Velocity Reconstruction from KSZ: Measuring $f_{NL}$ with ACT and DESILS

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Main Authors: Hotinli, Selim C., Smith, Kendrick M., Ferraro, Simone
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Hotinli, Selim C.
Smith, Kendrick M.
Ferraro, Simone
author_facet Hotinli, Selim C.
Smith, Kendrick M.
Ferraro, Simone
contents The kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect offers an indirect way to reconstruct large-scale cosmic velocities, by correlating high-resolution CMB temperature maps with galaxy surveys. In this work, we present the first three-dimensional reconstruction of the large-scale velocity field using a photometric galaxy survey, using data from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (DESILS) and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) DR5. We detect an $11.7σ$ correlation between our velocity reconstruction and the galaxy field, using only DESILS LRGs in the northern Galactic hemisphere. We find that the overall amplitude of the kSZ-induced correlation is low relative to a halo model prediction ($b_v = 0.45^{+0.06}_{-0.05}$), in agreement with previous results which find high feedback and smoothed gas profiles near massive galaxies. We use this measurement to place new constraints on local-type primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG), obtaining $f_{\rm NL}\!=\!-39^{+40}_{-33}$. This represents the most stringent $f_{\rm NL}$ constraint from kSZ velocity-based analyses to date. We validate our findings through extensive null tests, including tests for CMB foregrounds based on comparing 90 and 150 GHz CMB data.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_21657
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Velocity Reconstruction from KSZ: Measuring $f_{NL}$ with ACT and DESILS
Hotinli, Selim C.
Smith, Kendrick M.
Ferraro, Simone
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
The kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect offers an indirect way to reconstruct large-scale cosmic velocities, by correlating high-resolution CMB temperature maps with galaxy surveys. In this work, we present the first three-dimensional reconstruction of the large-scale velocity field using a photometric galaxy survey, using data from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (DESILS) and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) DR5. We detect an $11.7σ$ correlation between our velocity reconstruction and the galaxy field, using only DESILS LRGs in the northern Galactic hemisphere. We find that the overall amplitude of the kSZ-induced correlation is low relative to a halo model prediction ($b_v = 0.45^{+0.06}_{-0.05}$), in agreement with previous results which find high feedback and smoothed gas profiles near massive galaxies. We use this measurement to place new constraints on local-type primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG), obtaining $f_{\rm NL}\!=\!-39^{+40}_{-33}$. This represents the most stringent $f_{\rm NL}$ constraint from kSZ velocity-based analyses to date. We validate our findings through extensive null tests, including tests for CMB foregrounds based on comparing 90 and 150 GHz CMB data.
title Velocity Reconstruction from KSZ: Measuring $f_{NL}$ with ACT and DESILS
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.21657