Constraints on neutrino masses from Planck and Galaxy Clustering data

TL;DR

This work combines Planck CMB measurements with SDSS-III BOSS galaxy clustering data (DR8 angular and DR9 3D power spectra) to constrain the total neutrino mass $\sum m_\nu$ across standard $\Lambda$CDM and extended cosmologies. By exploiting the full shape of the galaxy power spectrum and employing two DR9 clustering models (HaloFit and Cole), the authors show that DR9 significantly tightens neutrino-mass bounds to $\sum m_\nu<0.39$ eV in LCDM, and to $<0.48$ eV in $w$CDM, with even stronger constraints in non-flat universes ($<0.35$ eV without $H_0$ priors, $<0.26$ eV with them). DR8 BAO information alone provides weaker bounds than DR9 full-shape measurements in extended models, illustrating the value of full-shape analyses. The results demonstrate that full-shape galaxy clustering information can yield robust neutrino mass limits without requiring the contentious HST $H_0$ prior, and its impact is especially pronounced in models with curvature or dynamical dark energy.

Abstract

We present here bounds on neutrino masses from the combination of recent Planck Cosmic Microwave Background measurements and galaxy clustering information from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-III. We use the full shape of either the photometric angular clustering (Data Release 8) or the 3D spectroscopic clustering (Data Release 9) power spectrum in different cosmological scenarios. In the Lambda$CDM scenario, spectroscopic galaxy clustering measurements improve significantly the existing neutrino mass bounds from Planck data. We find sum m_nu< 0.39 eV at 95% confidence level for the combination of the 3D power spectrum with Planck CMB data (with lensing included) and Wilkinson Microwave Anisoptropy Probe 9-year polarization measurements. Therefore, robust neutrino mass constraints can be obtained without the addition of the prior on the Hubble constant from HST. In extended cosmological scenarios with a dark energy fluid or with non flat geometries, galaxy clustering measurements are essential to pin down the neutrino mass bounds, providing in the majority of cases better results than those obtained from the associated measurement of the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation scale only. In the presence of a freely varying (constant) dark energy equation of state, we find sum m_nu<0.49 eV at 95% confidence level for the combination of the 3D power spectrum with Planck CMB data (with lensing included) and Wilkinson Microwave Anisoptropy Probe 9-year polarization measurements. This same data combination in non flat geometries provides the neutrino mass bound sum m_nu<0.35 eV at 95% confidence level.

Figures (1)

• Figure 1: Left panel: the red contours show the $68\%$ and $95\%$ CL allowed regions from the PLANCK data set in the ($\sum m_\nu$, $w$) plane, while the blue and green contours show the impact of the addition of the DR9 BAO signature and the full shape of DR9 galaxy clustering measurements respectively. The magenta contours depict the combination of PLANCK with DR9 galaxy clustering data and SNLS3 measurements. Right panel: as in the left panel but in the ($\sum m_\nu$, $\Omega_k$) plane (note the absence of the case with SNLS3 data in the analyses presented in this figure).