Quasars as tracers of large-scale structure: bias and environments

• Grant number: 12/23400-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2013
• End date: May 02, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics
• Principal Investigator: Luis Raul Weber Abramo
• Grantee: Lucas Frozza Secco
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 12/00800-4 - The 3-D universe: astrophysics with large galaxy surveys, AP.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 14/17430-0 - Multi-tracer optimal estimators of the power spectrum, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

Quasars are the most luminous objects in the Universe in the optical, and can be found thecenters of the most massive halos and their bias is strongly redshift-dependent. Moreover, the peak of the quasar luminosity function is around z approximately 2. These facts, together, mean that quasars have great potential to map large-scale structure especially at high redshifts, and for the largest scales. There is now a concrete possibility of mapping a massive number of quasars, over a large area, with the narrow-band optical survey J-PAS. With this project, we would like to characterize two issues that are of critical importance for the employment of quasars as tracers of large-scale structure, and potentially as a means to measure the baryon acoustic oscillations. They are: A. How to properly model bias, and whether or not there is a strong scale-dependence of quasar bias (especially at high redshifts). This question is convolved with the issue of the environments where quasars can be found, and whether or not the evolution of those environments play a role in the statistics of quasars with respect to the underlying matter density uctuations. B.How to take into account systematics inherited through shot noise. In order to study these issues, we plan to employ data (SDSS and zCOSMOS), as well as simulations. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

SECCO, Lucas Frozza. Power spectrum estimators in galaxy surveys. 2015. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Física (IF/SBI) São Paulo.