The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: cosmological implications of the large-scale two-point correlation function

Abstract

references updated; 26 pages, 15 figures. Submitted to MNRASWe obtain constraints on cosmological parameters from the spherically averaged redshift-space correlation function of the CMASS Data Release 9 (DR9) sample of the Baryonic Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). We combine this information with additional data from recent CMB, SN and BAO measurements. Our results show no significant evidence of deviations from the standard flat-Lambda CDM model, whose basic parameters can be specified by Omega_m = 0.285 +- 0.009, 100 Omega_b = 4.59 +- 0.09, n_s = 0.96 +- 0.009, H_0 = 69.4 +- 0.8 km/s/Mpc and sigma_8 = 0.80 +- 0.02. The CMB+CMASS combination sets tight constraints on the curvature of the Universe, with Omega_k = -0.0043 +- 0.0049, and the tensor-to-scalar amplitude ratio, for which we find r < 0.16 at the 95 per cent confidence level (CL). These data show a clear signature of a deviation from scale-invariance also in the presence of tensor modes, with n_s <1 at the 99.7 per cent CL. We derive constraints on the fraction of massive neutrinos of f_nu < 0.049 (95 per cent CL), implying a limit of sum m_nu < 0.51 eV. We find no signature of a deviation from a cosmological constant from the combination of all datasets, with a constraint of w_DE = -1.033 +- 0.073 when this parameter is assumed time-independent, and no evidence of a departure from this value when it is allowed to evolve as w_DE(a) = w_0 + w_a (1 - a). The achieved accuracy on our cosmological constraints is a clear demonstration of the constraining power of current cosmological observations

Allan Sandage and the distance scale

“…Komatsu et al (2011) derived, from a simple six-parameter analysis of the WMAP7 data, H 0 = 70.3 km s −1 Mpc −1 , yet imposing a prior H 0 = 74.2 ± 3.6 km s −1 Mpc −1 . Other authors have included additional evidence from large red galaxies (LRG), the shape of the Hubble diagram of SNe Ia, and from baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO); their results cluster around H 0 = 69 km s −1 Mpc −1 (Anderson et al 2012;Reid et al 2012a;Sánchez et al 2012). Calabrese et al (2012) analyzed the WMAP7 data, combined with ground-based observations, at arcminute angular scales, making different model assumptions.…”

The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: signs of neutrino mass in current cosmological data sets

“…The suppression of clustering is caused by the large thermal velocity of neutrinos which leads to a large free-streaming scale. Many recent publications have attempted to constrain mν, but most were only able to set upper limits (Seljak, Slosar & McDonald 2006;Hinshaw et al 2009;Dunkley et al 2009;Reid et al 2010;Komatsu et al 2011;Saito, Takada & Taruya 2011;Thomas, Abdalla & Lahav 2010;Tereno et al 2009;Gong et al 2009;Ichiki, Takada & Takahashi 2009;Li et al 2009;Zhao et al 2013;Hinshaw et al 2013;de Putter et al 2012;Xia et al 2012;Sanchez et al 2012;Riemer-Sorensen, Parkinson & Davis 2013;Giusarma et al 2013) with some exceptions based on cluster abundance results, e.g., Hou et al (2012); Ade et al (2013b); Battye & Moss (2013); Wyman et al (2013); Burenin (2013); Rozo et al (2013).…”

First experimental constraints on the disformally coupled Galileon model

“…Same datasets were used for baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO; Beutler et al 2011;Padmanabhan et al 2012;Sánchez et al 2012), and for growth of structure joint measurements 1 of Notes. The uncertainties are computed using all terms of the inverse covariance matrices published in Komatsu et al (2011) and Hinshaw et al (2012).…”