Relativistic hydrodynamics of cosmological sheets - art. no. 064011

We have extended previous numerical calculations of Newtonian cosmological sheets to include self-consistent interactions with the background metric b y solving the complete Einstein field equations together with the relativis tic perfect fluid hydrodynamics equations. The initial data are parametrize d and constructed using the gauge invariant perturbation formalism to speci fy the free conformal variables for the constraints. Numerical evolutions o f initially horizon scale fluctuations are compared with results from pertu rbation theory and the Zel'dovich solution for a range of gravitational fie ld strengths, and we discuss the nonlinear hydrodynamic, optical, and geome tric characteristics of the sheet structures. [S0556-2821(99)00218-0].