Large Scale Structure Among z ∼ 2 Quasars as a Cosmological Standard Ruler

Abstract

The peak in the power spectrum at ≈ 130h−1 Mpc at low redshifts provides a standard ruler in comoving space. This scale is shown to be present in the observed quasar distribution at z ∼ 2. This implies strong constraints on the density parameter, Ω0, and weaker constraints on the cosmological constant, λ0. Independently of λ0 (in the range λ0 ∊ [0, 1]), the constraint is 0.1 < Ω0 < 0.45 (68% confidence limit).Combination of the power spectrum peak method with very independent results from the supernovae Type Ia method yields Ω0 = (0.30 ± 0.11) + (0.57 ± 0.11)(λ0 −0.7), 0.55 < λ0 < 0.95, (68% confidence limits) without assuming Ω0 + λ0 = 1. This supports the almost flat, perturbed Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker model, independently of any cosmic microwave background observations.