Computing General Relativistic effects from Newtonian N-body simulations: Frame dragging in the post-Friedmann approach

Abstract

We present the first calculation of an intrinsically relativistic quantity in fully non-linear cosmolog- ical large-scale structure studies. Traditionally, non-linear structure formation in standard ΛCDM cosmology is studied using N-body simulations, based on Newtonian gravitational dynamics on an expanding background. When one derives the Newtonian regime in a way that is a consistent ap- proximation to the Einstein equations, a gravito-magnetic vector potential - giving rise to frame dragging - is present in the metric in addition to the usual Newtonian scalar potential. At leading order, this vector potential does not affect the matter dynamics, thus it can be computed from Newtonian N-body simulations. We explain how we compute the vector potential from simulations in ΛCDM and examine its magnitude relative to the scalar potential. We also discuss some possible observable effects.

5 pages, 3 figurs