Cosmology with galaxy correlations

Abstract

In this review, I outline the use of galaxy correlations to constrain cosmological parameters. As with the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the density of dark and baryonic matter imprints important scales on the fluctuations of matter and thus the clustering of galaxies, e.g., the particle horizon at matter-radiation equality and the sound horizon at recombination. Precision measurements of these scales from the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) and the large scale shape of the power spectrum of galaxy clustering provide constraints on Ω m h 2. Recent measurements from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) strongly suggest that Ω m < 0.3. This forms the basic evidence for a flat Universe dominated by a Cosmological Constant (Λ) today (when combined with results from the CMB and supernova surveys). Further evidence for this cosmological model is provided by the late-time Integrated Sachs–Wolfe (ISW) effect, which has now been detected using a variety of tracers of the large scale structure in the Universe out to redshifts of z > 1. The ISW effect also provides an opportunity to discriminate between Λ, dynamical dark energy models and the modification of gravity on large scales.