Halo Models of Large Scale Structure and Reliability of Cosmological
  N-Body Simulations
  Halo models of the large scale structure of the Universe are critically
examined, focusing on the definition of halos as smooth distributions of cold
dark matter. This definition is essentially based on the results of
cosmological N-body simulations. By a careful analysis of the standard
assumptions of halo models and N-body simulations and by taking into account
previous studies of self-similarity of the cosmic web structure, we conclude
that N-body cosmological simulations are not fully reliable in the range of
scales where halos appear. Therefore, to have a consistent definition of halos,
it is necessary either to define them as entities of arbitrary size with a
grainy rather than smooth structure or to define their size in terms of
small-scale baryonic physics.
