Improving redshift-space power spectra of halo intrinsic alignments from perturbation theory

Abstract

Intrinsic alignments (IAs) of galaxies/halos observed via galaxy imaging survey, combined with redshift information, offer a novel probe of cosmology as a tracer of the tidal force field of a large-scale structure. In this paper, we present a perturbation theory based model for the redshift-space power spectra of galaxy/halo IAs that can keep the impact of the Finger-of-God damping effect, known as a nonlinear systematics of redshift-space distortions, under control. Focusing particularly on galaxy/halo density and an IA cross power spectrum, we derive analytically the explicit expressions for the next-to-leading order corrections. Comparing the model predictions with $N$-body simulations, we show that these corrections indeed play an important role for an unbiased determination of the growth-rate parameter, and hence the model proposed here can be used for a precision test of gravity on cosmological scales.

21 pages, 8 figures, updated to match version published in PRD