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The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: improved distance measurements to z = 1 with reconstruction of the baryonic acoustic feature

Kazin, Eyal A.; Koda, Jun; Blake, Chris; Padmanabhan, Nikhil; Brough, Sarah; Colless, Matthew; Contreras, Carlos; Couch, Warrick; Croom, Scott; Croton, Darren J.; Davis, Tamara M.; Drinkwater, Michael J.; Forster, Karl; Gilbank, David; Gladders, Mike; Glazebrook, Karl; Jelliffe, Ben; Jurek, Russell J.; Li, I-hui; Madore, Barry; Martin, D. Christopher; Pimbblet, Kevin; Poole, Gregory B.; Pracy, Michael; Sharp, Rob; Wisnioski, Emily; Woods, David; Wyder, Ted K.; Yee, H. K. C.

Authors

Eyal A. Kazin

Jun Koda

Chris Blake

Nikhil Padmanabhan

Sarah Brough

Matthew Colless

Carlos Contreras

Warrick Couch

Scott Croom

Darren J. Croton

Tamara M. Davis

Michael J. Drinkwater

Karl Forster

David Gilbank

Mike Gladders

Karl Glazebrook

Ben Jelliffe

Russell J. Jurek

I-hui Li

Barry Madore

D. Christopher Martin

Gregory B. Poole

Michael Pracy

Rob Sharp

Emily Wisnioski

David Woods

Ted K. Wyder

H. K. C. Yee



Abstract

We present significant improvements in cosmic distance measurements from the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey, achieved by applying the reconstruction of the baryonic acoustic feature technique. We show using both data and simulations that the reconstruction technique can often be effective despite patchiness of the survey, significant edge effects and shot-noise. We investigate three redshift bins in the redshift range 0.2 < z < 1, and in all three find improvement after reconstruction in the detection of the baryonic acoustic feature and its usage as a standard ruler. We measure model-independent distance measures DV(rsfid/rs) of 1716 ± 83, 2221 ± 101, 2516 ± 86 Mpc (68 per cent CL) at effective redshifts z = 0.44, 0.6, 0.73, respectively, where DV is the volume-averaged distance, and rs is the sound horizon at the end of the baryon drag epoch. These significantly improved 4.8, 4.5 and 3.4 per cent accuracy measurements are equivalent to those expected from surveys with up to 2.5 times the volume of WiggleZ without reconstruction applied. These measurements are fully consistent with cosmologies allowed by the analyses of the Planck Collaboration and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We provide the DV(rsfid/rs) posterior probability distributions and their covariances. When combining these measurements with temperature fluctuations measurements of Planck, the polarization of Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 9, and the 6dF Galaxy Survey baryonic acoustic feature, we do not detect deviations from a flat Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model. Assuming this model, we constrain the current expansion rate to H₀ = 67.15 ± 0.98 km s⁻¹Mpc⁻¹. Allowing the equation of state of dark energy to vary, we obtain wDE = −1.080 ± 0.135. When assuming a curved ΛCDM model we obtain a curvature value of ΩK = −0.0043 ± 0.0047.

Citation

Kazin, E. A., Koda, J., Blake, C., Padmanabhan, N., Brough, S., Colless, M., Contreras, C., Couch, W., Croom, S., Croton, D. J., Davis, T. M., Drinkwater, M. J., Forster, K., Gilbank, D., Gladders, M., Glazebrook, K., Jelliffe, B., Jurek, R. J., Li, I.-H., Madore, B., …Yee, H. K. C. (2014). The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: improved distance measurements to z = 1 with reconstruction of the baryonic acoustic feature. Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 441(4), 3524-3542. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu778

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 17, 2014
Online Publication Date May 31, 2014
Publication Date Jul 11, 2014
Deposit Date Jun 16, 2015
Publicly Available Date Jun 16, 2015
Journal Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Electronic ISSN 1365-2966
Publisher Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 441
Issue 4
Pages 3524-3542
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu778
Keywords Cosmological parameters; Distance scale; Large-scale structure of the universe
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/375251
Publisher URL http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/content/441/4/3524.abstract?sid=36472787-81c6-4f72-9b86-56314623415f
Additional Information This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2014 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Contract Date Jun 16, 2015

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