Theory of adhesion for the large-scale structure of the Universe

Abstract

At present we see the large-scale distribution of matter in the Universe primarily as clusters and superclusters of galaxies, with giant voids between them^1,2. Understanding the origin and evolution of the large-scale structure (LSS) is one of the central problems in cosmology; it is of direct concern in understanding both the nature of the dominant dark matter in the Universe and physical processes in the very early Universe when primordial inhomogeneities were generated^3–5. Here we use a new theoretical approach^6–8 to the formation of LSS by applying the Burgers' equation⁹ that mimics the gravitational sticking of matter at the non-linear stage of gravitational instability. In this theory the non-linear evolution, including both the formation and clustering of clumps of matter separated from the Hubble expansion, is directly determined by the geometrical structure of the initial random field of linear newtonian gravitational potential fluctuations ø which may be gaussian or non-gaussian, depending on the model.