arXiv subjects

Romain Paviot

Publications and source records attributed to Romain Paviot.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Revisiting the 'Lensing is Low' Problem with UNIONS

We present new measurements of the galaxy-galaxy lensing (GGL) signal around Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) CMASS galaxies using background sources from the Ultraviolet Near-Infrared Optical Northern Survey (UNIONS). With high-quality imaging of background sources and a survey overlap of approximately 2650 square degrees, we obtain precise large-scale GGL measurements. Building on these new measurements, we revisit the so-called 'lensing is low' problem, wherein galaxy-halo connection models calibrated on galaxy clustering (GC) data over-predict the GGL signal by 20-40% assuming CMB-based cosmological parameters. We model the galaxy-halo connection using a halo occupation distribution (HOD), and perform joint fits to both GGL and GC signals across a wide range of scales, as well as a GC-only fit. In contrast to previous work, we do not find a significant 'lensing is low' effect in the CMASS sample, although the best joint fits are achieved by decreasing the amplitude of the matter power spectrum slightly relative to the Planck cosmological parameters. Overall, we find that two models describe our observables similarly well: one where HOD and cosmological parameters are free, and one where HOD, cosmological, and feedback parameters are free. Importantly, we emphasise the role of large scales in constraining the lensing is low effect, shifting the narrative away from an exclusively small-scale issue.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

UNIONS: a direct measurement of intrinsic alignment with BOSS/eBOSS spectroscopy

During their formation, galaxies are subject to tidal forces, which create correlations between their shapes and the large-scale structure of the Universe, known as intrinsic alignment. This alignment is a contamination for cosmic-shear measurements as one needs to disentangle correlations induced by external lensing effects from those intrinsically present in galaxies. We constrain the amplitude of intrinsic alignment and test models by making use of the overlap between the Ultraviolet Near-Infrared Optical Northern Survey (UNIONS) covering $3500 \, \mathrm{deg}^2$, and spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS/eBOSS). By comparing our results to measurements from other lensing surveys on the same spectroscopic tracers, we can test the reliability of these estimates and verify they are not survey dependent. We measure projected correlation functions between positions and ellipticities, which we model with perturbation theory to constrain the commonly used non-linear alignment model and its higher-order expansion. Using the non-linear alignment model, we obtain a $13\sigma$ detection with CMASS galaxies, a $3\sigma$ detection with LRGs, and a detection compatible with the null hypothesis for ELGs. We test the tidal alignment and tidal torque model, a higher-order alignment model, which we find to be in good agreement with the non-linear alignment prediction and for which we can constrain the second-order parameters. We show a strong scaling of our intrinsic alignment amplitude with luminosity. We demonstrate that the UNIONS sample is robust against systematic contributions, particularly concerning PSF biases. We reached a reasonable agreement when comparing our measurements to other lensing samples for the same spectroscopic samples. We take this agreement as an indication that direct measurements of intrinsic alignment are mature for stage IV priors.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Angular systematics-free cosmological analysis of galaxy clustering in configuration space

Galaxy redshift surveys are subject to incompleteness and inhomogeneous sampling due to the various constraints inherent to spectroscopic observations. This can introduce systematic errors on the summary statistics of interest, which need to be mitigated in cosmological analysis to achieve high accuracy. Standard practices involve applying weighting schemes based on completeness estimates across the survey footprint, possibly supplemented with additional weighting schemes accounting for density-dependent effects. In this work, we concentrate on pure angular systematics and describe an alternative approach consisting in analysing the galaxy two-point correlation function where angular modes are nulled. By construction, this procedure removes all possible known and unknown sources of angular observational systematics, but also part of the cosmological signal.We use a modified Landy-Szalay estimator for the two-point correlation function that relies on an additional random catalogue where angular positions are randomly drawn from the galaxy catalogue, and provide an analytical model to describe this modified statistic. We test the model by performing an analysis of the full anisotropic clustering in mock catalogues of luminous red and emission-line galaxies at 0.43 < z < 1.1. We find that the model fully accounts for the modified correlation function in redshift space, without introducing new nuisance parameters. The derived cosmological parameters from the analysis of baryon acoustic oscillations and redshift-space distortions display slightly larger statistical uncertainties, mostly for the growth rate of structure parameter fs8 that exhibits a 50% statistical error increase, but free from angular systematic error.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

The Completed SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: N-body Mock Challenge for the eBOSS Emission Line Galaxy Sample

Cosmological growth can be measured in the redshift space clustering of galaxies targeted by spectroscopic surveys. Accurate prediction of clustering of galaxies will require understanding galaxy physics which is a very hard and highly non-linear problem. Approximate models of redshift space distortion (RSD) take a perturbative approach to solve the evolution of dark matter and galaxies in the universe. In this paper we focus on eBOSS emission line galaxies (ELGs) which live in intermediate mass haloes. We create a series of mock catalogues using haloes from the Multidark and {\sc Outer Rim} dark matter only N-body simulations. Our mock catalogues include various effects inspired by baryonic physics such as assembly bias and the characteristics of satellite galaxies kinematics, dynamics and statistics deviating from dark matter particles. We analyse these mocks using the TNS RSD model in Fourier space and the CLPT in configuration space. We conclude that these two RSD models provide an unbiased measurement of redshift space distortion within the statistical error of our mocks. We obtain the conservative theoretical systematic uncertainty of $3.3\%$, $1.8\%$ and $1.5\%$ in $fσ_8$, $α_{\parallel}$ and $α_{\bot}$ respectively for the TNS and CLPT models. We note that the estimated theoretical systematic error is an order of magnitude smaller than the statistical error of the eBOSS ELG sample and hence are negligible for the purpose of the current eBOSS ELG analysis.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

The Completed SDSS-IV Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: N-body Mock Challenge for Galaxy Clustering Measurements

We develop a series of N-body data challenges, functional to the final analysis of the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) Data Release 16 (DR16) galaxy sample. The challenges are primarily based on high-fidelity catalogs constructed from the Outer Rim simulation - a large box size realization (3 Gpc/h) characterized by an unprecedented combination of volume and mass resolution, down to 1.85x10^9 M_sun/h. We generate synthetic galaxy mocks by populating Outer Rim halos with a variety of halo occupation distribution (HOD) schemes of increasing complexity, spanning different redshift intervals. We then assess the performance of three complementary redshift space distortion (RSD) models in configuration and Fourier space, adopted for the analysis of the complete DR16 eBOSS sample of Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs). We find all the methods mutually consistent, with comparable systematic errors on the Alcock-Paczynski parameters and the growth of structure, and robust to different HOD prescriptions - thus validating the robustness of the models and the pipelines used for the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) and full shape clustering analysis. In particular, all the techniques are able to recover a_par and a_perp to within 0.9%, and fsig8 to within 1.5%. As a by-product of our work, we are also able to gain interesting insights on the galaxy-halo connection. Our study is relevant for the final eBOSS DR16 `consensus cosmology', as the systematic error budget is informed by testing the results of analyses against these high-resolution mocks. In addition, it is also useful for future large-volume surveys, since similar mock-making techniques and systematic corrections can be readily extended to model for instance the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) galaxy sample.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

The Completed SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: measurement of the BAO and growth rate of structure of the luminous red galaxy sample from the anisotropic power spectrum between redshifts 0.6 and 1.0

We analyse the clustering of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey Data Release 16 luminous red galaxy sample (DR16 eBOSS LRG) in combination with the high redshift tail of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey Data Release 12 (DR12 BOSS CMASS). We measure the redshift space distortions (RSD) and also extract the longitudinal and transverse baryonic acoustic oscillation (BAO) scale from the anisotropic power spectrum signal inferred from 377,458 galaxies between redshifts 0.6 and 1.0, with effective redshift of $z_{\rm eff}=0.698$ and effective comoving volume of $2.72\,{\rm Gpc}^3$. After applying reconstruction we measure the BAO scale and infer $D_H(z_{\rm eff})/r_{\rm drag} = 19.30\pm 0.56$ and $D_M(z_{\rm eff})/r_{\rm drag} =17.86 \pm 0.37$. When we perform a redshift space distortions analysis on the pre-reconstructed catalogue on the monopole, quadrupole and hexadecapole we find, $D_H(z_{\rm eff})/r_{\rm drag} = 20.18\pm 0.78$, $D_M(z_{\rm eff})/r_{\rm drag} =17.49 \pm 0.52$ and $fσ_8(z_{\rm eff})=0.454\pm0.046$. We combine both sets of results along with the measurements in configuration space of \cite{LRG_corr} and report the following consensus values: $D_H(z_{\rm eff})/r_{\rm drag} = 19.77\pm 0.47$, $D_M(z_{\rm eff})/r_{\rm drag} = 17.65\pm 0.30$ and $fσ_8(z_{\rm eff})=0.473\pm 0.044$, which are in full agreement with the standard $Λ$CDM and GR predictions. These results represent the most precise measurements within the redshift range $0.6\leq z \leq 1.0$ and are the culmination of more than 8 years of SDSS observations.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

The Completed SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Large-scale Structure Catalogs for Cosmological Analysis

We present large-scale structure catalogs from the completed extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS). Derived from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) -IV Data Release 16 (DR16), these catalogs provide the data samples, corrected for observational systematics, and random positions sampling the survey selection function. Combined, they allow large-scale clustering measurements suitable for testing cosmological models. We describe the methods used to create these catalogs for the eBOSS DR16 Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) and Quasar samples. The quasar catalog contains 343,708 redshifts with $0.8 < z < 2.2$ over 4,808\,deg$^2$. We combine 174,816 eBOSS LRG redshifts over 4,242\,deg$^2$ in the redshift interval $0.6 < z < 1.0$ with SDSS-III BOSS LRGs in the same redshift range to produce a combined sample of 377,458 galaxy redshifts distributed over 9,493\,deg$^2$. Improved algorithms for estimating redshifts allow that 98 per cent of LRG observations result in a successful redshift, with less than one per cent catastrophic failures ($Δz > 1000$ ${\rm km~s}^{-1}$). For quasars, these rates are 95 and 2 per cent (with $Δz > 3000$ ${\rm km~s}^{-1}$). We apply corrections for trends between the number densities of our samples and the properties of the imaging and spectroscopic data. For example, the quasar catalog obtains a $χ^2$/DoF$= 776/10$ for a null test against imaging depth before corrections and a $χ^2$/DoF$=6/8$ after. The catalogs, combined with careful consideration of the details of their construction found here-in, allow companion papers to present cosmological results with negligible impact from observational systematic uncertainties.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

The Completed SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: measurement of the BAO and growth rate of structure of the luminous red galaxy sample from the anisotropic correlation function between redshifts 0.6 and 1

We present the cosmological analysis of the configuration-space anisotropic clustering in the completed Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV) extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) DR16 galaxy sample. This sample consists of luminous red galaxies (LRGs) spanning the redshift range $0.6 < z < 1$, at an effective redshift of $z_{\rm eff}=0.698$. It combines 174 816 eBOSS LRGs and 202 642 BOSS CMASS galaxies. We extract and model the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) and redshift-space distortions (RSD) features from the galaxy two-point correlation function to infer geometrical and dynamical cosmological constraints. The adopted methodology is extensively tested on a set of realistic simulations. The correlations between the inferred parameters from the BAO and full-shape correlation function analyses are estimated. This allows us to derive joint constraints on the three cosmological parameter combinations: $D_M(z)/r_d$, $D_H(z)/r_d$ and $fσ_8(z)$, where $D_M$ is the comoving angular diameter distance, $D_H$ is Hubble distance, $r_d$ is the comoving BAO scale, $f$ is the linear growth rate of structure, and $σ_8$ is the amplitude of linear matter perturbations. After combining the results with those from the parallel power spectrum analysis of Gil-Marin et al. 2020, we obtain the constraints: $D_M/r_d = 17.65 \pm 0.30$, $D_H/r_d = 19.77 \pm 0.47$, $fσ_8 = 0.473 \pm 0.044$. These measurements are consistent with a flat $Λ$CDM model with standard gravity.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

The clustering of the SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey DR16 luminous red galaxy and emission line galaxy samples: cosmic distance and structure growth measurements using multiple tracers in configuration space

We perform a multi-tracer analysis using the complete Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV) extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) DR16 luminous red galaxy (LRG) and the DR16 emission line galaxy (ELG) samples in the configuration space, and successfully detect a cross correlation between the two samples, and find the growth rate to be $fσ_8=0.342 \pm 0.085$ ($\sim25$ per cent accuracy) from the cross sample alone. We perform a joint measurement of the baryonic acoustic oscillation (BAO) and redshift space distortion (RSD) parameters at a single effective redshift of $z_{\rm eff}= 0.77$, using the auto- and cross-correlation functions of the LRG and ELG samples, and find that the comoving angular diameter distance $D_M(z_{\rm eff})/r_d = 18.85\pm 0.38$, the Hubble distance $D_H(z_{\rm eff})/r_d = 19.64 \pm 0.57$, and $fσ_8(z_{\rm eff}) = 0.432 \pm 0.038$, which is consistent with a $Λ$CDM model at $68\%$ CL. Compared to the single-tracer analysis on the LRG sample, the Figure of Merit (FoM) of $α_{\perp}, α_{||}$ and $fσ_8$ is improved by a factor of $1.11$ in our multi-tracer analysis, and in particular, the statistical uncertainty of $fσ_8$ is reduced by $11.6 \%$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

The Completed SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Growth rate of structure measurement from anisotropic clustering analysis in configuration space between redshift 0.6 and 1.1 for the Emission Line Galaxy sample

We present the anisotropic clustering of emission line galaxies (ELGs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV) extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) Data Release 16 (DR16). Our sample is composed of 173,736 ELGs covering an area of 1170 deg$^2$ over the redshift range $0.6 \leq z \leq 1.1$. We use the Convolution Lagrangian Perturbation Theory in addition to the Gaussian Streaming Redshift-Space Distortions to model the Legendre multipoles of the anisotropic correlation function. We show that the eBOSS ELG correlation function measurement is affected by the contribution of a radial integral constraint that needs to be modelled to avoid biased results. To mitigate the effect from unknown angular systematics, we adopt a modified correlation function estimator that cancels out the angular modes from the clustering. At the effective redshift, $z_{\rm eff}=0.85$, including statistical and systematical uncertainties, we measure the linear growth rate of structure $fσ_8(z_{\rm eff}) = 0.35\pm0.10$, the Hubble distance $D_H(z_{\rm eff})/r_{\rm drag} = 19.1^{+1.9}_{-2.1}$ and the comoving angular diameter distance $D_M(z_{\rm eff})/r_{\rm drag} = 19.9\pm1.0$. These results are in agreement with the Fourier space analysis, leading to consensus values of: $fσ_8(z_{\rm eff}) = 0.315\pm0.095$, $D_H(z_{\rm eff})/r_{\rm drag} = 19.6^{+2.2}_{-2.1}$ and $D_M(z_{\rm eff})/r_{\rm drag} = 19.5\pm1.0$, consistent with $Λ$CDM model predictions with Planck parameters.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

The Completed SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Pairwise-Inverse-Probability and Angular Correction for Fibre Collisions in Clustering Measurements

The completed eBOSS catalogues contain redshifts of 344080 QSOs over 0.8<z<2.2 covering 4808 deg$^2$, 174816 LRGs over 0.6<z<1.0 covering 4242 deg$^2$ and 173736 ELGs over 0.6<z<1.1 covering 1170 deg$^2$ in order to constrain the expansion history of the Universe and the growth rate of structure through clustering measurements. Mechanical limitations of the fibre-fed spectrograph on the Sloan telescope prevent two fibres being placed closer than 62", the fibre-collision scale, in a single pass of the instrument on the sky. These `fibre collisions' strongly correlate with the intrinsic clustering of targets and can bias measurements of the two-point correlation function resulting in a systematic error on the inferred values of the cosmological parameters. We combine the new techniques of pairwise-inverse-probability weighting and the angular up-weighting to correct the clustering measurements for the effect of fibre collisions. Using mock catalogues we show that our corrections provide unbiased measurements, within data precision, of both the projected correlation function $w_p$ and the multipoles $ξ^l$ of the redshift-space correlation functions down to 0.1Mpc/h, regardless of the tracer type. We apply the corrections to the eBOSS DR16 catalogues. We find that, on scales greater than s~20Mpc/h for $ξ^l$, as used to make BAO and large-scale RSD measurements, approximate methods such as Nearest-Neighbour up-weighting are sufficiently accurate given the statistical errors of the data. Using the PIP method, for the first time for a spectroscopic program of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey we are able to successfully access the 1-halo term in the 3D clustering measurements down to ~0.1Mpc/h scales. Our results will therefore allow studies that use the small-scale clustering measurements to strengthen the constraints on both cosmological parameters and the halo-occupation distribution models.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

The Completed SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Cosmological Implications from two Decades of Spectroscopic Surveys at the Apache Point observatory

We present the cosmological implications from final measurements of clustering using galaxies, quasars, and Ly$\alpha$ forests from the completed Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) lineage of experiments in large-scale structure. These experiments, composed of data from SDSS, SDSS-II, BOSS, and eBOSS, offer independent measurements of baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements of angular-diameter distances and Hubble distances relative to the sound horizon, $r_d$, from eight different samples and six measurements of the growth rate parameter, $f\sigma_8$, from redshift-space distortions (RSD). This composite sample is the most constraining of its kind and allows us to perform a comprehensive assessment of the cosmological model after two decades of dedicated spectroscopic observation. We show that the BAO data alone are able to rule out dark-energy-free models at more than eight standard deviations in an extension to the flat, $\Lambda$CDM model that allows for curvature. When combined with Planck Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) measurements of temperature and polarization the BAO data provide nearly an order of magnitude improvement on curvature constraints. The RSD measurements indicate a growth rate that is consistent with predictions from Planck primary data and with General Relativity. When combining the results of SDSS BAO and RSD with external data, all multiple-parameter extensions remain consistent with a $\Lambda$CDM model. Regardless of cosmological model, the precision on $\Omega_\Lambda$, $H_0$, and $\sigma_8$, remains at roughly 1\%, showing changes of less than 0.6\% in the central values between models. The inverse distance ladder measurement under a o$w_0w_a$CDM yields $H_0= 68.20 \pm 0.81 \, \rm km\, s^{-1} Mpc^{-1}$, remaining in tension with several direct determination methods. (abridged)

astro-ph.CO↗