY`$ model over the square lattice with uniform frustration provides a qualitatively correct description of the mixed phase in each layer. The corresponding Boltzmann distribution is set by the sum of energy functionals

$$E_{XY}^{(2)}(l)=\underset{\mu =x,y}{}\underset{\stackrel{}{r}}{}J_\mu \mathrm{cos}[\mathrm{\Delta }_\mu \varphi A_\mu ]$$
(1)
for the superfluid kinetic energy of each layer $`l`$ written in terms of the superconducting phase $`\varphi (\stackrel{}{r},l)`$. Here $`\mathrm{\Delta }_\mu \varphi (\stackrel{}{r},l)=\varphi (\stackrel{}{r}+a\widehat{\mu },l)\varphi (\stackrel{}{r},l)`$ and $`\stackrel{}{A}=(0,2\pi fx/a)`$ make up the local supercurrent, where $`f`$ denotes the concentration of vortices over the square lattice, with lattice constant $`a`$. The local phase rigidity $`J_\mu (\stackrel{}{r},l)`$ is assumed to be constant over most of the nearest-neighbor links $`(\stackrel{}{r},\stackrel{}{r}+a\widehat{\mu })`$ in layer $`l`$, with the exception of those links in the vicinity of the pinning sites that are located at random. After taking the Villain approximation, which is generally valid at low temperature villain , a series of standard manipulations then lead to a Coulomb gas ensemble with pins that describes the vortex degrees of freedom on the dual square latticecec03 . The ensemble for each layer $`l`$ is weighted by the Boltzmann distribution set by the energy functional

$$E_{\mathrm{vx}}(l)=(2\pi )^2\underset{(\stackrel{}{R},\stackrel{}{R}^{})}{}\delta QJ_0G^{(2)}\delta Q^{}+\underset{\stackrel{}{R}}{}V_p|Q|^2,$$
(2)
written in terms of the integer vorticity field $`Q(\stackrel{}{R},l)`$ over the sites $`\stackrel{}{R}`$ of the dual lattice in that layer, and of the fluctuation $`\delta Q=Qf`$. A logarithmic interaction, $`G^{(2)}=^2`$, exists between the vortices, with a strength $`J_0`$ equal to the gaussian phase rigidity. Last, $`V_p(\stackrel{}{R},l)`$ is the resulting pinning potentialcec03 .

We shall next assume that the array of random pins in each layer, $`V_p(\stackrel{}{R},l)`$, quenches in unbound dislocations into the triangular vortex lattice at zero temperaturen-s . To check for superconductivity in such a defective 2D vortex lattice, we now compute the macroscopic phase rigidity, which is given by one over the dielectric constant of the 2D Coulomb gas (2) eps :

$$\rho _s^{(2D)}/J_0=1\underset{k0}{lim}(2\pi /\eta _{\mathrm{sw}})\delta Q_\stackrel{}{k}\delta Q_\stackrel{}{k}/k^2a^2𝒩_{}.$$
(3)
Here $`\delta Q_\stackrel{}{k}=Q_\stackrel{}{k}Q_\stackrel{}{k}`$ is the fluctuation in the Fourier transform of the vorticity in layer $`l`$: $`Q_\stackrel{}{k}=_\stackrel{}{R}Q(\stackrel{}{R},l)e^{i\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{R}}`$. Also, $`\eta _{\mathrm{sw}}=k_BT/2\pi J_0`$ is the spin-wave component of the phase-correlation exponent, and $`𝒩_{}`$ denotes the number of points in the square-lattice grid. Now suppose that a given vortex is displaced by $`\delta \stackrel{}{u}`$ with respect to its location at zero temperature. Conservation of vorticity dictates that its fluctuation is given by $`\stackrel{}{}\delta \stackrel{}{u}`$. Substitution into Eq. (3) then yields the result

$$\rho _s^{(2D)}/J_0=1(\eta _{\mathrm{vx}}^{}/\eta _{\mathrm{sw}})$$
(4)
for the phase rigidity in terms of the vortex component to the phase-correlation exponent,

$$\eta _{\mathrm{vx}}^{}=\pi \left[\underset{\stackrel{}{R}}{\overset{}{}}\delta \stackrel{}{u}\right]^2/N_{\mathrm{vx}}a_{\mathrm{vx}}^2.$$
(5)
The latter monitors fluctuations of the center of mass of the vortex latticejpr01 . Above, $`N_{\mathrm{vx}}`$ denotes the number of vortices, while $`a_{\mathrm{vx}}=a/f^{1/2}`$.

To proceed further, we now express the displacement field as a superposition of pure wave and defect components of the triangular vortex latticejpr01 : $`\delta \stackrel{}{u}=\delta \stackrel{}{u}_{\mathrm{wv}}+\delta \stackrel{}{u}_{\mathrm{df}}`$. Notice by Eq. (5) that phase coherence is insensitive to the wave contribution if rigid translations are excluded, since $`\delta \stackrel{}{u}_{\mathrm{wv}}=0`$ in such case. The former is achieved through bulk pinningcec03 , and the latter then follows under periodic boundary conditions. Consider now a single unbound dislocation with Burgers vector $`\stackrel{}{b}`$ that slides along it glide planeblatter  a distance $`\delta R_{\mathrm{df}}`$ with respect to its location at zero temperature. The relative displacement field, $`\delta \stackrel{}{u}_{\mathrm{df}}`$, then corresponds to that of a pure dislocation pair of extent $`\delta R_{\mathrm{df}}`$ that is oriented along its glide plane. After following steps similar to those taken in ref. jpr01  for the pristine case, it can be shown that Eq. (5) yields a fluctuation of the center of mass

$$\eta _{\mathrm{vx}}^{}n_{\mathrm{df}}\overline{|\delta R_{\mathrm{df}}|^2}(b/2a_{\mathrm{vx}})^2\mathrm{ln}R_0/a_{\mathrm{df}}$$
(6)
for the vortex solid, where $`n_{\mathrm{df}}`$ denotes the density of unbound dislocations, where $`a_{\mathrm{df}}`$ is the core diameter of a dislocation, and where $`R_0`$ is an infrared cut-off. Above, the overbar denotes a bulk average. Observe now that both $`\eta _{\mathrm{sw}}`$ and $`\eta _{\mathrm{vx}}^{}`$ vanish linearly with temperature. By Eq. (4), we conclude that the defective 2D vortex lattice shows a positive phase rigidity in the zero-temperature limit at sufficiently dilute concentrations of unbound dislocations, $`n_{\mathrm{df}}0`$. The above is borne out by direct Monte Carlo simulationsmc  of the 2D Coulomb gas ensemble (2).

The previous positive result for macroscopic phase coherence \[Eq. (4)\] in the zero-temperature limit can be confirmed by calculation of generalized phase auto-correlation functions within an isolated layer: $`C_l[q]=\mathrm{exp}[i_\stackrel{}{r}q(\stackrel{}{r})\varphi (\stackrel{}{r},l)]_0`$. Following a similar calculation in the pristine casejpr01 , application of the Villain approximation \[see Eq. (2) and ref. villain \] yields the form $`C_l[q]=|C_l[q]|\mathrm{exp}[i_\stackrel{}{r}q(\stackrel{}{r})\varphi _0(\stackrel{}{r},l)]`$ for these autocorrelations, where $`\varphi _0(\stackrel{}{r},l)`$ represent the zero-temperature configurations of isolated layers. In the low-temperature regime, phase correlations are then found to decay algebraicly like

$$|C_l[q]|=g_0^{n_+}\mathrm{exp}\left[\eta _{2D}\underset{(1,2)}{}q(1)\mathrm{ln}(r_{12}/r_0)q(2)\right]$$
(7)
at the asymptotic limit, $`r_{12}\mathrm{}`$, with a net correlation exponent approximately equal to $`\eta _{2D}\eta _{\mathrm{sw}}+\eta _{\mathrm{vx}}^{}`$ for small vortex components, $`\eta _{\mathrm{vx}}^{}\eta _{\mathrm{sw}}`$. Here, $`g_0=\rho _s^{(2D)}/J`$ is the ratio of the 2D stiffness with its value at zero temperature, $`J`$, while $`n_+`$ counts half the number of probes in $`q(\stackrel{}{r})`$. Also, $`r_0`$ denotes the natural ultraviolet scale.

3D. We shall now add a weak Josephson coupling energy $`J_z\mathrm{cos}(\mathrm{\Delta }_z\varphi A_z)`$ to all of the verticle links in between adjacent layers of the three-dimensional (3D) $`XY`$ model. Here, $`J_z=J/\gamma ^2`$ is the perpendicular coupling constant, with anisotropy parameter $`\gamma ^{}>1`$. The layered $`XY`$ model can be effectively analyzed in the selective high-temperature limit, $`k_BTJ_z`$, through a partial duality transformation. This leads to a dilute Coulomb gas (CG) ensemble that describes the nature of the Josephson coupling in terms of dual charges that live on the vertical links. Phase correlations across layers can then be computed from the quotient

$$\mathrm{exp}\left[i\underset{r}{}p(r)\varphi (r)\right]=Z_{\mathrm{CG}}[p]/Z_{\mathrm{CG}}[0]$$
(8)
of partition functions for a layered CG ensemblejpr00 :

$$Z_{\mathrm{CG}}[p]=\underset{\{n_z(r)\}}{}y_0^{N[n_z]}\mathrm{\Pi }_lC_l[q_l]e^{i_rn_zA_z},$$
(9)
where the dual charge, $`n_z(\stackrel{}{r},l)`$, is an integer field that lives on links between adjacent layers $`l`$ and $`l+1`$ located at 2D points $`\stackrel{}{r}`$. The ensemble is weighted by a product of phase auto-correlation functions for isolated layers $`l`$ probed at the dual charge that accumulates onto that layer:

$$q_l(\stackrel{}{r})=p(\stackrel{}{r},l)+n_z(\stackrel{}{r},l1)n_z(\stackrel{}{r},l).$$
(10)
It is also weighted by a bare fugacity $`y_0`$ that is raised to the power $`N[n_z]`$ equal to the total number of dual charges, $`n_z=\pm 1`$. The fugacity is given by $`y_0=J_z/2k_BT`$ in the selective high-temperature regime, $`J_zk_BT`$, reached at large model anisotropy.

In the absence of Josephson coupling, random point pins lead to zero-temperature phase configurations, $`\varphi _0(\stackrel{}{r},l)`$, that are completely uncorrelated across layers. At zero parallel field, Eqs. (8) and (9) therefore yield the expressionskoshelev96

$$\overline{\mathrm{cos}\varphi _{l,l+1}}y_0\underset{1}{}\overline{C_l(0,1)}\overline{C_{l+1}^{}(0,1)}$$
(11)
and

$$\overline{|e^{i\varphi _{l,l+1}}|^2}y_0^2\underset{1}{}\underset{2}{}\overline{C_l(0,1)C_l^{}(0,2)}\overline{C_{l+1}(0,2)C_{l+1}^{}(0,1)}$$
(12)
for the inter-layer “cosine” and the inter-layer phase correlation, to lowest order in the fugacity. The overbar represents a bulk (disorder) average, while $`\varphi _{l,l+1}(\stackrel{}{r})=\varphi (\stackrel{}{r},l+1)\varphi (\stackrel{}{r},l)A_z(\stackrel{}{r},l)`$ is the gauge-invariant phase difference across adjacent layers. Macroscopic phase coherence shown by each layer in isolation (4) is lost at a transition temperaturemc  $`T_g^{(2D)}>0`$. Only short-range phase correlations on the scale of $`\xi _{2D}`$ exist at higher temperature following $`C_l(1,2)=g_0e^{r_{12}/\xi _{2D}}e^{i\varphi _0(1)}e^{i\varphi _0(2)}`$. By analogy with 2D melting physicsjpr01 NH , the presence of quenched-in unbound dislocations also implies that only short-range phase correlations exist inside of each layer in isolation, on average, at zero temperature. Specifically, we have $`\overline{\mathrm{exp}[i\varphi _{l,l+1}^{(0)}(1)]\mathrm{exp}[i\varphi _{l,l+1}^{(0)}(2)]}=e^{2r_{12}/l_{2D}}`$ asymptotically, where $`\varphi _{l,l+1}^{(0)}(\stackrel{}{r})=\varphi _0(\stackrel{}{r},l+1)\varphi _0(\stackrel{}{r},l)A_z(\stackrel{}{r},l)`$ is the quenched interlayer phase difference, and where $`l_{2D}`$ represents a zero-temperature disorder scale set by $`n_{\mathrm{df}}`$. Substitution into expression (12) then yields the result $`\overline{|e^{i\varphi _{l,l+1}}|^2}[g_0^2(J/k_BT)(l_{2D}\xi _{2D}/\mathrm{\Lambda }_0^2)]^2`$ for the inter-layer phase correlation inside of the critical regime, $`\xi _{2D}l_{2D}`$, where $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_0=\gamma ^{}a`$ is the Josephson penetration length. This approximate result reaches unity at a cross-over field

$$f\gamma _\times ^2g_0^2(J/k_BT)(l_{2D}\xi _{2D}/a_{\mathrm{vx}}^2),$$
(13)
in units of the naive decoupling scale $`\mathrm{\Phi }_0/\mathrm{\Lambda }_0^2`$, that separates 2D from 3D vortex-liquid behaviorjpr02 . Substitution into expression (11) for the inter-layer “cosine”, on the other hand, yields a non-divergent result

$$\overline{\mathrm{cos}\varphi _{l,l+1}}g_0^2(J/k_BT)[(l_{2D}^1+\xi _{2D}^1)^1/\mathrm{\Lambda }_0]^2$$
(14)
that is valid in the decoupled vortex liquid that exists at fields much larger than $`f\gamma _\times ^2`$. It can be shownjpr04  that the next-leading-order term for the inter-layer “cosine” (11) is negative, that it diverges just like the leading order term for the inter-layer correlation (12), and that it becomes comparable to its own leading order term precisely at fields below the 2D-3D cross-over scale, Eq. (13). Last, Eq. (14) implies an anomalous inter-layer contribution to the specific heat per volume equal to

$$\delta c_v^{}2[1+(\xi _{2D}/l_{2D})]^1(\mathrm{ln}\xi _{2D}^1/T)e_J,$$
(15)
where $`e_J=\overline{\mathrm{cos}\varphi _{l,l+1}}J/\mathrm{\Lambda }_0^2d`$ is the Josephson energy density, and where $`d`$ denotes the spacing in between adjacent layers. It also notably shows an inverted specific heat jump that is followed by a tailoff at a temperature $`T_p`$ such that $`\xi _{2D}(T_p)l_{2D}`$ if $`\xi _{2D}`$ diverges faster than $`(TT_g^{(2D)})^1`$. This approximate result is again valid at high anisotropy, $`\gamma ^{}>\gamma _\times ^{}`$, which yields the bound $`l_{2D}<g_0^1(k_BT/J)^{1/2}\mathrm{\Lambda }_0`$ on the 2D disorder scale by Eq. (13).

The previous analysis clearly demonstrates that a selective high-temperature expansion in powers of the fugacity $`y_0`$ necessarily breaks down in the ordered phase, $`T<T_g^{(2D)}`$, where $`\xi _{2D}`$ is infinite. At this stage it becomes useful to re-express the layered CG enesemble (9) by replacing $`C_l[q]`$ with its magnitude (7), and by compensating this change with the additional replacement of $`A_z(\stackrel{}{r},l)`$ with $`\varphi _{l,l+1}^{(0)}(\stackrel{}{r})`$. A Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation of the CG partition function (9) revealsjpr97  that it is equivalent to a renormalized Lawrence-Doniach (LD) model with an energy functional that is given byjpr00

$$E_{\mathrm{LD}}=\rho _s^{(2D)}d^2r\underset{l}{}\left[\frac{1}{2}(\stackrel{}{}\theta _l)^2\mathrm{\Lambda }_0^2\mathrm{cos}\theta _{l,l+1}\right],$$
(16)
where $`\theta _{l,l+1}=\varphi _{l,l+1}^{(0)}+\theta _{l+1}\theta _l`$. A standard thermodynamic analysisjpr02  then yields that the strength of the local Josephson coupling is given by $`\overline{\mathrm{cos}\varphi _{l,l+1}}=y_0+g_0\overline{\mathrm{cos}\theta _{l,l+1}}`$. It can also be shownjpr00  that phase coherence exists across a macroscopic number of layers, with a corresponding phase rigidity equal to $`\rho _s^{}/J_zg_0\overline{\mathrm{cos}\theta _{l,l+1}}`$.

In order to compute $`\overline{\mathrm{cos}\theta _{l,l+1}}`$ at low temperature, we must first determine the configuration that optimizes $`E_{\mathrm{LD}}`$. Eq. (16) implies that it satisfies the field equation

$$^2\theta _l^{(0)}+\mathrm{\Lambda }_0^2[\mathrm{sin}\theta _{l1,l}^{(0)}\mathrm{sin}\theta _{l,l+1}^{(0)}]=0.$$
(17)
In the weak-coupling limit, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_0\mathrm{}`$, we therefore have that $`\theta _l^{(0)}(\stackrel{}{r})`$ is constant inside of each layer. The fact that $`\overline{e^{i\varphi _0(1)}e^{i\varphi _0(\mathrm{})}}=0`$ then implies that $`\overline{\mathrm{cos}\theta _{l,l+1}}=0`$ at zero temperature in the weak-coupling limit. Indeed, the LD “cosine” can be calculated perturbatively, where one finds that $`\overline{\mathrm{cos}\theta _{l,l+1}}(l_{2D}/\mathrm{\Lambda }_0)^2\mathrm{ln}(\mathrm{\Lambda }_0/l_{2D})`$ at zero temperaturebulaevskii jpr04 . In the opposite limit of weak disorder, $`l_{2D}\mathrm{}`$, Eq. (17) yields that $`\mathrm{sin}\theta _{l1,l}^{(0)}=\mathrm{sin}\theta _{l,l+1}^{(0)}`$, on the other hand. This then implies that $`\mathrm{cos}\theta _{l,l+1}^{(0)}=1`$ in the weak disorder limit. The bulk average $`\overline{\mathrm{cos}\theta _{l,l+1}}`$ at zero temperature must therefore pass between zero and unity at $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_0l_{2D}`$. This condition defines a decoupling cross-over field $`f\gamma _D^2(0)(l_{2D}/a_{\mathrm{vx}})^2`$ in units of $`\mathrm{\Phi }_0/\mathrm{\Lambda }_0^2`$, at which point the reversible magnetization shows a broad diamagnetic peak. By the discussion following Eq. (16), we conclude that random point pins result in a vortex glass at sufficiently high layer anisotropylarkin bulaevskii , $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_0l_{2D}`$, that exibits weak superconductivity across layersjpr00 : $`\rho _s^{}J_z`$.

The results of the above duality method are summerized by the phase diagram displayed in Fig. 1. The present theory notably predicts that an inverted specific heat anomaly (jump followed by a tailoff) occurs at weak coupling in the vortex liquid when the 2D correlation length $`\xi _{2D}`$ matches the 2D disorder scale $`l_{2D}`$ if $`\xi _{2D}`$ diverges faster than $`(TT_g^{(2D)})^1`$ \[see Eq. (15)\]. Such a feature has in fact been observed within the vortex liquid phase of YBCObouquet . The weight of the latter peak is about $`\mathrm{\Delta }e_{\mathrm{exp}}6\mathrm{mJ}/\mathrm{cm}^3`$, while the peak shown by Eq. (15) has a weight $`\mathrm{\Delta }e_J=(\mathrm{\Phi }_0^2/16\pi ^3\lambda _L^2\mathrm{\Lambda }_0^2)\mathrm{\Delta }\overline{\mathrm{cos}\varphi _{l,l+1}}`$. Equating these and using values of $`\lambda _L140\mathrm{nm}`$ and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_07\mathrm{nm}`$ for the penetration depths in YBCOblatter  yields a $`10`$% jump in the “cosine”.

Last, although recent Monte Carlo simulations of the same $`XY`$ model studied here do indeed find evidence for a phase-coherent vortex glass atnono1  $`f\gamma ^2=16`$ and atolsson  $`f\gamma ^2=8`$, another oneteitel  using $`f\gamma ^2=2`$ does not. We believe that the zero-temperature cross-over shown in Fig. 1 between an entangled vortex glass and a 3D vortex lattice containing dislocations is the origin of this discrepancy.

In conclusion, a duality analysis of the $`XY`$ model finds that random point pinslarkin bulaevskii  drive a cross-over transition in the zero-temperature limit between defective vortex lattices that show strong versus weak superconductivity across layers as a function of the Josephson couplingjpr00 . We further propose that the inverted specific heat anomaly observed recently inside of the vortex liquid phase of YBCO does not signal a phase transitionbouquet , but rather is due to the thermodynamic resonance found here, Eq. (15).

###### Acknowledgements.

The author thanks O. Bernal and Y. Nonomura for discussions. Note added: Recent Monte Carlo simulations of the same $`XY`$ model studied here also find a non-critical specific-heat anomaly in the vortex-liquid phase (see ref. nono2 ).


text:
# Strömgren 𝑢𝑣𝑏𝑦 photometry of the open clusters NGC 6192 and NGC 6451 Based on observations at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc. (AURA), under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation as part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories.

## 1 Introduction

The two open clusters NGC 6192 and NGC 6451 are good examples of how different estimates of the interstellar reddening influence the derived distances and ages. For NGC 6451, Svolopoulos (1966) lists a reddening $`E(BV)`$ = 0.08 mag whereas Kjeldsen & Frandsen (1991) give $`E(BV)`$ = 0.70 mag as best value resulting in a difference of 560 pc versus 2100 pc and 5 Gyr versus 0.2 Gyr, respectively. The situation for NGC 6192 is almost identical.

We have observed these two open clusters within the Strömgren $`uvby`$ system in order to derive the reddening as well as the overall metallicity. We have not tried to independently estimate the ages since no reliable isochrones within the Strömgren $`uvby`$ system have been published so far. Since no $`\beta `$ measurements were made, the calibration of effective temperatures is not possible on solid grounds. However, ages have been derived in the literature for both clusters depending on the individual reddening values (Kjeldsen & Frandsen 1991).

Paunzen & Maitzen (2002) found one photometric CP candidate in each program cluster via $`\mathrm{\Delta }a`$ photometry (Maitzen 1976). We have investigated the Strömgren indices for these two objects in order to clarify their nature.

## 2 Observations and reduction

Observations of the two open clusters and several standard stars were performed with the 150 cm telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (observer: H.M. Maitzen). With a focus of f/7.5 and a SITe 2k CCD (0.44$`\mathrm{}`$/pixel), a field of view of about 15$`\mathrm{}`$ was achieved.

We have used a standard Strömgren $`uvby`$ filter set. The observing log is listed in Table 1. In total, 26 frames for the two clusters in four filters were observed and used for the further analysis.

The basic reductions (bias-subtraction, dark-correction, flat-fielding) were carried out within standard IRAF routines. For all frames we have applied a point-spread-function-fitting within the IRAF task DAOPHOT (Stetson 1987). Photometry of each frame was performed separately and the measurements (corrected for the extinction) were then averaged and weighted by their individual photometric error.

The finding charts of our open clusters are shown in Fig. 1. The size of the symbols (by area) is inversely proportional to the apparent visual magnitudes of the objects in the sense that larger symbols denote brighter objects.

The complete tables with all photometric data for the two cluster stars are available in electronic form via anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 or http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html and can be requested from the first author. These tables include the cross identification of objects from the literature, the observed $`(by)`$, $`m_1`$ and $`c_1`$ values with their corresponding errors, $`V`$ magnitudes, as well as the $`(BV)`$ and $`(UB)`$ values from the literature.

## 3 Calibration into the standard photometric system

A very important point is the calibration of the observed photometric values to standard ones. For the determination of the extinction of the individual filters, three spectrophotometric standard stars LTT 377, LTT 1020 and LTT 9239 were observed. Spectrophotometric as well as broadband Johnson $`UBVRI`$ photometry for these objects can be found in Hamuy et al. (1992, 1994) and Landolt (1992). Unfortunately, no Strömgren $`uvby`$ measurements for these objects are available. However, we have used the spectrophotometric measurements and the standard Strömgren $`uvby`$ transmission curves (Crawford & Barnes 1970) to calculate “synthetic” photometric indices for these three standard stars. The small range of the color indices (e.g. $`<`$0.1 mag for $`by`$) makes any reliable calibration for the whole relevant color range (more than 1.2 mag; see Fig. 3) very problematic. However, we used the calculated photometric indices to derive absolute fluxes using the calibration of Gray (1998). He lists absolute flux calibrations for the Strömgren $`uvby`$ bands on the basis of data from Vega. The data for our three standard stars are intrinsic consistent and a comparison with the the results listed for the Johnson $`UBVRI`$ by Hamuy et al. (1992, 1994) and Landolt (1992) shows an excellent agreement.

For the determination of the extinction coefficients we closely follow the approach as described in Sung & Bessell (2000). For this purpose we used the measurements of the three standard stars at airmasses from 1.0 to 2.0 at the two different nights. The coefficients were found to be 0.48, 0.31, 0.18 and 0.11 for $`u`$, $`v`$, $`b`$ and $`y`$, respectively.

For the calibration of the instrumental $`by`$, $`m_1`$ and $`c_1`$ values we have used the following procedure. The observed CCD photometric $`BV`$ values for NGC 6192 (King 1987, Kjeldsen & Frandsen 1991) and NGC 6451 (Kjeldsen & Frandsen 1991) were transformed into $`by`$ magnitudes using the correlations listed in Caldwell et al. (1993). These values served as a standard system for the calibration of our instrumental values. Figure 2 shows the $`(by)_{stand}`$ versus $`(by)_{inst}`$ diagram with the available data for both open clusters. The line fits the data of the two clusters very well. Taking the calibrated $`by`$ magnitudes, $`[m_1]`$ and $`[c_1]`$ indices were calculated using the absolute fluxes derived for the three standard stars as described above. Since these indices are not sensitive to reddening (Crawford & Mander 1966) the offsets of the instrumental $`m_1`$ and $`c_1`$ can be estimated. The $`y`$ magnitudes were directly converted into standard Johnson $`V`$ ones using the data of King (1987) and Kjeldsen & Frandsen (1991).

We find the following transformation for the instrumental magnitudes:

$`V`$ $`=`$ $`3.02(4)+0.997(2)y_i`$ (1)
$`by`$ $`=`$ $`0.103(9)+0.921(14)(by)_i`$ (2)
$`m_1`$ $`=`$ $`0.723(9)(m_1)_i`$ (3)
$`c_1`$ $`=`$ $`+0.146(8)(c_1)_i`$ (4)
These equations hold for the data of both open clusters.

## 4 Program cluster

In the following two section we will summarize the already published information about NGC 6192 and NGC 6451.

### 4.1 NGC 6192

Kilambi & Fitzgerald (1983; photographic photometry) and King (1987; CCD photometry) reported a rather old age (1300 Myr) with a reddening of $`E(BV)`$ = 0.26 mag and a distance of about 1000 pc from the Sun. Kjeldsen & Frandsen (1991; CCD photometry) on the other hand list a reddening of $`E(BV)`$ = 0.68 mag, an age of 89 Myr and a distance of about 1700 pc from the Sun. The sources of CCD photometry agree very well and have been used for our analysis.

Paunzen & Maitzen (2002) analysed all published photometric data and found that the age, reddening and distance modulus from Kjeldsen & Frandsen (1991) give the best fit. They also reported the detection of one photometric CP candidate (No. 54 according to King 1987; No. 86, Kjeldsen & Frandsen 1991) with $`\mathrm{\Delta }a`$ = +0.030 mag. From their photometry a spectral type of B8 Si and an absolute magnitude of $`M_\mathrm{V}`$ = +0.0(2) mag was concluded.

### 4.2 NGC 6451

Paunzen & Maitzen (2002) investigated the discrepancies of the data published by Piatti et al. (1998) and Kjeldsen & Frandsen (1991) for this open cluster. Piatti et al. (1998) lists $`E(BV)`$ = 0.08 mag whereas Kjeldsen & Frandsen (1991) give $`E(BV)`$ = 0.70 mag as best value. This results in a difference of 560 pc versus 2100 pc and 5 Gyr versus 0.2 Gyr, respectively. Since Piatti et al. (1998) calibrated their isochrones using the data for NGC 6451, we decided to observe this open cluster via Strömgren $`uvby`$ photometry.

Already Paunzen & Maitzen (2002) concluded that the $`V`$ magnitudes given by Piatti et al. (1998) are on the average one magnitude too bright and thus the reddening, age and distance listed within this reference are probably incorrect. They refitted the data of Piatti et al. (1998) and found $`E(BV)`$ = 0.60 mag, $`(VM_\mathrm{V})`$ = 13.90 and an age of about 0.4 Gyr which is consistent with the results of Kjeldsen & Frandsen (1991).

Furthermore, Paunzen & Maitzen (2002) found one photometric CP candidate within the boundaries of NGC 6451.

## 5 Results

First of all we have estimated the reddening of NGC 6192 and NGC 6451. Taking the standard relation of Philip & Egret (1980), the observed magnitudes were shifted accordingly. Figure 3 shows the $`M_V`$ versus $`(by)_0`$ diagrams. The reddening of both program clusters was found to be $`E(by)`$ = 0.40(5) mag. This is well in line with the estimates of Kjeldsen & Frandsen (1991) and clearly contradicts the values listed by King (1987; NGC 6192) and Piatti et al. (1998; NGC 6451). For the distance modulus we find $`(V_0M_\mathrm{V})`$ = 11.40(10) and 12.15(10) resulting in a distance of 1900(100) as well as 2690(100) pc for NGC 6192 and NGC 6451, respectively. Our results agree within 1$`\sigma `$ (NGC 6192) and 3$`\sigma `$ (NGC 6451) with those of Kjeldsen & Frandsen (1991). Otherwise, several red giants are nicely visible for NGC 6192 whereas several bright ($`M_\mathrm{V}>2.5`$ mag) non-members for NGC 6451 were detected. We have not estimated the ages of both open clusters since no isochrones for the Strömgren $`uvby`$ system are available. The only way would be the transformation of the $`(by)_0`$ magnitudes into effective temperature which is strongly depending on (unavailable) $`\beta `$ measurements. However, the ages listed in the literature are compatible with those derived from a comparison with the isochrones given in Schulz et al. (2002). Table 2 lists all results deduced from our analysis.

The $`M_V`$ versus $`(by)_0`$ diagram for NGC 6451 shows a clustering of objects parallel to the main sequence at $`0.4(by)_00.7`$ and $`+1.0M_\mathrm{V}0.5`$. We have investigated the location of these objects in respect to the field of NGC 6451 (Fig. 4). The placement of these stars is randomly distributed over the whole observed area ruling out a possible inconsistency in the reduction process as well as a second, more distant, open cluster within the vicinity of NGC 6451. Since almost none of these objects are within the innermost boundaries of NGC 6451, we believe that the found clustering is a manifestation of the more distant field population.

As next step, the overall metallicities for both open clusters was estimated. For this purpose the calibration of Nissen (1981) for stars cooler than F0 was taken. Since no $`\beta `$ measurements are available we used the standard relations of Crawford (1975) and Olsen (1984) to estimate them for the relevant temperature domain. Such a procedure has to be taken with caution. Applying this method results in \[Fe/H\] = $``$0.10(9) and $``$0.34(8) for NGC 6192 and NGC 6451, respectively. The errors in brackets are the errors of the means. This seems to indicate that the metallicity for NGC 6451 is slightly subsolar. Another method to calibrate metallicities for red giants is listed by Hilker (2000). This calibration is valid for objects with 0.5 $`<`$$`(by)_0`$$`<`$1.0 mag. This fact together with the apparent uncertainty of the membership of objects for NGC 6451 seriously limits the significance of the derived values. Only two and five objects remain for NGC 6192 and NGC 6451, respectively which results in errors as large as $`\pm `$0.5 dex.

The investigation of the photometric candidate CP star in NGC 6192 (Paunzen & Maitzen 2002) further strengthens its chemically peculiar nature. We find $`(by)_0`$ = $``$0.026, \[$`m_1`$\] = 0.202, \[$`c_1`$\] = 0.738 and $`M_V`$ = 0.21 mag which are typical for a B8 Si star (Cameron 1966).

The values for the apparent peculiar object in NGC 6451 are typical for an unreddened G-type star (Crawford & Mander 1966) and rule out a chemical peculiarity: $`(by)`$ = 0.651, \[$`m_1`$\] = 0.467, \[$`c_1`$\] = 0.233 and $`M_V`$ = 3.85 mag. This case shows the importance of further photometric or spectroscopic investigations of candidate CP stars.

## 6 Conclusions

We have presented Strömgren $`uvby`$ photometry for the young open clusters NGC 6192 (374 objects) and NGC 6451 (912 objects). For both open clusters widely different reddening values and thus distances and ages can be found in the literature. From our photometry we were able solve these discrepancies and derive new accurate values. The overall metallicities was found to be about solar for NGC 6192 as well as slightly subsolar for NGC 6451 using the appropriate calibrations from the literature.

The chemically peculiar nature for one object of NGC 6192 was proven whereas one photometric CP candidate within NGC 6451 has to be rejected.

###### Acknowledgements.

EP acknowledges partial support by the Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung, project P14984. Use was made of the SIMBAD database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France and the WEBDA database, operated at the Institute of Astronomy of the University of Lausanne.