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Abstract

The physical interpretation of cold dark matter perturbations is clarified by associating Bertschinger's Poisson gauge with a Eulerian/observer's frame of reference. We obtain such an association by using a Lagrangian approach to relativistic cosmological structure formation. Explicitly, we begin with the second-order solution of the Einstein equations in a synchronous/comoving coordinate system---which defines the Lagrangian frame, and transform it to a Poissonian coordinate system. The generating vector of this coordinate/gauge transformation is found to be the relativistic displacement field. The metric perturbations in the Poissonian coordinate system contain known results from standard/Eulerian Newtonian perturbation theory, but contain also purely relativistic corrections. On sub-horizon scales these relativistic corrections are dominated by the Newtonian bulk part. These corrections however set up non-linear constraints for the density and for the velocity which become important on scales close to the horizon. Furthermore, we report the occurence of a transverse component in the displacement field, and find that it induces a non-linear frame dragging as seen in the observer's frame, which is sub-dominant at late-times and sub-horizon scales. Finally, we find two other gauges which can be associated with a Eulerian frame. We argue that the Poisson gauge is to be preferred because it comes with the simplest physical interpretation.