Cosmological constraints from harmonic space analysis of DES Y3 3x2 clustering

TL;DR

This paper presents a harmonic space analysis of DES Y3 3x2 clustering data, offering a different approach from traditional configuration space methods, and explores cosmological parameters with a focus on modeling techniques.

Contribution

It introduces a harmonic space methodology for DES Y3 clustering data, including a third-order bias model, providing an alternative to configuration space analysis.

Findings

Consistent $S_8$ measurement with previous analyses

Preference for lower $\,Omega_m$ and higher $\,sigma_8$ under different modeling

Establishes a framework for future primordial non-Gaussianity searches

Abstract

The large-scale distribution of matter, as mapped by photometric surveys like the Dark Energy Survey (DES), serves as a powerful probe into cosmology. It is especially sensitive to both the amplitude of matter clustering ($\sigma_8$) and the total matter density ($\Omega_m$). The fiducial analysis of the two-point clustering statistics of these surveys is invariably done in configuration space where complex masking scheme is easier to handle. However, such an analysis inherently mixes different scales together, requiring special care in modeling. In this study, we present an analysis of DES Y3 3x2 clustering data in harmonic space where small and large scales are better separated and can be neatly modeled using perturbative techniques. Using conservative scale cuts together with Limber approximation and a Gaussian covariance assumption in a first study, we model the clustering data under a linear bias model for galaxies, incorporating comprehensive treatment for astrophysical effects. We subsequently extend this fiducial analysis to explore a third-order biasing prescription. For our fiducial analysis, we get $S_8=0.789\pm0.020$, consistent with the configuration space analysis presented by the DES collaboration, although under our different modeling choices, we find a preference for a lower $\Omega_m$ and a higher $\sigma_8$. The analysis sets the stage for a future search for signatures of primordial non-Gaussianity and blue-tilted isocurvature perturbations from photometric surveys.