Beecroft Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology

Abstract:

ABSTRACT The peculiar velocity field of the local Universe provides direct insights into its matter distribution and the underlying theory of gravity, and is essential in cosmological analyses for modelling deviations from the Hubble flow. Numerous methods have been developed to reconstruct the density and velocity fields at $z \lesssim 0.05$, typically constrained by redshift-space galaxy positions or by direct distance tracers such as the Tully–Fisher relation, the Fundamental Plane, or Type Ia supernovae. We introduce a validation framework to evaluate the accuracy of these reconstructions against catalogues of direct distance tracers. Our framework assesses the goodness-of-fit of each reconstruction using Bayesian evidence, residual redshift discrepancies, velocity scaling, and the need for external bulk flows. Applying this framework to a suite of reconstructions – including those derived from the Bayesian Origin Reconstruction from Galaxies (BORG) algorithm and from linear theory – we find that the non-linear BORG reconstruction consistently outperforms others. We highlight the utility of such a comparative approach for supernova or gravitational wave cosmological studies, where selecting an optimal peculiar velocity model is essential. Additionally, we present calibrated bulk flow curves predicted by the reconstructions and perform a density–velocity cross-correlation using a linear theory reconstruction to constrain the growth factor, yielding $S_8 = 0.793 \pm 0.035$. The result is in good agreement with both weak lensing and Planck, but is in strong disagreement with some peculiar velocity studies.

Abstract:

Abstract We present the first cosmological constraints from a joint analysis of galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing using extended SubHalo Abundance Matching (SHAMe). We analyse stellar mass-selected Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) galaxy clustering and Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS-1000) galaxy-galaxy lensing and find constraints on $S_8\equiv \sigma _8\sqrt{\Omega _{\rm m}/0.3}=0.793^{+0.025}_{-0.024}$, in agreement with Planck at 1.7σ, with σ8 the mass density fluctuation amplitude in 8 h−1Mpc sphere at present and Ωm the density parameter in total matter. These results are in agreement with the Cosmic Microwave Background results from Planck. We are able to constrain all 5 SHAMe parameters, which describe the galaxy-subhalo connection. We validate our methodology by first applying it to simulated catalogues, generated from the TNG300 simulation, which mimic the stellar mass selection of our real data. We show that we are able to recover the input cosmology for both our fiducial and all-scale analyses. Our all-scale analysis extends to scales of galaxy-galaxy lensing below rp < 1.4 Mpc h−1, which we exclude in our fiducial analysis to avoid baryonic effects. When including all scales, we find a value of S8, which is 1.26σ higher than our fiducial result (against naive expectations where baryonic feedback should lead to small-scale power suppression), and in agreement with Planck at 0.9σ. We also find a 21 % tighter constraint on S8 and a 29 % tighter constraint on Ωm compared to our fiducial analysis. This work shows the power and potential of joint small-scale galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing analyses using SHAMe.

Abstract:

Abstract The cross-correlation of galaxies at different redshifts with other tracers of the large-scale structure can be used to reconstruct the cosmic mean of key physical quantities, and their evolution over billions of years, at high precision. However, a correct interpretation of these measurements must ensure that they are independent of the clustering properties of the galaxy sample used. In this paper we explore different prescriptions to extract tomographic reconstruction measurements and use the FLAMINGO hydrodynamic simulations to show that a robust estimator, independent of the small-scale galaxy bias, can be constructed. We focus on the tomographic reconstruction of the halo bias-weighted electron pressure 〈bPe〉 and star-formation density 〈bρSFR〉, which can be reconstructed from tomographic analysis of Sunyaev-Zel’dovich and cosmic infrared background maps, respectively. We show that these quantities can be reconstructed with an accuracy of 1-3% over a wide range of redshifts, using different galaxy samples. We also show that these measurements can be accurately interpreted using the halo model, assuming a sufficiently reliable model can be constructed for the halo mass function, large-scale halo bias, and for the dependence of the physical quantities being reconstructed on halo mass.