Tuning the cosmic instrument: robust cosmology through combined probes

Abstract

As wide-field surveys yield increasingly precise data, multiprobe analyses offer significant advantages. In this work, we use our previously developed framework for jointly analyzing cosmic microwave background (CMB) and large-scale structure data. We analyze combinations of three CMB (Planck PR3, Planck PR4, and ACT+WMAP) datasets, DESI Y1 Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) data, and a $9\times 2$pt low-$z$ dataset comprising KiDS-1000, BOSS DR12, and Planck CMB lensing/Integrated Sachs Wolfe (including all cross-correlations). We first assess internal consistency, finding a mild ($<2\sigma$) tension between CMB and low-$z$ datasets in the full parameter space and hints of systematics in Planck PR3 and KiDS-1000. We then derive constraints in $\Lambda\mathrm{CDM}$ and, motivated by recent DESI results, dynamical dark energy ($w_0w_a\mathrm{CDM}$) and free neutrino mass extensions. In $\Lambda \mathrm{CDM}$, we derive a novel $9\times2$pt constraint of $S8=0.777^{+0.17}_{-0.17}$ and find strong consistency among CMB datasets. In $w_0w_a\mathrm{CDM}$, adding low-$z$ to CMB+BAO tightens $(w_0,w_a)$ constraints by 50\% (in figure-of-merit terms) in our baseline combination of Planck PR4 + low-$z$ + BAO. The posterior accommodates a cosmological constant ($w_0 = -1, w_a = 0$) within $1\sigma$, in contrast to the $\sim2\sigma$ preference for evolving dark energy from CMB+BAO alone. For neutrino masses, our baseline dataset yields a systematics-robust constraint of $M_\nu<0.12\mathrm{eV}$ in $\nu\Lambda\mathrm{CDM}$. Allowing dynamical dark energy and free neutrino mass ($\nu w_0w_a\mathrm{CDM}$) broadens and shifts the neutrino mass posterior higher, yielding a $1.8\sigma$ constraint ($M_\nu=0.16^{+0.09}_{-0.09}\mathrm{eV}$) in our baseline. Our analysis demonstrates the power of multiprobe analyses for assessing tensions, identifying systematics and providing robust constraints.