Synthetic spectra for Lyman-α forest analysis in the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument

Synthetic data sets are used in cosmology to test analysis procedures, to verify that systematic errors are well understood and to demonstrate that measurements are unbiased. In this work we describe the methods used to generate synthetic datasets of Lyman-α quasar spectra aimed for studies with the...

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Published in:Journal of cosmology and astroparticle physics 2025-01, Vol.2025 (1), p.141
Main Authors: Herrera-Alcantar, Hiram K., Muñoz-Gutiérrez, Andrea, Tan, Ting, González-Morales, Alma X., Font-Ribera, Andreu, Guy, Julien, Moustakas, John, Kirkby, David, Armengaud, E., Bault, A., Cabayol-Garcia, L., Chaves-Montero, J., Cuceu, A., de la Cruz, R., García, L.Á., Gordon, C., Iršič, V., Karaçaylı, N.G., Le Goff, J.M., Montero-Camacho, P., Niz, G., Pérez-Ràfols, I., Ramírez-Pérez, C., Ravoux, C., Walther, M., Aguilar, J., Ahlen, S., Brooks, D., Claybaugh, T., Dawson, K., de la Macorra, A., Doel, P., Forero-Romero, J.E., Gaztañaga, E., Gontcho, S.Gontcho A., Honscheid, K., Kehoe, R., Kisner, T., Landriau, M., Levi, Michael E., Manera, M., Martini, P., Meisner, A., Miquel, R., Nie, J., Palanque-Delabrouille, N., Poppett, C., Rezaie, M., Rossi, G., Sanchez, E., Seo, H., Tarlé, G., Weaver, B.A., Zhou, Z.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
baryon acoustic oscillations
cosmological simulations
Dark energy
Data analysis
Datasets
Lyman alpha forest
Quasars
redshift surveys
Spectra
Spectroscopic analysis
Statistical analysis
Statistical methods
Synthetic data
Systematic errors
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Description
Summary:Synthetic data sets are used in cosmology to test analysis procedures, to verify that systematic errors are well understood and to demonstrate that measurements are unbiased. In this work we describe the methods used to generate synthetic datasets of Lyman-α quasar spectra aimed for studies with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). In particular, we focus on demonstrating that our simulations reproduces important features of real samples, making them suitable to test the analysis methods to be used in DESI and to place limits on systematic effects on measurements of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO). We present a set of mocks that reproduce the statistical properties of the DESI early data set with good agreement. Additionally, we use a synthetic dataset to forecast the BAO scale constraining power of the completed DESI survey through the Lyman- α forest.
ISSN:1475-7516
1475-7516
DOI:10.1088/1475-7516/2025/01/141