Measurement of the galaxy-velocity power spectrum of DESI tracers with the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect using DESI DR2 and ACT DR6

Joint analyses of high-resolution CMB temperature maps with galaxy surveys provide a unique way to reconstruct the radial velocity field of the underlying matter distribution via the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich (kSZ) effect. Using data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) DR6 and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) DR2, we present radial velocity reconstructions for luminous red galaxies (LRGs), emission-line galaxies (ELGs), and quasars (QSOs). Leveraging the spectroscopic data, we are able to reliably model the foreground contamination and report a negligible impact on our main observables. We detect the velocity-galaxy cross-correlation at $17.0σ$ for LRGs, and for the first time, at $8.3σ$ for ELGs and $6.8σ$ for QSOs. We further report the first detection of the velocity-velocity correlation using LRGs at $3.1σ$, as well as the highest cumulative detection of the kSZ effect to date at $20.8 σ$. Similarly to previous results, we find a lower amplitude of the kSZ signal compared to our fiducial halo model prediction and electron profile assuming a Battaglia profile. Combining these new observables, we obtain constraints on local-type primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG): $f_{\rm NL}^{\rm loc} = 15.9_{-34.4}^{+34.6}$ at 68\% confidence, which represents the tightest constraint to date derived from the velocity field. The measurements presented here already exhibit lower noise on a per-mode basis than the galaxy auto-correlation on the largest scales, $k<0.004~\rm{Mpc^{-1}}$, highlighting the key role these observables will play in the context of future CMB experiments such as the Simons Observatory.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Published
2026-10-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/3pn7-k7yl
Primary Topic
Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
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article
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article

Measurement of the galaxy-velocity power spectrum of DESI tracers with the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect using DESI DR2 and ACT DR6

Will J. Percival, E. Chaussidon, Michael S. Schubnell, N. Palanque‐Delabrouille et al.
2 links
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
article

Measurement of the galaxy-velocity power spectrum of DESI tracers with the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect using DESI DR2 and ACT DR6

Will J. Percival, E. Chaussidon, Michael S. Schubnell, N. Palanque‐Delabrouille, Christophe Yèche, Ignasi Pérez-Ràfols, Lado Samushia, Selim C. Hotinli, Anthony Kremin, J. Guy, Satya Gontcho A Gontcho, K. Honscheid, G. Gutierrez, R. Miquel, Cullan Howlett, J. E. Forero-Romero, Aaron Meisner, Dragan Huterer A, Kendrick M. Smith, Mustapha Ishak, P. Doel, Simone Ferraro, Aguilar Jl., L. Le Guillou, O. Lahav, D. Sprayberry, H. K. Herrera-Alcantar, R. Joyce, J. A. Newman, E. Sanchez, J. Silber, H. Seo, E. Gaztañaga, B. A. Weaver, G. Tarlé, D Bianchi, G. Rossi, S. Ahlen, S. Nadathur, M. Landriau, M. Manera, Xinyi Chen, F. Prada, D. Brooks, R. Zhou, D. Schlegel, A. de la Macorra, A. Font-Ribera, D. Kirkby, A. Cuceu, T. Claybaugh, B. Dey
article en

Abstract

Joint analyses of high-resolution CMB temperature maps with galaxy surveys provide a unique way to reconstruct the radial velocity field of the underlying matter distribution via the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich (kSZ) effect. Using data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) DR6 and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) DR2, we present radial velocity reconstructions for luminous red galaxies (LRGs), emission-line galaxies (ELGs), and quasars (QSOs). Leveraging the spectroscopic data, we are able to reliably model the foreground contamination and report a negligible impact on our main observables. We detect the velocity-galaxy cross-correlation at $17.0σ$ for LRGs, and for the first time, at $8.3σ$ for ELGs and $6.8σ$ for QSOs. We further report the first detection of the velocity-velocity correlation using LRGs at $3.1σ$, as well as the highest cumulative detection of the kSZ effect to date at $20.8 σ$. Similarly to previous results, we find a lower amplitude of the kSZ signal compared to our fiducial halo model prediction and electron profile assuming a Battaglia profile. Combining these new observables, we obtain constraints on local-type primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG): $f_{\rm NL}^{\rm loc} = 15.9_{-34.4}^{+34.6}$ at 68\% confidence, which represents the tightest constraint to date derived from the velocity field. The measurements presented here already exhibit lower noise on a per-mode basis than the galaxy auto-correlation on the largest scales, $k<0.004~\rm{Mpc^{-1}}$, highlighting the key role these observables will play in the context of future CMB experiments such as the Simons Observatory.

Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Openalex Percentile: Top 75%
Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
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