The clustering of galaxies in the completed SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: towards a computationally efficient analysis without informative priors

DOI: 
10.1093/mnras/stx751
Publication date: 
01/07/2017
Main author: 
Pellejero-Ibanez, Marcos
IAA authors: 
Prada, Francisco
Authors: 
Pellejero-Ibanez, Marcos;Chuang, Chia-Hsun;Rubiño-Martín, J. A.;Cuesta, Antonio J.;Wang, Yuting;Zhao, Gongbo;Ross, Ashley J.;Rodríguez-Torres, Sergio;Prada, Francisco;Slosar, Anže;Vazquez, Jose A.;Alam, Shadab;Beutler, Florian;Eisenstein, Daniel J.;Gil-Marín, Héctor;Grieb, Jan Niklas;Ho, Shirley;Kitaura, Francisco-Shu;Percival, Will J.;Rossi, Graziano;Salazar-Albornoz, Salvador;Samushia, Lado;Sánchez, Ariel G.;Satpathy, Siddharth;Seo, Hee-Jong;Tinker, Jeremy L.;Tojeiro, Rita;Vargas-Magaña, Mariana;Brownstein, Joel R.;Nichol, Robert C.;Olmstead, Matthew D.
Journal: 
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Publication type: 
Article
Volume: 
468
Pages: 
4116-4133
Abstract: 
We develop a new computationally efficient methodology called double-probe analysis with the aim of minimizing informative priors (those coming from extra probes) in the estimation of cosmological parameters. Using our new methodology, we extract the dark energy model-independent cosmological constraints from the joint data sets of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) galaxy sample and Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements. We measure the mean values and covariance matrix of {R, l<SUB>a</SUB>, Ω<SUB>b</SUB>h<SUP>2</SUP>, n<SUB>s</SUB>, log(A<SUB>s</SUB>), Ω<SUB>k</SUB>, H(z), D<SUB>A</SUB>(z), f(z)σ<SUB>8</SUB>(z)}, which give an efficient summary of the Planck data and two-point statistics from the BOSS galaxy sample. The CMB shift parameters are R=√{Ω _m H_0^2} r(z_*) and l<SUB>a</SUB> = πr(z<SUB>*</SUB>)/r<SUB>s</SUB>(z<SUB>*</SUB>), where z<SUB>*</SUB> is the redshift at the last scattering surface, and r(z<SUB>*</SUB>) and r<SUB>s</SUB>(z<SUB>*</SUB>) denote our comoving distance to the z<SUB>*</SUB> and sound horizon at z<SUB>*</SUB>, respectively; Ω<SUB>b</SUB> is the baryon fraction at z = 0. This approximate methodology guarantees that we will not need to put informative priors on the cosmological parameters that galaxy clustering is unable to constrain, i.e. Ω<SUB>b</SUB>h<SUP>2</SUP> and n<SUB>s</SUB>. The main advantage is that the computational time required for extracting these parameters is decreased by a factor of 60 with respect to exact full-likelihood analyses. The results obtained show no tension with the flat Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmological paradigm. By comparing with the full-likelihood exact analysis with fixed dark energy models, on one hand we demonstrate that the double-probe method provides robust cosmological parameter constraints that can be conveniently used to study dark energy models, and on the other hand we provide a reliable set of measurements assuming dark energy models to be used, for example, in distance estimations. We extend our study to measure the sum of the neutrino mass using different methodologies, including double-probe analysis (introduced in this study), full-likelihood analysis and single-probe analysis. From full-likelihood analysis, we obtain Σm<SUB>ν</SUB> 〈 0.12 (68 per cent), assuming ΛCDM and Σm<SUB>ν</SUB> 〈 0.20 (68 per cent) assuming owCDM. We also find that there is degeneracy between observational systematics and neutrino masses, which suggests that one should take great care when estimating these parameters in the case of not having control over the systematics of a given sample.
Database: 
ADS
SCOPUS
URL: 
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85022230865&doi=10.1093%2fmnras%2fstx751&partnerID=40&md5=a804b5c1f9ed89c254ec13f5fd1ca4cf
ADS Bibcode: 
2017MNRAS.468.4116P
Keywords: 
cosmological parameters;distance scale;large-scale structure of Universe;cosmology: observations