Cosmological Parameter Constraints Research Articles

MiSTree: a Python package for constructing and analysing Minimum Spanning Trees

The minimum spanning tree (MST), a graph constructed from a distribution of points, draws lines between pairs of points so that all points are linked in a single skeletal structure that contains no loops and has minimal total edge length. The MST has been used in a broad range of scientific fields such as particle physics (to distinguish classes of events in collider collisions), in astronomy (to detect mass segregation in star clusters) and cosmology (to search for filaments in the cosmic web). Its success in these fields has been driven by its sensitivity to the spatial distribution of points and the patterns within. MiSTree, a public Python package, allows a user to construct the MST in a variety of coordinates systems, including Celestial coordinates used in astronomy. The package enables the MST to be constructed quickly by initially using a k-nearest neighbour graph (kNN, rather than a matrix of pairwise distances) which is then fed to Kruskal's algorithm to construct the MST. MiSTree enables a user to measure the statistics of the MST and provides classes for binning the MST statistics (into histograms) and plotting the distributions. Applying the MST will enable the inclusion of high-order statistics information from the cosmic web which can provide additional information to improve cosmological parameter constraints. This information has not been fully exploited due to the computational cost of calculating N-point statistics. MiSTree was designed to be used in cosmology but could be used in any field which requires extracting non-Gaussian information from point distributions. The source code for MiSTree is available on GitHub at https://github.com/knaidoo29/mistree

Controlling and leveraging small-scale information in tomographic galaxy–galaxy lensing

ABSTRACT The tangential shear signal receives contributions from physical scales in the galaxy–matter correlation function well below the transverse scale at which it is measured. Since small scales are difficult to model, this non-locality has generally required stringent scale cuts or new statistics for cosmological analyses. Using the fact that uncertainty in these contributions corresponds to an uncertainty in the enclosed projected mass around the lens, we provide an analytic marginalization scheme to account for this. Our approach enables the inclusion of measurements on smaller scales without requiring numerical sampling over extra free parameters. We extend the analytic marginalization formalism to retain cosmographic (shear-ratio) information from small-scale measurements that would otherwise be removed due to modelling uncertainties, again without requiring the addition of extra sampling parameters. We test the methodology using simulated likelihood analysis of a Dark Energy Survey Year 5-like galaxy–galaxy lensing and galaxy clustering datavector. We demonstrate that we can remove parameter biases due to the presence of an unmodelled one-halo contamination of the galaxy–galaxy lensing signal, and use the shear-ratio information on small scales to improve cosmological parameter constraints.

Weak lensing cosmology with convolutional neural networks on noisy data

ABSTRACT Weak gravitational lensing is one of the most promising cosmological probes of the late universe. Several large ongoing (DES, KiDS, HSC) and planned (LSST, Euclid, WFIRST) astronomical surveys attempt to collect even deeper and larger scale data on weak lensing. Due to gravitational collapse, the distribution of dark matter is non-Gaussian on small scales. However, observations are typically evaluated through the two-point correlation function of galaxy shear, which does not capture non-Gaussian features of the lensing maps. Previous studies attempted to extract non-Gaussian information from weak lensing observations through several higher order statistics such as the three-point correlation function, peak counts, or Minkowski functionals. Deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) emerged in the field of computer vision with tremendous success, and they offer a new and very promising framework to extract information from 2D or 3D astronomical data sets, confirmed by recent studies on weak lensing. We show that a CNN is able to yield significantly stricter constraints of (σ8, Ωm) cosmological parameters than the power spectrum using convergence maps generated by full N-body simulations and ray-tracing, at angular scales and shape noise levels relevant for future observations. In a scenario mimicking LSST or Euclid, the CNN yields 2.4–2.8 times smaller credible contours than the power spectrum, and 3.5–4.2 times smaller at noise levels corresponding to a deep space survey such as WFIRST. We also show that at shape noise levels achievable in future space surveys the CNN yields 1.4–2.1 times smaller contours than peak counts, a higher order statistic capable of extracting non-Gaussian information from weak lensing maps.

Dark Energy Survey Year 1 results: constraints on intrinsic alignments and their colour dependence from galaxy clustering and weak lensing

Abstract We perform a joint analysis of intrinsic alignments and cosmology using tomographic weak lensing, galaxy clustering, and galaxy–galaxy lensing measurements from Year 1 (Y1) of the Dark Energy Survey. We define early- and late-type subsamples, which are found to pass a series of systematics tests, including for spurious photometric redshift error and point spread function correlations. We analyse these split data alongside the fiducial mixed Y1 sample using a range of intrinsic alignment models. In a fiducial non-linear alignment model analysis, assuming a flat Λ cold dark matter cosmology, we find a significant difference in intrinsic alignment amplitude, with early-type galaxies favouring $A_\mathrm{IA} = 2.38^{+0.32}_{-0.31}$ and late-type galaxies consistent with no intrinsic alignments at $0.05^{+0.10}_{-0.09}$. The analysis is repeated using a number of extended model spaces, including a physically motivated model that includes both tidal torquing and tidal alignment mechanisms. In multiprobe likelihood chains in which cosmology, intrinsic alignments in both galaxy samples and all other relevant systematics are varied simultaneously, we find the tidal alignment and tidal torquing parts of the intrinsic alignment signal have amplitudes $A_1 = 2.66 ^{+0.67}_{-0.66}$, $A_2=-2.94^{+1.94}_{-1.83}$, respectively, for early-type galaxies and $A_1 = 0.62 ^{+0.41}_{-0.41}$, $A_2 = -2.26^{+1.30}_{-1.16}$ for late-type galaxies. In the full (mixed) Y1 sample the best constraints are $A_1 = 0.70 ^{+0.41}_{-0.38}$, $A_2 = -1.36 ^{+1.08}_{-1.41}$. For all galaxy splits and IA models considered, we report cosmological parameter constraints consistent with the results of the main DES Y1 cosmic shear and multiprobe cosmology papers.

Robust and model-independent cosmological constraints from distance measurements

We present a systematic analysis of the cosmological constraints from the “Pantheon Sample” of 1048 Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) in the redshift range 0.01<z<2.3 compiled by Scolnic et al. (2018). Applying the flux-averaging method for detecting unknown systematic effects, we find that the “Pantheon” sample has been well calibrated and the bias caused by unknown systematic errors has been minimized. We present the estimate of distances measured from SNe Ia and reconstruct the expansion history of the Universe. The results are in agreement with a simple cosmological constant model and reveals the possible improvements that future SN Ia observations from WFIRST and LSST can target. We have derived distance priors using the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data from the Planck 2018 final data release, and combine them with SNe Ia and baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) data, to explore the impact from the systematic errors of SNe Ia on the combined cosmological parameter constraints. Using the combined data set of SNe Ia, BAO, and CMB distance priors, we measure the dark energy density function X(z)=ρX(z)/ρX(0) as a free function (defined as a cubic spline of its values at z=0.33, 0.67, 1.0), along with the cosmological parameters (Ωk, Ωm, Ωb, H0). We find no deviation from a flat Universe dominated by a cosmological constant (X(z)=1), and H0=68.4± 0.9 km s−1Mpc−1, straddling the Planck team's measurement of H0=67.4± 0.5 km s−1Mpc−1, and Riess et al. (2018) measurement of H0=73.52± 1.62 km s−1Mpc−1. Adding H0=73.52± 1.62 km s−1Mpc−1 as a prior to the combined data set leads to the time dependence of the dark energy density at z∼ 0.33 at 68% confidence level. Not including the systematic errors on SNe Ia has a similar but larger effect on the dark energy density measurement.

Cosmological parameter constraints for Horndeski scalar-tensor gravity

We present new cosmological parameter constraints for general Horndeski scalar-tensor theories, using CMB, redshift space distortion, matter power spectrum and BAO measurements from the Planck, SDSS/BOSS and 6dF surveys. We focus on theories with cosmological gravitational waves propagating at the speed of light, $c_{\rm GW} = c$, implementing and discussing several previously unaccounted for aspects in the constraint derivation for such theories, that qualitatively affect the resulting constraints. In order to ensure our conclusions are robust, we compare results for three different parametrisations of the free functions in Horndeski scalar-tensor theories, identifying several parametrisation-independent features of the constraints. We also consider models, where $c_{\rm GW} \neq c$ in cosmological settings (still allowed after GW170817 for frequency-dependent $c_{\rm GW}$) and show how this affects cosmological parameter constraints.

The effect of assembly bias on redshift-space distortions

We study potential systematic effects of assembly bias on cosmological parameter constraints from redshift space distortion measurements. We use a semi-analytic galaxy formation model applied to the Millennium N-body WMAP-7 simulation to study the effects of halo assembly bias on the redshift space distortions of the galaxy correlation function. We look at the pairwise velocities of galaxies living in haloes with concentrations and ages in the upper and lower quintiles, and find that the velocity differences between these are consistent with those reported for real-space clustering analyses, i.e. samples with higher clustering also exhibit stronger infall pairwise motions. This can also be seen in the monopole and quadrupole of the redshift-space correlation function. We find that regardless of the method of measurement, the changes in the $\beta$ parameter due to different secondary halo parameters fully tracks the change in the bias Parameter. Hence, assembly bias does not introduce detectable systematics in the inferred logarithmic growth factor.

First Cosmology Results using Type Ia Supernovae from the Dark Energy Survey: Constraints on Cosmological Parameters

Abstract We present the first cosmological parameter constraints using measurements of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from the Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program (DES-SN). The analysis uses a subsample of 207 spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia from the first three years of DES-SN, combined with a low-redshift sample of 122 SNe from the literature. Our “DES-SN3YR” result from these 329 SNe Ia is based on a series of companion analyses and improvements covering SN Ia discovery, spectroscopic selection, photometry, calibration, distance bias corrections, and evaluation of systematic uncertainties. For a flat ΛCDM model we find a matter density . For a flat wCDM model, and combining our SN Ia constraints with those from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), we find a dark energy equation of state , and . For a flat w 0 w a CDM model, and combining probes from SN Ia, CMB and baryon acoustic oscillations, we find and . These results are in agreement with a cosmological constant and with previous constraints using SNe Ia (Pantheon, JLA).

Dark Energy Survey Year 1: An independent E/B-mode cosmic shear analysis

Abstract We present an independent cosmic shear analysis of the non-cosmological B-mode distortions within the public first year data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We find no significant detection of B-modes in a full tomographic analysis of the primary metacalibrationshear catalogue. This is in contrast to the secondary im3shapeshear catalogue, where we detect B-modes at a significance of ∼3σ with a pattern that is consistent with the B-mode signature of a repeating additive shear bias across the survey. We use the COSEBIs statistic to cleanly separate the B-modes from the gravitational lensing signal (E-modes). We find good agreement between the measured E-modes and their theoretical expectation given the DES cosmological parameter constraints.

A new X-ray-selected sample of very extended galaxy groups from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey

Context.Some indications for tension have long been identified between cosmological constraints obtained from galaxy clusters and primary cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements. Typically, assuming the matter density and fluctuations, as parameterized with Ωmandσ8, estimated from CMB measurements, many more clusters are expected than those actually observed. This has been reinforced recently by the Planck collaboration. One possible explanation could be that certain types of galaxy groups or clusters were missed in samples constructed in previous surveys, resulting in a higher incompleteness than estimated.Aims.In this work, we aim to determine if a hypothetical class of very extended, low-surface-brightness galaxy groups or clusters have been missed in previous X-ray cluster surveys based on the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS).Methods.We applied a dedicated source-detection algorithm sensitive also to more unusual group or cluster surface-brightness distributions. It includes a multiresolution filtering, a source-detection algorithm, and a maximum-likelihood fitting procedure. To optimize parameters, this algorithm is calibrated using extensive simulations before it is used to reanalyze the RASS data. In addition, the cross-correlation of the candidates with optical/infrared surveys is used for cluster identification and redshift estimation.Results.We found many known groups but also a number of new group candidates, which are not included in any previous X-ray or SZ cluster catalogs. In this paper, we present a pilot sample of 13 very extended groups discovered in the RASS at positions where no X-ray source has been detected previously and with clear optical counterparts. The X-ray fluxes of at least 5 of these are above the nominal flux-limits of previous RASS cluster catalogs (≳3 × 10−12erg s−1cm−2in the 0.1 − 2.4 keV energy band). They have low mass (1013M⊙≲M500≲ 1014M⊙; i.e., they are galaxy groups), are at low redshift (z&lt; 0.08), and exhibit flatter surface-brightness distributions than usual.Conclusions.We demonstrate that galaxy groups were missed in previous RASS surveys, possibly due to the flat surface-brightness distributions of this potential new population. Analysis of the full sample will show if this might have a significant effect on previous cosmological parameter constraints based on RASS cluster surveys.

Cosmic aspects of specific dark energy model in loop quantum cosmology

We consider the interacting scenario of pilgrim dark energy (with future event horizon) with cold dark matter in loop quantum cosmology. We explore various cosmological parameters (Hubble, equation of state and deceleration) and planes ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text]) in this framework. We also discuss the validity of generalized second law of thermodynamics and find that it remains valid in the early epoch as well as in late future epoch. Finally, it is remarked that all the above constraints of cosmological parameters show consistency with different observational data like Planck, WP, BAO, [Formula: see text], SNLS and nine-year WMAP.

Accurate cosmic shear errors: do we need ensembles of simulations?

Accurate inference of cosmology from weak lensing shear requires an accurate shear power spectrum covariance matrix. Here, we investigate this accuracy requirement and quantify the relative importance of the Gaussian (G), super-sample covariance (SSC) and connected non-Gaussian (cNG) contributions to the covariance. Specifically, we forecast cosmological parameter constraints for future wide-field surveys and study how different covariance matrix components affect parameter bounds. Our main result is that the cNG term represents only a small and potentially negligible contribution to statistical parameter errors: the errors obtained using the G+SSC subset are within ≲ 5% of those obtained with the full G+SSC+cNG matrix for a Euclid-like survey. This result also holds for the shear two-point correlation function, variations in survey specifications and for different analytical prescriptions of the cNG term. The cNG term is that which is often tackled using numerically expensive ensembles of survey realizations. Our results suggest however that the accuracy of analytical or approximate numerical methods to compute the cNG term is likely to be sufficient for cosmic shear inference from the next generation of surveys.

Probing Cosmology with Dark Matter Halo Sparsity Using X-Ray Cluster Mass Measurements

Abstract We present a new cosmological probe for galaxy clusters, the halo sparsity. This characterizes halos in terms of the ratio of halo masses measured at two different radii and carries cosmological information encoded in the halo mass profile. Building on the work of Balmes et al., we test the properties of the sparsity using halo catalogs from a numerical N-body simulation of (2.6 Gpc h −1)3 volume with 40963 particles. We show that at a given redshift the average sparsity can be predicted from prior knowledge of the halo mass function. This provides a quantitative framework to infer cosmological parameter constraints using measurements of the sparsity of galaxy clusters. We show this point by performing a likelihood analysis of synthetic data sets with no systematics, from which we recover the input fiducial cosmology. We also perform a preliminary analysis of potential systematic errors and provide an estimate of the impact of baryonic effects on sparsity measurements. We evaluate the sparsity for a sample of 104 clusters with hydrostatic masses from X-ray observations and derive constraints on the cosmic matter density Ω m and the normalization amplitude of density fluctuations at the 8 Mpc h −1 scale, σ 8. Assuming no systematics, we find Ω m = 0.42 ± 0.17 and σ 8 = 0.80 ± 0.31 at 1σ, corresponding to . Future cluster surveys may provide opportunities for precise measurements of the sparsity. A sample of a few hundred clusters with mass estimate errors at the few percent level can provide competitive cosmological parameter constraints complementary to those inferred from other cosmic probes.

Constraining hydrostatic mass bias of galaxy clusters with high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy

Abstract Gas motions in galaxy clusters play important roles in determining the properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) and in the constraint of cosmological parameters via X-ray and Sunyaev–Zel’dovich effect observations of galaxy clusters. The Hitomi measurements of gas motions in the core of the Perseus Cluster have provided new insights into the physics in galaxy clusters. The XARM mission, equipped with the Resolve X-ray micro-calorimeter, will continue Hitomi’s legacy by measuring ICM motions through Doppler shifting and broadening of emission lines in a larger number of galaxy clusters, and at larger radii. In this work, we investigate how well we can measure bulk and turbulent gas motions in the ICM with XARM, by analyzing mock XARM simulations of galaxy clusters extracted from cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. We assess how photon counts, spectral fitting methods, multiphase ICM structure, deprojections, and region selection affect the measurements of gas motions. We first show that XARM is capable of recovering the underlying spherically averaged turbulent and bulk velocity profiles for dynamically relaxed clusters to within ∼50% with a reasonable amount of photon counts in the X-ray emission lines. We also find that there are considerable azimuthal variations in the ICM velocities, where the velocities measured in a single azimuthal direction can significantly deviate from the true value even in dynamically relaxed systems. Such variation must be taken into account when interpreting data and developing observing strategies. We will discuss the prospect of using the upcoming XARM mission to measure non-thermal pressure and to correct for the hydrostatic mass bias of galaxy clusters. Our results are broadly applicable for future X-ray missions, such as Athena and Lynx.

Exploring cosmic origins with CORE: Cosmological parameters

We forecast the main cosmological parameter constraints achievable with the CORE space mission which is dedicated to mapping the polarisation of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). CORE was recently submitted in response to ESA's fifth call for medium-sized mission proposals (M5). Here we report the results from our pre-submission study of the impact of various instrumental options, in particular the telescope size and sensitivity level, and review the great, transformative potential of the mission as proposed. Specifically, we assess the impact on a broad range of fundamental parameters of our Universe as a function of the expected CMB characteristics, with other papers in the series focusing on controlling astrophysical and instrumental residual systematics. In this paper, we assume that only a few central CORE frequency channels are usable for our purpose, all others being devoted to the cleaning of astrophysical contaminants. On the theoretical side, we assume ΛCDM as our general framework and quantify the improvement provided by CORE over the current constraints from the Planck 2015 release. We also study the joint sensitivity of CORE and of future Baryon Acoustic Oscillation and Large Scale Structure experiments like DESI and Euclid. Specific constraints on the physics of inflation are presented in another paper of the series. In addition to the six parameters of the base ΛCDM, which describe the matter content of a spatially flat universe with adiabatic and scalar primordial fluctuations from inflation, we derive the precision achievable on parameters like those describing curvature, neutrino physics, extra light relics, primordial helium abundance, dark matter annihilation, recombination physics, variation of fundamental constants, dark energy, modified gravity, reionization and cosmic birefringence. In addition to assessing the improvement on the precision of individual parameters, we also forecast the post-CORE overall reduction of the allowed parameter space with figures of merit for various models increasing by as much as ∼ 107 as compared to Planck 2015, and 105 with respect to Planck 2015 + future BAO measurements.

KiDS+GAMA: cosmology constraints from a joint analysis of cosmic shear, galaxy–galaxy lensing, and angular clustering

We present cosmological parameter constraints from a joint analysis of three cosmological probes: the tomographic cosmic shear signal in $\sim$450 deg$^2$ of data from the Kilo Degree Survey (KiDS), the galaxy-matter cross-correlation signal of galaxies from the Galaxies And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey determined with KiDS weak lensing, and the angular correlation function of the same GAMA galaxies. We use fast power spectrum estimators that are based on simple integrals over the real-space correlation functions, and show that they are practically unbiased over relevant angular frequency ranges. We test our full pipeline on numerical simulations that are tailored to KiDS and retrieve the input cosmology. By fitting different combinations of power spectra, we demonstrate that the three probes are internally consistent. For all probes combined, we obtain $S_8\equiv \sigma_8 \sqrt{\Omega_{\rm m}/0.3}=0.800_{-0.027}^{+0.029}$, consistent with Planck and the fiducial KiDS-450 cosmic shear correlation function results. Marginalising over wide priors on the mean of the tomographic redshift distributions yields consistent results for $S_8$ with an increase of $28\%$ in the error. The combination of probes results in a $26\%$ reduction in uncertainties of $S_8$ over using the cosmic shear power spectra alone. The main gain from these additional probes comes through their constraining power on nuisance parameters, such as the galaxy intrinsic alignment amplitude or potential shifts in the redshift distributions, which are up to a factor of two better constrained compared to using cosmic shear alone, demonstrating the value of large-scale structure probe combination.

Measurements of the Temperature and E-mode Polarization of the CMB from 500 Square Degrees of SPTpol Data

Abstract We present measurements of the E-mode polarization angular auto-power spectrum (EE) and temperature–E-mode cross-power spectrum (TE) of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) using 150 GHz data from three seasons of SPTpol observations. We report the power spectra over the spherical harmonic multipole range and detect nine acoustic peaks in the EE spectrum with high signal-to-noise ratio. These measurements are the most sensitive to date of the EE and TE power spectra at and , respectively. The observations cover 500 , a fivefold increase in area compared to previous SPTpol analyses, which increases our sensitivity to the photon diffusion damping tail of the CMB power spectra enabling tighter constraints on ΛCDM model extensions. After masking all sources with unpolarized flux mJy, we place a 95% confidence upper limit on residual polarized point-source power of at , suggesting that the EE damping tail dominates foregrounds to at least with modest source masking. We find that the SPTpol data set is in mild tension with the ΛCDM model ( ), and different data splits prefer parameter values that differ at the level. When fitting SPTpol data at , we find cosmological parameter constraints consistent with those for Planck temperature. Including SPTpol data at results in a preference for a higher value of the expansion rate ( ) and a lower value for present-day density fluctuations ( ).

Reducing biases on H0 measurements using strong lensing and galaxy dynamics: results from the eagle simulation

Cosmological parameter constraints from observations of time-delay lenses are becoming increasingly precise. However, there may be significant bias and scatter in these measurements due to, among other things, the so-called mass-sheet degeneracy. To estimate these uncertainties, we analyze strong lenses from the largest EAGLE hydrodynamical simulation. We apply a mass-sheet transformation to the radial density profiles of lenses, and by selecting lenses near isothermality, we find that the bias on H0 can be reduced to 5% with an intrinsic scatter of 10%, confirming previous results performed on a different simulation data set. We further investigate whether combining lensing observables with kinematic constraints helps to minimize this bias. We do not detect any significant dependence of the bias on lens model parameters or observational properties of the galaxy, but depending on the source--lens configuration, a bias may still exist. Cross lenses provide an accurate estimate of the Hubble constant, while fold (double) lenses tend to be biased low (high). With kinematic constraints, double lenses show bias and intrinsic scatter of 6% and 10%, respectively, while quad lenses show bias and intrinsic scatter of 0.5% and 10%, respectively. For lenses with a reduced $\chi^2 > 1$, a power-law dependence of the $\chi^2$ on the lens environment (number of nearby galaxies) is seen. Lastly, we model, in greater detail, the cases of two double lenses that are significantly biased. We are able to remove the bias, suggesting that the remaining biases could also be reduced by carefully taking into account additional sources of systematic uncertainty.

Effects of self-calibration of intrinsic alignment on cosmological parameter constraints from future cosmic shear surveys

Intrinsic alignments (IA) of galaxies have been recognized as one of the most serious contaminants to weak lensing. These systematics need to be isolated and mitigated in order for ongoing and future lensing surveys to reach their full potential. The IA self-calibration (SC) method was shown in previous studies to be able to reduce the GI contamination by up to a factor of 10 for the 2-point and 3-point correlations. The SC method does not require the assumption of an IA model in its working and can extract the GI signal from the same photo-z survey offering the possibility to test and understand structure formation scenarios and their relationship to IA models. In this paper, we study the effects of the IA SC mitigation method on the precision and accuracy of cosmological parameter constraints from future cosmic shear surveys LSST, WFIRST and Euclid. We perform analytical and numerical calculations to estimate the loss of precision and the residual bias in the best fit cosmological parameters after the self-calibration is performed. We take into account uncertainties from photometric redshifts and the galaxy bias. We find that the confidence contours are slightly inflated from applying the SC method itself while a significant increase is due to the inclusion of the photo-z uncertainties. The bias of cosmological parameters is reduced from several-σ, when IA is not corrected for, to below 1-σ after SC is applied. These numbers are comparable to those resulting from applying the method of marginalizing over IA model parameters despite the fact that the two methods operate very differently. We conclude that implementing the SC for these future cosmic-shear surveys will not only allow one to efficiently mitigate the GI contaminant but also help to understand their modeling and link to structure formation.

Towards optimal cosmological parameter recovery from compressed bispectrum statistics

Over the next decade, improvements in cosmological parameter constraints will be driven by surveys of large-scale structure. Its inherent non-linearity suggests that significant information will be embedded in higher correlations beyond the two-point function. Extracting this information is extremely challenging: it requires accurate theoretical modelling and significant computational resources to estimate the covariance matrix describing correlations between different Fourier configurations. We investigate whether it is possible to reduce the covariance matrix without significant loss of information by using a proxy that aggregates the bispectrum over a subset of Fourier configurations. Specifically, we study the constraints on $\Lambda$CDM parameters from combining the power spectrum with (a) the modal bispectrum decomposition, (b) the line correlation function and (c) the integrated bispectrum. We forecast the error bars achievable on $\Lambda$CDM parameters using these proxies in a future galaxy survey and compare them to those obtained from measurements of the Fourier bispectrum, including simple estimates of their degradation in the presence of shot noise. Our results demonstrate that the modal bispectrum performs as well as the Fourier bispectrum, even with considerably fewer modes than Fourier configurations. The line correlation function has good performance but does not match the modal bispectrum. The integrated bispectrum is comparatively insensitive to changes in the background cosmology. We find that adding bispectrum data can improve constraints on bias parameters and the normalization $\sigma_8$ by up to 5 compared to power spectrum measurements alone. For other parameters, improvements of up to $\sim$ 20% are possible. Finally, we use a range of theoretical models to explore how the sophistication required for realistic predictions varies with each proxy. (abridged)