We trace the overall connectivity of the cosmic web as defined by haloes in
the Planck-Millennium simulation using the persistence and Betti curve analysis
developed in our previous papers. We consider the presence of clustering in
excess of the second-order correlation function, and investigate the extent to
which the dark matter haloes reflect the intricate web-like pattern of the
underlying dark matter distribution. With our systematic topological analysis
we correlate local information and halo properties with the multi-scale
geometrical environment of the cosmic web, delineated by elongated filamentary
bridges and sheetlike walls that connect compact clusters at the nodes and
define the boundaries of near-empty voids. We capture the multi-scale topology
traced by the discrete spatial halo distribution through filtering the distance
field of the corresponding Delaunay tessellation. The tessellation is naturally
adaptive to the local density, perfectly outlining the local geometry. The
resulting nested alpha shapes contain the complete information on the
multi-scale topology. Normalising second-order clustering, we find a remarkable
linear relationship between halo masses and topology: haloes of different mass
trace environments with different topological signature. This is topological
bias, a bias independent of the halo clustering bias associated with the
two-point correlation function. Topological bias can be viewed as an
environmental structure bias. We quantify it through a linear relation
accounting for selection effects in the analysis and interpretation of the
spatial distribution of galaxies. This mass-dependent scaling relation allows
us to take clustering into account and determine the overall connectivity based
on a limited sample of galaxies. This is of particular relevance with large
upcoming galaxy surveys such as DESI, Euclid, and the Vera Rubin telescope
surveys.
Preprint
Comment: 30 pages, 11 figures
Subject: Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics