Baryon acoustic oscillations from HI intensity mapping: the importance of cross-correlations in the monopole and quadrupole

Abstract

Cosmological parameter estimation in the post-reionisation era via neutral hydrogen radio emission ($\text{\hi}$), is among the key science goals of the forthcoming SKA Observatory (SKAO). This paper explores detection capability for baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) with a suite of \(100\) simulations introducing the main limitations from foreground contamination and poor angular resolution caused by the radio telescope beam. Such broad single-dish beam representing a serious challenge for BAO detection with \hi\ intensity mapping, we investigate a multipole expansion approach as a means for mitigating such limitations. We also showcase the gains made from cross-correlating the \hi\ intensity mapping data with an overlapping spectroscopic galaxy survey, aiming to test potential synergies between the SKA Project and other future cosmological experiments at optical/near-infrared wavelengths. For our $\sim 4000{\mathrm{deg}}^2$ data set at $z=0.9$, replicating the essential features of an SKAO \hi\ intensity mapping survey, we were able to achieve a $\sim 4.5\ddot{I}ƒ$ detection of BAO features in auto-correlation despite the dominant beam effect. Cross-correlation with an overlapping galaxy survey can increase this to a $\sim 6\ddot{I}ƒ$ detection. Furthermore, including the power spectrum quadrupole besides the monopole in a joint fit can approximately double the BAO detection significance. Despite not implementing a radial-only $P(k_{\parallel })$ analysis in favour of the three-dimensional $P(\mathbf{k})$ and its multipoles, we were still able to obtain robust constraints on the radial Alcock-Paczynski parameter, whereas the perpendicular parameter remains unconstrained and prior dominated due to beam effects.

18 pages, 13 figures; fixed formatting and references