Distinguishing f(R) gravity with cosmic voids

Abstract

We use properties of void populations identified in N-body simulations to forecast the ability of upcoming galaxy surveys to differentiate models of f(R) gravity from \Lambda CDM cosmology. We analyze simulations designed to mimic the densities, volumes, and clustering statistics of upcoming surveys, using the public VIDE toolkit. We examine void abundances as a basic probe at redshifts 1.0 and 0.4. We find that stronger f(R) coupling strengths produce voids up to ~20% larger in radius, leading to a significant shift in the void number function. As an initial estimate of the constraining power of voids, we use this change in the number function to forecast a constraint on the coupling strength of $\Delta f_{R_{0}} = 10^{-5}$.