Abstract
We examine the cosmological information available from the 1-point probability density function (PDF) of the weak-lensing convergence field, utilizing fast l-picola simulations and a Fisher ...analysis. We find competitive constraints in the Ω
m
–σ8 plane from the convergence PDF with 188 arcmin2 pixels compared to the cosmic shear power spectrum with an equivalent number of modes (ℓ < 886). The convergence PDF also partially breaks the degeneracy cosmic shear exhibits in that parameter space. A joint analysis of the convergence PDF and shear 2-point function also reduces the impact of shape measurement systematics, to which the PDF is less susceptible, and improves the total figure of merit by a factor of 2–3, depending on the level of systematics. Finally, we present a correction factor necessary for calculating the unbiased Fisher information from finite differences using a limited number of cosmological simulations.
We explore the cosmological implications of the angle-averaged correlation function, ...(s), and the clustering wedges, ...(s) and ...(s), of the LOWZ and CMASS galaxy samples from Data Releases 10 ...and 11 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. Our results show no significant evidence for a deviation from the standard ... cold dark matter model. The combination of the information from our clustering measurements with recent data from the cosmic microwave background is sufficient to constrain the curvature of the Universe to ...k = 0.0010 ± 0.0029, the total neutrino mass to ... < 0.23 eV (95 per cent confidence level), the effective number of relativistic species to Neff = 3.31 ± 0.27 and the dark energy equation of state to wDE = -1.051 ± 0.076. These limits are further improved by adding information from Type Ia supernovae and baryon acoustic oscillations from other samples. In particular, this data set combination is completely consistent with a time-independent dark energy equation of state, in which case we find wDE = -1.024 ± 0.052. We explore the constraints on the growth rate of cosmic structures assuming f(z) = ... and obtain ... = 0.69 ± 0.15, consistent with the predictions of general relativity of ... = 0.55. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
Abstract
We report the first results of a high-redshift (
z
≳ 5) quasar survey using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). As a DESI secondary target program, this survey is designed to ...carry out a systematic search and investigation of quasars at 4.8 <
z
< 6.8. The target selection is based on the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (the Legacy Surveys) DR9 photometry, combined with the Pan-STARRS1 data and
J
-band photometry from public surveys. A first quasar sample has been constructed from the DESI Survey Validation 3 (SV3) and first-year observations until 2022 May. This sample includes more than 400 new quasars at redshift 4.7 ≤
z
< 6.6, down to 21.5 magnitude (AB) in the
z
band, discovered from 35% of the entire target sample. Remarkably, there are 220 new quasars identified at
z
≥ 5, more than one-third of existing quasars previously published at this redshift. The observations so far result in an average success rate of 23% at
z
> 4.7. The current spectral data set has already allowed analysis of interesting individual objects (e.g., quasars with damped Ly
α
absorbers and broad absorption line features), and statistical analysis will follow the survey’s completion. A set of science projects will be carried out leveraging this program, including quasar luminosity function, quasar clustering, intergalactic medium, quasar spectral properties, intervening absorbers, and properties of early supermassive black holes. Additionally, a sample of 38 new quasars at
z
∼ 3.8–5.7 discovered from a pilot survey in the DESI SV1 is also published in this paper.
Abstract
Changing-look active galactic nuclei (CL AGNs) can be generally confirmed by the emergence (turn-on) or disappearance (turn-off) of broad emission lines (BELs), associated with a transient ...timescale (about 100 ∼ 5000 days) that is much shorter than predicted by traditional accretion disk models. We carry out a systematic CL AGN search by crossmatching the spectra coming from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Following previous studies, we identify CL AGNs based on H
α
, H
β
, and Mg
ii
at
z
≤ 0.75 and Mg
ii
, C
iii
, and C
iv
at
z
> 0.75. We present 56 CL AGNs based on visual inspection and three selection criteria, including 2 H
α
, 34 H
β
, 9 Mg
ii
, 18 C
iii
, and 1 C
iv
CL AGN. Eight cases show simultaneous appearances/disappearances of two BELs. We also present 44 CL AGN candidates with significant flux variation of BELs, but remaining strong broad components. In the confirmed CL AGNs, 10 cases show additional CL candidate features for different lines. In this paper, we find: (1) a 24:32 ratio of turn-on to turn-off CL AGNs; (2) an upper-limit transition timescale ranging from 330 to 5762 days in the rest frame; and (3) the majority of CL AGNs follow the bluer-when-brighter trend. Our results greatly increase the current CL census (∼30%) and would be conducive to exploring the underlying physical mechanism.
Abstract
In the current Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey, emission line galaxies (ELGs) and luminous red galaxies (LRGs) are essential for mapping the dark matter distribution at
z
...∼ 1. We measure the auto and cross correlation functions of ELGs and LRGs at 0.8 <
z
≤ 1.0 from the DESI One-Percent survey. Following Gao et al., we construct the galaxy–halo connections for ELGs and LRGs simultaneously. With the stellar–halo mass relation for the whole galaxy population (i.e., normal galaxies), LRGs can be selected directly by stellar mass, while ELGs can also be selected randomly based on the observed number density of each stellar mass, once the probability
P
sat
of a satellite galaxy becoming an ELG is determined. We demonstrate that the observed small scale clustering prefers a halo mass-dependent
P
sat
model rather than a constant. With this model, we can well reproduce the auto correlations of LRGs and the cross correlations between LRGs and ELGs at
r
p
> 0.1 Mpc
h
−1
. We can also reproduce the auto correlations of ELGs at
r
p
> 0.3 Mpc
h
−1
(
s
> 1 Mpc
h
−1
) in real (redshift) space. Although our model has only seven parameters, we show that it can be extended to higher redshifts and reproduces the observed auto correlations of ELGs in the whole range of 0.8 <
z
≤ 1.6, which enables us to generate a lightcone ELG mock for DESI. With the above model, we further derive halo occupation distributions for ELGs, which can be used to produce ELG mocks in coarse simulations without resolving subhalos.
Abstract We explore the galaxy-halo connection information that is available in low-redshift samples from the early data release of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). We model the halo ...occupation distribution (HOD) from z = 0.1 to 0.3 using Survey Validation 3 (SV3; a.k.a., the One-Percent Survey) data of the DESI Bright Galaxy Survey. In addition to more commonly used metrics, we incorporate counts-in-cylinders (CiC) measurements, which drastically tighten HOD constraints. Our analysis is aided by the Python package, galtab , which enables the rapid, precise prediction of CiC for any HOD model available in halotools . This methodology allows our Markov chains to converge with much fewer trial points, and enables even more drastic speedups due to its GPU portability. Our HOD fits constrain characteristic halo masses tightly and provide statistical evidence for assembly bias, especially at lower luminosity thresholds: the HOD of central galaxies in z ∼ 0.15 samples with limiting absolute magnitude M r < −20.0 and M r < −20.5 samples is positively correlated with halo concentration with a significance of 99.9% and 99.5%, respectively. Our models also favor positive central assembly bias for the brighter M r < −21.0 sample at z ∼ 0.25 (94.8% significance), but there is no significant evidence for assembly bias with the same luminosity threshold at z ∼ 0.15. We provide our constraints for each threshold sample’s characteristic halo masses, assembly bias, and other HOD parameters. These constraints are expected to be significantly tightened with future DESI data, which will span an area 100 times larger than that of SV3.
Abstract We present the probabilistic stellar mass function (pSMF) of galaxies in the DESI Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS), observed during the One-percent Survey. The One-percent Survey was one of DESI’s ...survey validation programs conducted from 2021 April to May, before the start of the main survey. It used the same target selection and similar observing strategy as the main survey and successfully observed the spectra and redshifts of 143,017 galaxies in the r < 19.5 magnitude-limited BGS Bright sample and 95,499 galaxies in the fainter surface-brightness- and color-selected BGS Faint sample over z < 0.6. We derive pSMFs from posteriors of stellar mass, M * , inferred from DESI photometry and spectroscopy using the Hahn et al. PRObabilistic Value-Added BGS (PROVABGS) Bayesian spectral energy distribution modeling framework. We use a hierarchical population inference framework that statistically and rigorously propagates the M * uncertainties. Furthermore, we include correction weights that account for the selection effects and incompleteness of the BGS observations. We present the redshift evolution of the pSMF in BGS, as well as the pSMFs of star-forming and quiescent galaxies classified using average specific star formation rates from PROVABGS. Overall, the pSMFs show good agreement with previous stellar mass function measurements in the literature. Our pSMFs showcase the potential and statistical power of BGS, which in its main survey will observe >100 × more galaxies. Moreover, we present the statistical framework for subsequent population statistics measurements using BGS, which will characterize the global galaxy population and scaling relations at low redshifts with unprecedented precision.
Abstract
We present findings of the detection of Magnesium II (Mg
ii
,
λ
= 2796, 2803 Å) absorbers from the early data release of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). DESI is projected to ...obtain spectroscopy of approximately 3 million quasars (QSOs), of which over 99% are anticipated to be at redshifts greater than
z
> 0.3, such that DESI would be able to observe an associated or intervening Mg
ii
absorber illuminated by the background QSO. We have developed an autonomous supplementary spectral pipeline that detects these systems through an initial line-fitting process and then confirms the line properties using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampler. Based upon a visual inspection of the resulting systems, we estimate that this sample has a purity greater than 99%. We have also investigated the completeness of our sample in regard to both the signal-to-noise properties of the input spectra and the rest-frame equivalent width (
W
0
) of the absorber systems. From a parent catalog containing 83,207 quasars, we detect a total of 23,921 Mg
ii
absorption systems following a series of quality cuts. Extrapolating from this occurrence rate of 28.8% implies a catalog at the completion of the five-year DESI survey that will contain over eight hundred thousand Mg
ii
absorbers. The cataloging of these systems will enable significant further research because they carry information regarding circumgalactic medium environments, the distribution of intervening galaxies, and the growth of metallicity across the redshift range 0.3 ≤
z
< 2.5.
In order to address fundamental questions related to the expansion history of the Universe and its primordial nature with the next generation of galaxy experiments, we need to model reliably ...large-scale structure observables such as the correlation function and the power spectrum. Cosmological N-body simulations provide a reference through which we can test our models, but their output suffers from sample variance on large scales. Fortunately, this is the regime where accurate analytic approximations exist. To reduce the variance, which is key to making optimal use of these simulations, we can leverage the accuracy and precision of such analytic descriptions using Control Variates (CV). The power of control variates stems from utilizing inexpensive but highly correlated surrogates of the statistics one wishes to measure. The stronger the correlation between the surrogate and the statistic of interest, the larger the variance reduction delivered by the method. We apply two control variate formulations to mock catalogs generated in anticipation of upcoming data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) to test the robustness of its analysis pipeline. Our CV-reduced measurements offer a factor of 5-10 improvement in the measurement error compared with the raw measurements. We explore the relevant properties of the galaxy samples that dictate this reduction and comment on the improvements we find on some of the derived quantities relevant to Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) analysis.
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