Abstract
A computer program has been written to simulate the conditions of the early uni-
verse and to test a new idea in the mechanism of structure formation observed in
our universe today. The model utilises Newtonian hydrodynamic equations includ-
ing gravitational and electromagnetic forces in two spatial dimensions. It is proposed
that augmenting gravitational forces with plasma forces will complement the prob-
lematic Big Bang theory of structure formation which relies on gravity alone. Two
sets of initial conditions are tested and the products of the simulation are analysed in
a statistical way using power spectra and the two-point correlation function. Differ-
ences in the initial conditions were not seen to produce significantly different results.
The results show that the Hubble expansion term significantly reduces power in the
gravity models but plasma forces can retain power better than similar gravitation-
only models. Initial velocity perturbations significantly modify the power spectrum
gradient in the higher modes. Some power spectra displayed a definite bend in gra-
dient at a scale which is verified by galaxy survey observations. Plasma forces also
appear to cluster matter on smaller scales more efficiently than gravity alone. Thus,
this simulation lays a foundation for a more detailed and realistic model that may
be compared with real matter distribution observations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/4496 |
| Date | 28 February 2008 |
| Creators | Alderton, Dale Wayne |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 3427276 bytes, application/pdf, application/pdf |
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