The Pairwise Velocity Distribution Function of Galaxies in the LCRS, 2dF, and SDSS Redshift Surveys

Abstract

A comparison of the galaxy pairwise velocity distribution functions determined from the three largest publicly available galaxy redshift surveys is presented. This is the first direct comparison of this function across these surveys using an identical method. It is found that the two r-band selected surveys, the LCRS (Las Campanas Redshift Survey) and the SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey), are in excellent agreement with 363 +/- 44 km/sec and 357 +/- 17 km/sec respectively. The b-band selected 2dF survey gives slightly lower results with 331 +/- 19 km/sec. This difference is expected given the sampling biases in the different surveys although it is not highly significant. These results and analysis of subsets of data indicate that the method is stable to singular features in each survey such as the prevalence of rich clusters. The technique utilizes a Fourier-space deconvolution of the redshift-space distortions in the correlation function in the sigma(rp)-pi basis, which has been previously described. This method returns the entire distribution function rather than just the second moment. In all cases the distribution function is well-characterized by an exponential.

Accepted to ApJL; twelve pages including one figure, V2 minor changes

References in corpus (2)

• A measurement of the cosmological mass density from clustering in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey
• The Scaling of the Redshift Power Spectrum: Observations from the Las Campanas Redshift Survey

Cited by in corpus (20)

• The Cosmological Constant and Dark Energy
• Redshift-Space Distortions, Pairwise Velocities and Nonlinearities
• The 6dF Galaxy Survey: z \approx 0 measurement of the growth rate and sigma_8
• Modeling the Anisotropic Two-Point Galaxy Correlation Function on Small Scales and Improved Measurements of H(z), D_A(z), and f(z)sigma_8(z) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR7 Luminous Red Galaxies
• The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: galaxy clustering per spectral type
• The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: single-probe measurements and the strong power of normalized growth rate on constraining dark energy
• Clustering of luminous red galaxies I: large scale redshift space distortions
• Measurements of H(z) and D_A(z) from the Two-Dimensional Two-Point Correlation Function of Sloan Digital Sky Survey Luminous Red Galaxies
• A New Method to Calibrate the Magnitudes of Type Ia Supernovae at Maximum Light
• Using Multipoles of the Correlation Function to Measure H(z), D_A(z), and β(z) from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Luminous Red Galaxies
• HI Content and Optical Properties of Field Galaxies from the ALFALFA Survey. I.Selection of a Control Sample
• Nonlinear Redshift-Space Distortions in the Harmonic-space Galaxy Power Spectrum
• Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): Small-scale anisotropic galaxy clustering and the pairwise velocity dispersion of galaxies
• Model-Independent Measurements of Cosmic Expansion and Growth at z=0.57 Using the Anisotropic Clustering of CMASS Galaxies From the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 9
• The Unusual Milky Way-Local Sheet System: Implications for Spin Strength and Alignment
• A Test for the Origin of Quasar Redshifts
• An Inversion Method for Measuring Beta in Large Redshift Surveys
• A Closer Look at an Unusual Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy
• Determining accurate measurements of the growth rate from the galaxy correlation function in simulations
• Energy Ranking Preservation in a N-Body Cosmological Simulation