paper

Clustering of Luminous Red Galaxies IV: Baryon Acoustic Peak in the Line-of-Sight Direction and a Direct Measurement of H(z)

arXiv:0807.3551 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15405.x

Abstract

We study the clustering of LRG galaxies in the latest spectroscopic SDSS data releases, DR6 and DR7, which sample over 1 Gpc^3/h^3 to z=0.47. The 2-point correlation function $\xisp$ is estimated as a function of perpendicular and line-of-sight (radial) directions. We find a significant detection of a peak at Mpc/h, which shows as a circular ring in the plane. There is also significant evidence for a peak along the radial direction whose shape is consistent with its originating from the recombination-epoch baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO). A $\xisp$ model with no radial BAO peak is disfavored at , whereas a model with no magnification bias is disfavored at . The radial data enable, for the first time, a direct measurement of the Hubble parameter as a function of redshift. This is independent from earlier BAO measurements which used the spherically averaged (monopole) correlation to constrain an integral of . Using the BAO peak position as a standard ruler in the radial direction, we find: km/s/Mpc for z=0.15-0.30 and km/s/Mpc for . The first error is a model independent statistical estimation and the second accounts for systematics both in the measurements and in the model. For the full sample, , we find km/s/Mpc.

Minor revision to match version accepted for publication in MNRAS. Includes comparison to DR7, a Table with the measurements and errors. Includes extended analysis on systematic errors. Some figures have been omitted. Main results and conclusions remain unchanged

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