Mock data sets for the Eboss and DESI Lyman-$\alpha$ forest surveys

TL;DR

This paper introduces a publicly available code for generating realistic mock Lyman-alpha forest data, including large-scale correlations and BAO features, to aid analysis of eBOSS and DESI surveys.

Contribution

The authors present a new, efficient method for creating realistic mock Lyman-alpha forest datasets with BAO and RSD features, tailored for eBOSS and DESI survey analysis.

Findings

Mocks accurately reproduce expected flux correlation functions.

Produced 100 realizations covering 14,000 deg$^2$ of the DESI footprint.

Mock data can be easily adapted for different observational parameters.

Abstract

We present a publicly-available code to generate sets of mock Lyman-$\alpha$ (\lya) forest data that have realistic large-scale correlations including those due to the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations (BAO). The primary purpose of these mocks is to test the analysis procedures of the Extended Baryon Oscillation Survey (eBOSS) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopy Instrument (DESI) surveys. The transmitted flux fraction, $F(\lambda)$, of background quasars due to \lya\ absorption in the intergalactic medium (IGM) is simulated using the Fluctuating Gunn-Petterson Approximation (FGPA) applied to Gaussian random fields produced through the use of fast Fourier transforms (FFT). The output includes the IGM-\lya\ transmitted flux fraction along quasar lines of sight and a catalog of high-column-density systems appropriately placed at high-density regions of the IGM. This output serves as input to additional code that superimposes the IGM tranmission on realistic quasar spectra, adds absorption by high-column-density systems and metals, and simulates instrumental transmission and noise. Redshift space distortions (RSD) of the flux correlations are implemented by including the large-scale velocity-gradient field in the FGPA resulting in a correlation function of $F(\lambda)$ that can be accurately predicted. One hundred realizations have been produced over the 14,000 deg$^2$ DESI survey footprint with 100 quasars per deg$^{2}$. The analysis of these realizations shows that the correlations of $F(\lambda)$ follows the prediction within the accuracy of eBOSS survey. The most time-consuming part of the mock production occurs before application of the FGPA, and the existing pre-FGPA forests can be used to easily produce new mock sets with modified redshift-dependent bias parameters or observational conditions