Transverse BAO scale measurement at $z_{\rm eff} = 1.725$ with the SDSS quasars catalog

Abstract

Studying the SDSS-DR16 quasar catalog, we detect a baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) signal in the two-point angular correlation function with a statistical significance of $3\sigma$, at an effective redshift of $z_{\rm eff}=1.725$. Using a simple parameterization-comprising a polynomial plus a Gaussian function-we measure the transverse BAO scale as $\theta_{\rm BAO}=1.928^{\circ}\pm0.094^{\circ}$. This measurement is obtained from a narrow redshift shell, $z \in [1.72, 1.73]$ (i.e., $\Delta z=0.01$), thin enough that projection-effect corrections are negligible, making it only weakly dependent on the assumed fiducial cosmology. The only assumption adopted is isotropy in the computation of the correlation function, further ensuring that the result depends only weakly on specific cosmological-model hypotheses. We also investigate possible systematics that could affect the detection or significance of the BAO signal and find them to be subdominant or implausible. When combined with other transverse BAO measurements from the literature, our result shows good concordance-within the $1\sigma$ confidence level-with the cosmological parameter values reported by the Planck and DESI collaborations. This new measurement of the transverse BAO scale, obtained from the SDSS quasar sample with minimal cosmological-model assumptions, provides an additional independent constraint for updated statistical studies aimed at probing the nature of dark energy.