2.1k citations · 15.6k across the 97 of their papers we have counts for
31 papers · 1 filter
How to measure redshift-space distortions without sample variance
Patrick McDonald, Uros Seljak
We show how to use multiple tracers of large-scale density with different biases to measure the redshift-space distortion parameter beta=f/b=(dlnD/dlna)/b (where D is the growth ra…
On measuring the gravitational-wave background using Pulsar Timing Arrays
Rutger van Haasteren, Yuri Levin, Patrick McDonald +1
Long-term precise timing of Galactic millisecond pulsars holds great promise for measuring the long-period (months-to-years) astrophysical gravitational waves. Several gravitationa…
Primordial non-Gaussianity: large-scale structure signature in the perturbative bias model
Patrick McDonald
I compute the effect on the power spectrum of tracers of the large-scale mass-density field (e.g., galaxies) of primordial non-Gaussianity of the form Phi=phi+fNL (phi-<phi^2>)+gNL…
Effect of the intergalactic environment on the observability of Ly-alpha emitters during reionization
Ilian T. Iliev, Paul R. Shapiro, Patrick McDonald +2
Observations of high-redshift Ly-alpha sources are a major tool for studying the high-redshift Universe. We discuss the effect of the reionizing intergalactic medium on the observa…
Baryon Acoustic Oscillation Intensity Mapping as a Test of Dark Energy
Tzu-Ching Chang, Ue-Li Pen, Jeffrey B. Peterson +1
The expansion of the universe appears to be accelerating, and the mysterious anti-gravity agent of this acceleration has been called ``dark energy''. To measure the dynamics of dar…
Simulating Reionization: Character and Observability
Ilian T. Iliev, Paul R. Shapiro, Garrelt Mellema +3
In recent years there has been considerable progress in our understanding of the nature and properties of the reionization process. In particular, the numerical simulations of this…
Clustering of dark matter tracers: renormalizing the bias parameters
Patrick McDonald
A commonly used perturbative method for computing large-scale clustering of tracers of mass density, like galaxies, is to model the tracer density field as a Taylor series in the l…
Dark energy and curvature from a future baryonic acoustic oscillation survey using the Lyman-alpha forest
Patrick McDonald, Daniel Eisenstein
We explore the requirements for a Lyman-alpha forest (LyaF) survey designed to measure the angular diameter distance and Hubble parameter at 2~<z~<4 using the standard ruler provid…
Dark matter clustering: a simple renormalization group approach
Patrick McDonald
I compute a renormalization group (RG) improvement to the standard beyond-linear-order Eulerian perturbation theory (PT) calculation of the power spectrum of large-scale density fl…
Cosmological parameters from combining the Lyman-alpha forest with CMB, galaxy clustering and SN constraints
Uros Seljak, Anze Slosar, Patrick McDonald
We combine the Ly-alpha forest power spectrum (LYA) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and high resolution spectra with cosmic microwave background (CMB) including 3-year WMA…
Can sterile neutrinos be the dark matter?
Uros Seljak, Alexey Makarov, Patrick McDonald +1
We use the Ly-alpha forest power spectrum measured by the SDSS and high-resolution spectroscopy observations in combination with cosmic microwave background and galaxy clustering c…
Dependence of the non-linear mass power spectrum on the equation of state of dark energy
Patrick McDonald, Hy Trac, Carlo Contaldi
We present N-body simulation calculations of the dependence of the power spectrum of non-linear cosmological mass density fluctuations on the equation of state of the dark energy,…
Physical effects on the Lyman-alpha forest flux power spectrum: damping wings, ionizing radiation fluctuations, and galactic winds
P. McDonald, U. Seljak, R. Cen +2
We explore several physical effects on the power spectrum of the Lyman-alpha forest transmitted flux. The effects we investigate here are usually not part of hydrodynamic simulatio…
Cosmological parameter analysis including SDSS Ly-alpha forest and galaxy bias: constraints on the primordial spectrum of fluctuations, neutrino mass, and dark energy
U. Seljak, A. Makarov, P. McDonald +18
We combine the constraints from the recent Ly-alpha forest and bias analysis of the SDSS with previous constraints from SDSS galaxy clustering, the latest supernovae, and WMAP . Co…
The Linear Theory Power Spectrum from the Lyman-alpha Forest in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
P. McDonald, U. Seljak, R. Cen +12
We analyze the SDSS Ly-alpha forest P_F(k,z) measurement to determine the linear theory power spectrum. Our analysis is based on fully hydrodynamic simulations, extended using hydr…
SDSS galaxy bias from halo mass-bias relation and its cosmological implications
U. Seljak, A. Makarov, R. Mandelbaum +7
We combine the measurements of luminosity dependence of bias with the luminosity dependent weak lensing analysis of dark matter around galaxies to derive the galaxy bias and constr…
The Lyman-alpha Forest Power Spectrum from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Patrick McDonald, Uros Seljak, Scott Burles +8
We measure the power spectrum, P_F(k,z), of the transmitted flux in the Ly-alpha forest using 3035 high redshift quasar spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This sample is al…
Weak Lensing and CMB: Parameter forecasts including a running spectral index
Mustapha Ishak, Christopher M. Hirata, Patrick McDonald +1
We use statistical inference theory to explore the constraints from future galaxy weak lensing (cosmic shear) surveys combined with the current CMB constraints on cosmological para…
The Transverse Proximity Effect: A Probe to the Environment, Anisotropy, and Megayear Variability of QSOs
Michael Schirber, Jordi Miralda-Escude, Patrick McDonald
The transverse proximity effect is the expected decrease in the strength of the Lya forest absorption in a QSO spectrum when another QSO lying close to the line of sight enhances t…
Primordial Black Holes as Dark Matter: The Power Spectrum and Evaporation of Early Structures
N. Afshordi, P. McDonald, D. N. Spergel
We consider the possibility that massive primordial black holes are the dominant form of dark matter. Black hole formation generates entropy fluctuations that adds a Poisson noise…
Cosmological constraints from the CMB and Ly-alpha forest revisited
Uros Seljak, Patrick McDonald, Alexey Makarov
The WMAP team has recently highlighted the usefulness of combining the Ly-alpha forest constraints with those from the cosmic microwave background (CMB). This combination is partic…
Constraining the dark energy with Ly-alpha forest
Uros Seljak, Rachel Mandelbaum, Patrick McDonald
Statistical properties of gas absorption in high redshift quasars such as power spectrum and bispectrum allow one to determine the evolution of structure over the redshift range 2<…
Large-scale Correlation of Mass and Galaxies with the Lyman-alpha Forest Transmitted Flux
Patrick McDonald, Jordi Miralda-Escudé, Renyue Cen
We present predictions of the correlation between the Lyman-alpha forest absorption in quasar spectra and the mass within \sim 5 Mpc/h (comoving) of the line of sight, using fully…
Evolution of the Ionizing Radiation Background and Star Formation in the Aftermath of Cosmological Reionization
Renyue Cen, Patrick McDonald
The temporal evolution of the ionizing UV background radiation field at high redshift provides a probe of the evolution of the early star formation rate. By comparing the observed…