DESI 2024 IV: Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from the Lyman alpha forest

Abstract We present the measurement of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) from the Lyman- α (Ly α ) forest of high-redshift quasars with the first-year dataset of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). Our analysis uses over 420 000 Ly α forest spectra and their correlation with the spatial distribution of more than 700 000 quasars. An essential facet of this work is the development of a new analysis methodology on a blinded dataset. We conducted rigorous tests using synthetic data to ensure the reliability of our methodology and findings before unblinding. Additionally, we conducted multiple data splits to assess the consistency of the results and scrutinized various analysis approaches to confirm…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: AST-0950945, DE-AC02-05CH11231, 0950945
• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Awards: -AC02-05CH11231, 05CH11231, AC02-05CH11231, DE-AC02, DE-AC02-05CH11231, DE-AC02-
• GA
  Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
• MD
  Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
• CÀ
  Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives
• OO
  Office of Science

  Awards: AC02-05CH11231, -AC02-05CH11231, DE-AC02
• SA
  Science and Technology Facilities Council

  Awards: ST/T005009/2, ST/T005009/1
• DO
  Division of Astronomical Sciences

  Award: AST-0950945