Eisenstein

Baryon Acoustic Oscillations: A Robust and Precise Route to the Cosmological Distance Scale
Daniel Eisenstein (Steward Observatory)

I will discuss how the acoustic oscillations that propagate in the photon-baryon fluid during the first million years of the Universe provide a robust method for measuring the cosmological distance scale. The distance that the sound can travel can be computed to high precision and creates a signature in the late-time clustering of matter that serves as a standard ruler. I will present galaxy clustering results from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey that reveal this feature, giving a geometric distance to a redshift of 0.35 and an accurate measurement of Omega matter. I will then discuss the prospects for future redshift surveys to use the acoustic method to map the curvature and expansion history of the Universe and measure the evolution of dark energy.