DESI DR2 and ACT DR6 data yield 17σ LRG-velocity, 8.3σ ELG-velocity, and 6.8σ QSO-velocity detections plus a 3.1σ velocity-velocity signal, producing f_NL^loc = 15.9_{-34.4}^{+34.6} from the velocity field.
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Overview of the Instrumentation for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
Canonical reference. 89% of citing Pith papers cite this work as background.
abstract
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has embarked on an ambitious five-year survey to explore the nature of dark energy with spectroscopy of 40 million galaxies and quasars. DESI will determine precise redshifts and employ the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation method to measure distances from the nearby universe to z > 3.5, as well as measure the growth of structure and probe potential modifications to general relativity. In this paper we describe the significant instrumentation we developed for the DESI survey. The new instrumentation includes a wide-field, 3.2-deg diameter prime-focus corrector that focuses the light onto 5020 robotic fiber positioners on the 0.812 m diameter, aspheric focal surface. The positioners and their fibers are divided among ten wedge-shaped petals. Each petal is connected to one of ten spectrographs via a contiguous, high-efficiency, nearly 50 m fiber cable bundle. The ten spectrographs each use a pair of dichroics to split the light into three channels that together record the light from 360 - 980 nm with a resolution of 2000 to 5000. We describe the science requirements, technical requirements on the instrumentation, and management of the project. DESI was installed at the 4-m Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak, and we also describe the facility upgrades to prepare for DESI and the installation and functional verification process. DESI has achieved all of its performance goals, and the DESI survey began in May 2021. Some performance highlights include RMS positioner accuracy better than 0.1", SNR per \sqrt{\AA} > 0.5 for a z > 2 quasar with flux 0.28e-17 erg/s/cm^2/A at 380 nm in 4000s, and median SNR = 7 of the [OII] doublet at 8e-17 erg/s/cm^2 in a 1000s exposure for emission line galaxies at z = 1.4 - 1.6. We conclude with highlights from the on-sky validation and commissioning of the instrument, key successes, and lessons learned. (abridged)
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DESI DR1 Lyman-alpha data yields Δ²★=0.379±0.032 and n★=-2.309±0.019 at k★=0.009 km⁻¹s and z=3, sharpening N_eff, α_s, and β_s constraints by factors of 1.18-1.90 when combined with other probes.
DESI DR2 BAO data exhibits 2.3 sigma tension with CMB in Lambda-CDM but prefers evolving dark energy (w0 > -1, wa < 0) at 3.1 sigma with CMB and 2.8-4.2 sigma when including supernovae.
First-year DESI BAO data are consistent with flat LambdaCDM and, when combined with CMB, show a 2.5-3.9 sigma preference for evolving dark energy (w0 > -1, wa < 0) that strengthens with certain supernova datasets.
DESI measures BAO scales in six redshift bins with 0.52% combined precision using 5.7 million objects, detecting the signal at up to 9.1 sigma and finding larger scales than Planck LCDM at z<0.8.
High-significance kSZ measurements around LRGs show gas is redistributed beyond gravitational collapse and imply more efficient feedback in group-scale halos than in standard hydrodynamical models.
A Gompertzian reionization model with three nuisance parameters demotes optical depth to a derived quantity, reducing its uncertainty by a factor of three and revealing potential neutrino mass tension in CMB analyses.
A heuristic power-spectrum rescaling applied to DESI DR1 BAO data plus CMB acoustic scale anchor yields H0 values of 69.2 to 70.3 km/s/Mpc at sub-2% precision across three independent late-time datasets.
Lya2pcf is an efficient pipeline implementing standard algorithms for 2PCF and 3PCF of the Lyman-alpha forest, with GPU speedups over PICCA and the first large-sample anisotropic 3PCF measurement up to 80 Mpc/h.
Calibrated NQE enables unbiased field-level cosmological inference from 2D density maps by training mostly on approximate PM simulations and calibrating with ~100 PP simulations.
DESI DR1 full-shape clustering yields Ω_m = 0.2962 ± 0.0095 and σ_8 = 0.842 ± 0.034 in flat ΛCDM, tightening to H_0 = 68.40 ± 0.27 km/s/Mpc with CMB and DESY3, while favoring w_0 > -1, w_a < 0 and limiting neutrino mass sum to < 0.071 eV.
DESI DR1 full-shape galaxy clustering constrains Omega_m = 0.296 ± 0.010, H0 = 68.63 ± 0.79 km/s/Mpc, and sigma_8 = 0.841 ± 0.034, consistent with LambdaCDM and Planck.
DESI measures BAO from the Lyα forest at z_eff=2.33, reporting H(z) = (239.2 ± 4.8) (147.09 Mpc/rd) km/s/Mpc and DM(z) = (5.84 ± 0.14) (rd/147.09 Mpc) Gpc.
FolpsD combines EFT power spectrum and tree-level bispectrum with damping to enable joint analyses that improve cosmological constraints from DESI-like galaxy mocks by up to 30% on As and omega_cdm while extending the usable k-range without significant biases for LRG samples.
Cross-correlating LRG and QSO samples in DESI DR1 yields f_NL^loc = 2.1 with 68% uncertainties of +8.8 and -8.3, an incremental improvement over auto-correlations alone.
Fisher-matrix forecasts for LSST- and CMB-S4-like surveys show kSZ tomography tightens constraints on dark energy parameters w0 and wa by 15% and 32% while assessing detectability of perturbations for different sound speeds.
Combining LRG and ELG tracers with bias weighting improves BAO constraints by 11% on alpha_iso and 7% on alpha_AP in DESI DR1 data for the 0.8<z<1.1 bin.
DESI DR2 BAO and full-shape data plus CMB yield ∑m_ν < 0.0642 eV (95% CL) under ΛCDM, in 3σ tension with oscillation lower limits, relaxed to <0.163 eV in w0waCDM.
MUST is a new 6.5 m telescope designed to deliver simultaneous optical spectra for over 20,000 targets across a 5 deg² field, enabling the largest 3D spectroscopic map of the Universe with redshifts for more than 100 million objects over an 8-year survey.
DESI DR1 constrains the modified gravity parameter to log10 |f_R0| < -4.59 at 95% CL, implying no detectable fifth force on scales below about 18 Mpc.
Reanalysis of HSC Y3 cosmic shear with DESI clustering redshift calibration yields S8 = 0.805 ± 0.018, a 1.8× error reduction and upward shift toward Planck cosmology.
Extended analysis of DESI DR2 data confirms robust evidence for dynamical dark energy with phantom crossing preference, stable under parametric and non-parametric modeling.
DESI DR2 delivers 0.65% precision BAO measurements from the LyA forest at z_eff=2.33, with D_H/r_d = 8.632 ± 0.098 ± 0.026 and D_M/r_d = 38.99 ± 0.52 ± 0.12.
MUST is a planned 6.5m Stage-V spectroscopic survey telescope targeting 100M+ galaxies and quasars to z~5.5 for large-scale structure cosmology studies.
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Measurement of the galaxy-velocity power spectrum of DESI tracers with the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect using DESI DR2 and ACT DR6
DESI DR2 and ACT DR6 data yield 17σ LRG-velocity, 8.3σ ELG-velocity, and 6.8σ QSO-velocity detections plus a 3.1σ velocity-velocity signal, producing f_NL^loc = 15.9_{-34.4}^{+34.6} from the velocity field.
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Cosmological analysis of the DESI DR1 Lyman alpha 1D power spectrum
DESI DR1 Lyman-alpha data yields Δ²★=0.379±0.032 and n★=-2.309±0.019 at k★=0.009 km⁻¹s and z=3, sharpening N_eff, α_s, and β_s constraints by factors of 1.18-1.90 when combined with other probes.
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DESI DR2 Results II: Measurements of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations and Cosmological Constraints
DESI DR2 BAO data exhibits 2.3 sigma tension with CMB in Lambda-CDM but prefers evolving dark energy (w0 > -1, wa < 0) at 3.1 sigma with CMB and 2.8-4.2 sigma when including supernovae.
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DESI 2024 VI: Cosmological Constraints from the Measurements of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations
First-year DESI BAO data are consistent with flat LambdaCDM and, when combined with CMB, show a 2.5-3.9 sigma preference for evolving dark energy (w0 > -1, wa < 0) that strengthens with certain supernova datasets.
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DESI 2024 III: Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from Galaxies and Quasars
DESI measures BAO scales in six redshift bins with 0.52% combined precision using 5.7 million objects, detecting the signal at up to 9.1 sigma and finding larger scales than Planck LCDM at z<0.8.
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Precision Kinematic Sunyaev--Zel'dovich Measurements Across Halo Mass and Redshift with DESI DR2 and ACT DR6: Part I. Luminous Red Galaxies
High-significance kSZ measurements around LRGs show gas is redistributed beyond gravitational collapse and imply more efficient feedback in group-scale halos than in standard hydrodynamical models.
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Into the Gompverse: A robust Gompertzian reionization model for CMB analyses
A Gompertzian reionization model with three nuisance parameters demotes optical depth to a derived quantity, reducing its uncertainty by a factor of three and revealing potential neutrino mass tension in CMB analyses.
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$H_0$ Without the Sound Horizon (or Supernovae): A 2% Measurement in DESI DR1
A heuristic power-spectrum rescaling applied to DESI DR1 BAO data plus CMB acoustic scale anchor yields H0 values of 69.2 to 70.3 km/s/Mpc at sub-2% precision across three independent late-time datasets.
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Lya2pcf: an efficient pipeline to estimate two- and three-point correlation functions of the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest
Lya2pcf is an efficient pipeline implementing standard algorithms for 2PCF and 3PCF of the Lyman-alpha forest, with GPU speedups over PICCA and the first large-sample anisotropic 3PCF measurement up to 80 Mpc/h.
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Cosmological Analysis with Calibrated Neural Quantile Estimation and Approximate Simulators
Calibrated NQE enables unbiased field-level cosmological inference from 2D density maps by training mostly on approximate PM simulations and calibrating with ~100 PP simulations.
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DESI 2024 VII: Cosmological Constraints from the Full-Shape Modeling of Clustering Measurements
DESI DR1 full-shape clustering yields Ω_m = 0.2962 ± 0.0095 and σ_8 = 0.842 ± 0.034 in flat ΛCDM, tightening to H_0 = 68.40 ± 0.27 km/s/Mpc with CMB and DESY3, while favoring w_0 > -1, w_a < 0 and limiting neutrino mass sum to < 0.071 eV.
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DESI 2024 V: Full-Shape Galaxy Clustering from Galaxies and Quasars
DESI DR1 full-shape galaxy clustering constrains Omega_m = 0.296 ± 0.010, H0 = 68.63 ± 0.79 km/s/Mpc, and sigma_8 = 0.841 ± 0.034, consistent with LambdaCDM and Planck.
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DESI 2024 IV: Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from the Lyman Alpha Forest
DESI measures BAO from the Lyα forest at z_eff=2.33, reporting H(z) = (239.2 ± 4.8) (147.09 Mpc/rd) km/s/Mpc and DM(z) = (5.84 ± 0.14) (rd/147.09 Mpc) Gpc.
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FolpsD: combining EFT and phenomenological approaches for joint power spectrum and bispectrum analyses
FolpsD combines EFT power spectrum and tree-level bispectrum with damping to enable joint analyses that improve cosmological constraints from DESI-like galaxy mocks by up to 30% on As and omega_cdm while extending the usable k-range without significant biases for LRG samples.
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Local primordial non-Gaussianity using cross-correlations of DESI tracers
Cross-correlating LRG and QSO samples in DESI DR1 yields f_NL^loc = 2.1 with 68% uncertainties of +8.8 and -8.3, an incremental improvement over auto-correlations alone.
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Probing Dark Energy Microphysics with kSZ Tomography
Fisher-matrix forecasts for LSST- and CMB-S4-like surveys show kSZ tomography tightens constraints on dark energy parameters w0 and wa by 15% and 32% while assessing detectability of perturbations for different sound speeds.
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Combined tracer analysis for DESI 2024 BAO
Combining LRG and ELG tracers with bias weighting improves BAO constraints by 11% on alpha_iso and 7% on alpha_AP in DESI DR1 data for the 0.8<z<1.1 bin.
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Constraints on Neutrino Physics from DESI DR2 BAO and DR1 Full Shape
DESI DR2 BAO and full-shape data plus CMB yield ∑m_ν < 0.0642 eV (95% CL) under ΛCDM, in 3σ tension with oscillation lower limits, relaxed to <0.163 eV in w0waCDM.
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From Large Telescopes to the MUltiplexed Survey Telescope (MUST)
MUST is a new 6.5 m telescope designed to deliver simultaneous optical spectra for over 20,000 targets across a 5 deg² field, enabling the largest 3D spectroscopic map of the Universe with redshifts for more than 100 million objects over an 8-year survey.
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Testing Scale-Dependent Modified Gravity with DESI DR1
DESI DR1 constrains the modified gravity parameter to log10 |f_R0| < -4.59 at 95% CL, implying no detectable fifth force on scales below about 18 Mpc.
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Cosmic Shear constraints from HSC Year 3 with clustering calibration of the tomographic redshift distributions from DESI
Reanalysis of HSC Y3 cosmic shear with DESI clustering redshift calibration yields S8 = 0.805 ± 0.018, a 1.8× error reduction and upward shift toward Planck cosmology.
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Extended Dark Energy analysis using DESI DR2 BAO measurements
Extended analysis of DESI DR2 data confirms robust evidence for dynamical dark energy with phantom crossing preference, stable under parametric and non-parametric modeling.
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DESI DR2 Results I: Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from the Lyman Alpha Forest
DESI DR2 delivers 0.65% precision BAO measurements from the LyA forest at z_eff=2.33, with D_H/r_d = 8.632 ± 0.098 ± 0.026 and D_M/r_d = 38.99 ± 0.52 ± 0.12.
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MUltiplexed Survey Telescope (MUST) Science White Paper I: Overview of Large-Scale Structure Cosmology in the Era of Stage-V Spectroscopic Surveys
MUST is a planned 6.5m Stage-V spectroscopic survey telescope targeting 100M+ galaxies and quasars to z~5.5 for large-scale structure cosmology studies.
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cloelike: A Python Library for Cosmological Likelihood Inference in the Euclid Era
cloelike is a new open Python package implementing composable Gaussian likelihoods for WL, GCph, GGL, full-shape spectra, and BAO in joint probe combinations for Euclid analyses.
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cloelib: A Flexible Python Library for Computing Cosmological Observables in the Euclid Era
cloelib is a modular JAX-based Python library for cosmological observables intended as reference infrastructure for Euclid's first data release.
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Machine Learning Techniques for Astrophysics and Cosmology: Photometric Redshifts
AI techniques for photometric redshift estimation have converged and are now limited by the size, systematics, and selection effects in spectroscopic training samples rather than by methodology.
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The Quintom theory of dark energy after DESI DR2
This review traces the history of dynamical dark energy, presents the no-go theorem against single-field crossing of w = -1, and surveys viable Quintom constructions including multi-field models and modified gravity in light of DESI DR2 hints.
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Machine Learning Techniques for Astrophysics and Cosmology: Lyman-$\alpha$ forest
Review of machine learning applications for analyzing Lyman-alpha forest observations to probe cosmology, reionization, and dark matter.