On the capability of high redshift kSZ measurement with galaxy surveys

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the potential of high redshift kSZ measurements using galaxy surveys, comparing stacking and tomography methods, and forecasts improvements with future CMB experiments.

Contribution

It provides a detailed comparison of kSZ stacking and tomography methods at high redshifts, highlighting the advantages of tomography with upcoming surveys like PFS.

Findings

Higher redshift bins yield greater S/N in tomography due to increased electron density and survey volume.

kSZ tomography outperforms stacking in S/N, especially at high redshifts.

Next-generation CMB surveys could significantly enhance kSZ detection capabilities.

Abstract

The kSZ effect has been detected at z<1 using various techniques and data sets. The ongoing and upcoming spectroscopic galaxy surveys such as DESI and PFS will push the detection beyond z = 1, and therefore map the baryon distribution at high redshifts. Such detection can be achieved by both the kSZ stacking and tomography methods. While the two methods are theoretically equivalent, they differ significantly in the probed physics and scales, and required data sets. Taking the combination of PFS and ACT as an example, we build mocks of kSZ and galaxies, quantify the kSZ detection S/N, and compare between the two methods. We segment the PFS galaxies into three redshift bins: 0.6 < z < 1.0, 1.0 < z < 1.6, and 1.6 < z < 2.4. For tomography method, our analysis reveals that the two higher redshift bins exhibit higher S/N, with values of 32 and 28, respectively, compared to the first redshift bin (S/N = 8). This is attributed to not only the increasing of electron density with redshifts, but also the larger survey volume and the reduced non-linearity, facilitating velocity reconstruction at higher redshifts. Therefore, the capability of the PFS survey to measure high redshift kSZ effect stands as a substantial advantage over other spectroscopic surveys at lower redshift. The S/N of kSZ stacking largely depends on the number of clusters/groups available from another photometric survey. But in general, its S/N is lower than that of kSZ tomography. Incorporating next-generation CMB surveys like CMB-S4, characterized by significantly reduced instrument noise and improved angular resolution, is expected to enhance tomographic detection by a factor of ten and stacking detection by five. This future high S/N detection holds the promise of not only providing precise constraints on the overall baryon abundance but also initiating a new insight into baryon distribution.