Validation of the DESI DR2 Lya BAO analysis using synthetic datasets

The second data release (DR2) of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), containing data from the first three years of observations, doubles the number of Lyman-a (Lya) forest spectra in DR1 and it provides the largest dataset of its kind. To ensure a robust validation of the baryonic acous...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Casas, Laura, Herrera Alcantar, Hiram K.|||0000-0002-9136-9609, Chaves Montero, Jonás, Cuceu, Andrei|||0000-0002-2169-0595, Font Ribera, Andreu, Lokken, Martine, Abdul Karim, Marie Lynn, Pérez Ràfols, Ignasi|||0000-0001-6979-0125
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/457373
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/457373
https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/fvgh-kswf
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Baryon acoustic oscillations
Cosmology
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísica
Descripción
Sumario:The second data release (DR2) of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), containing data from the first three years of observations, doubles the number of Lyman-a (Lya) forest spectra in DR1 and it provides the largest dataset of its kind. To ensure a robust validation of the baryonic acoustic oscillation (BAO) analysis using Lya forests, we have made significant updates compared to DR1 to both the mocks and the analysis framework used in the validation. In particular, we present CoLoRe-QL, a new set of Lya mocks that use a quasilinear input power spectrum to incorporate the nonlinear broadening of the BAO peak. We have also increased the number of realizations used in the validation to 400, compared to the 150 realizations used in DR1. Finally, we present a detailed study of the impact of quasar redshift errors on the BAO measurement, and we compare different strategies to mask damped Lyman-a absorbers in our spectra. The BAO measurement from the Lya dataset of DESI DR2 is presented in a companion publication.