$k$-evolution: a relativistic N-body code for clustering dark energy

Abstract

We introduce $k$-evolution, a relativistic $N$-body code based on $\\textit{gevolution}$, which includes clustering dark energy among its cosmological components. To describe dark energy, we use the effective field theory approach. In particular, we focus on $k$-essence with a speed of sound much smaller than unity but we lay down the basis to extend the code to other dark energy and modified gravity models. We develop the formalism including dark energy non-linearities but, as a first step, we implement the equations in the code after dropping non-linear self-coupling in the $k$-essence field. In this simplified setup, we compare $k$-evolution simulations with those of $\\texttt{CLASS}$ and $\\textit{gevolution}$ 1.2, showing the effect of dark matter and gravitational non-linearities on the power spectrum of dark matter, of dark energy and of the gravitational potential. Moreover, we compare $k$-evolution to Newtonian $N$-body simulations with back-scaled initial conditions and study how dark energy clustering affects massive halos.