Regarding the Line-of-Sight Baryonic Acoustic Feature in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey Luminous Red Galaxy Samples

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Kazin, Eyal A. Blanton, Michael Scoccimarro, N. Mcbride, Cameron K. Berlind, Andreas A.
Copyright Year	2010
Abstract	We analyze the line-of-sight baryonic acoustic feature in the two-point correlation function ξ of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) luminous red galaxy (LRG) sample (0.16 < z < 0.47). By defining a narrow line-of-sight region, rp < 5.5h Mpc, where rp is the transverse separation component, we measure a strong excess of clustering at ∼ 110hMpc, as previously reported in the literature. We also test these results in an alternative coordinate system, by defining the line-of-sight as θ < 3◦, where θ is the opening angle. This clustering excess appears much stronger than the feature in the better-measured monopole. A fiducial ΛCDM non-linear model in redshift-space predicts a much weaker signature. We use realistic mock catalogs to model the expected signal and noise. We find that the line-of-sight measurements can be explained well by our mocks as well as by a featureless ξ = 0. We conclude that there is no convincing evidence that the strong clustering measurement is the line-of-sight baryonic acoustic feature. We also evaluate how detectable such a signal would be in the upcoming Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey LRG volume (BOSS). Mock LRG catalogs (z < 0.6) suggest that: (i ) the narrow lineof-sight cylinder and cone defined above probably will not reveal a detectable acoustic feature in BOSS; (ii ) a clustering measurement as high as that in the current sample can be ruled out (or confirmed) at a high confidence level using a BOSS-sized data set; and (iii ) an analysis with wider angular cuts, which provide better signal-to-noise ratios, can nevertheless be used to compare line-of-sight and transverse distances, and thereby constrain the expansion rate H(z) and diameter distance DA(z). Subject headings: cosmology: observation distance scale galaxies: elliptical and lenticular, cD large scale structure of universe Submitted to The Astrophysical Journal
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Alternate Webpage(s)	http://cosmo.nyu.edu/~eak306/files/baf_los.pdf
Language	English
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Subject Keyword	Acoustic cryptanalysis Acoustic fingerprint AngularJS Catalogs Cluster analysis Cylinder seal Diameter (qualifier value) Distance Fiducial marker Incised wound Lenticular printing Line-of-sight (missile) Linear model Luminous Studio Medical Subject Headings Mock object Nonlinear system Offset binary Opening (morphology) Pure Red-Cell Aplasia Redshift Retinitis Pigmentosa Signal-to-noise ratio Spatial decision support system Transverse wave statistical cluster
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article