Baryon acoustic oscillations | EPFL Graph Search

In cosmology, baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) are fluctuations in the density of the visible baryonic matter (normal matter) of the universe, caused by acoustic density waves in the primordial plasma of the early universe. In the same way that supernovae provide a "standard candle" for astronomical observations, BAO matter clustering provides a "standard ruler" for length scale in cosmology. The length of this standard ruler is given by the maximum distance the acoustic waves could travel in the primordial plasma before the plasma cooled to the point where it became neutral atoms (the epoch of recombination), which stopped the expansion of the plasma density waves, "freezing" them into place. The length of this standard ruler (≈490 million light years in today's universe) can be measured by looking at the large scale structure of matter using astronomical surveys. BAO measurements help cosmologists understand more about the nature of dark energy (

Cosmology with Large Scale Structures using Massive Spectroscopic Surveys

Amélie Tamone

Spectroscopic surveys aim to map large fractions of the Universe to study the Large Scale Structures (LSS). LSS evolution traces the distribution of matter as a result of the tension between the expansion of the Universe and the gravitational forces, which means that LSS can be used to test cosmological and gravity model, in particular the standard model of cosmology (

\Lambda

CDM) with General Relativity (GR). One usual way to study those LSS is to quantify the clustering of the galaxies with the 2-point correlation function (2PCF). The Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) signature is characterised as a peak in the 2PCF, whose position is related to the Hubble parameter. Moreover, Redshift Space Distortions (RSD) are imprinted in the 2PCF and are used to measure the growth rate of structure of the Universe. In this thesis I measured the growth rate of structure of the emission line galaxy (ELG) sample of the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) from RSD in configuration space. I was able along with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) collaboration to participate to the final cosmological implication of the past 20 years of SDSS. By a combination of probes, the current cosmological parameters were then constrained with a high precision, outpassing the expected constraints for Stage-III dark energy experiment.Moreover I performed a BAO analysis with voids, tracing the underdensities in the quasars (QSO) sample of eBOSS. While the method was shown to bring great improvement on other tracers, it reveals itself more difficult to deal with quasars due to their low density. I was nevertheless able to detect a BAO signal and to provide forecast for a QSO sample from a DESI-like (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument) experiment.

EPFL2022

Improving baryon acoustic oscillation measurement with the combination of cosmic voids and galaxies

Yu Liang, Andrei Variu, Cheng Zhao

We develop a methodology to optimize the measurement of baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) from a given galaxy sample. In our previous work, we demonstrated that one can measure BAO from tracers in underdense regions (voids). In this study, we combine the overdense and underdense tracers (galaxies and voids) to obtain better constraints on the BAO scale. To this end, we modify the de-wiggled BAO model with an additional parameter to describe both the BAO peak and the underlying exclusion pattern of void 2PCFs. We show that after applying BAO reconstruction to galaxies, the BAO peak scale of both galaxies and voids are unbiased using the modified model. Furthermore, we use a new 2PCF estimator for a multitracer analysis with galaxies and voids. In simulations, the joint sample improves by about 10 per cent the constraint for the post-reconstruction BAO peak position compared to the result from galaxies alone, which is equivalent to an enlargement of the survey volume by 20 per cent. Applying this method to the BOSS DR12 data, we have an 18 per cent improvement for the low-z sample (0.2 < z< 0.5), but a worse constraint for the high-z sample (0.5 < z < 0.75), which is consistent with statistical fluctuations for the current survey volume. Future larger samples will give more robust improvements due to less statistical fluctuations.

OXFORD UNIV PRESS2020

The Sdss-Iv Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Overview And Early Data

Johan Comparat, Timothée Guy Olivier Delubac, Jean-Paul Richard Kneib, Pierre Laurent, Cheng Li, Yu Liang, Anand Stéphane Raichoor, David Schlegel, Yuting Wang, Cheng Zhao, Zheng Zheng

In a six-year program started in 2014 July, the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) will conduct novel cosmological observations using the BOSS spectrograph at Apache Point Observatory. These observations will be conducted simultaneously with the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) designed for variability studies and the Spectroscopic Identification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS) program designed for studies of X-ray sources. In particular, eBOSS will measure with percent-level precision the distance-redshift relation with baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of matter. eBOSS will use four different tracers of the underlying matter density field to vastly expand the volume covered by BOSS and map the large-scale-structures over the relatively unconstrained redshift range 0.6 < z < 2.2. Using more than 250,000 new, spectroscopically confirmed luminous red galaxies at a median redshift z = 0.72, we project that eBOSS will yield measurements of the angular diameter distance d(A)(z) to an accuracy of 1.2% and measurements of H(z) to 2.1% when combined with the z > 0.6 sample of BOSS galaxies. With similar to 195,000 new emission line galaxy redshifts, we expect BAO measurements of d(A)(z) to an accuracy of 3.1% and H(z) to 4.7% at an effective redshift of z = 0.87. A sample of more than 500,000 spectroscopically confirmed quasars will provide the first BAO distance measurements over the redshift range 0.9 < z < 2.2, with expected precision of 2.8% and 4.2% on d(A)(z) and H(z), respectively. Finally, with 60,000 new quasars and re-observation of 60,000 BOSS quasars, we will obtain new Lya forest measurements at redshifts z > 2.1; these new data will enhance the precision of d(A)(z) and H(z) at z > 2.1 by a factor of 1.44 relative to BOSS. Furthermore, eBOSS will provide improved tests of General Relativity on cosmological scales through redshift-space distortion measurements, improved tests for non-Gaussianity in the primordial density field, and new constraints on the summed mass of all neutrino species. Here, we provide an overview of the cosmological goals, spectroscopic target sample, demonstration of spectral quality from early data, and projected cosmological constraints from eBOSS.

Iop Publishing Ltd2016