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Study of the connected four-point correlation function of galaxies from the DESI Data Release 1 luminous red galaxy sample

J. Hou ^1,2,3,4,*, R. N. Cahn⁵, J. Aguilar⁵, S. Ahlen⁷, D. Bianchi^8,9, D. Brooks¹⁰, T. Claybaugh⁵, P. Doel¹⁰, S. Ferraro^5,12 et al.

J. E. Forero-Romero^13,14, E. Gaztañaga^15,16,17, L. Le Guillou²⁹, G. Gutierrez¹⁸, K. Honscheid^19,20,21, D. Huterer^22,23, M. Ishak²⁴, R. Joyce²⁵, S. Juneau²⁵, R. Kehoe²⁶, D. Kirkby²⁷, T. Kisner⁵, A. Kremin⁵, C. Lamman²⁸, M. Landriau⁵, A. de la Macorra¹¹, M. Manera^30,31, A. de Mattia⁶, R. Miquel^31,32, E. Mueller³³, S. Nadathur¹⁶, G. Niz^34,35, W. J. Percival^36,37,38, F. Prada³⁹, I. Pérez-Ràfols⁴⁰, A. J. Ross^19,21,41, G. Rossi⁴², E. Sanchez⁴³, D. Schlegel⁵, M. Schubnell^22,23, H. Seo⁴⁴, J. Silber⁵, Z. Slepian^4,5, D. Sprayberry²⁵, G. Tarlé²³, B. A. Weaver²⁵, and H. Zou⁴⁵

¹Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, Postfach 1312, Giessenbachstrasse, 85748 Garching, Germany
²Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Rd, Cambridge CB3 0HA, United Kingdom
³Kavli Institute for Cosmology Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, United Kingdom
⁴Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA
⁵Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
⁶IRFU, CEA, Universitè Paris-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
⁷Department of Physics, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA
⁸Dipartimento di Fisica “Aldo Pontremoli,” Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 16, I-20133 Milano, Italy
⁹INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Brera 28, 20122 Milano, Italy
¹⁰Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
¹¹Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito de la Investigación Científica, Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México Código Postal 04510, Mexico
¹²University of California, Berkeley, 110 Sproul Hall No. 5800 Berkeley, California 94720, USA
¹³Departamento de Física, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 1 No. 18A-10, Edificio Ip, CP 111711, Bogotá, Colombia
¹⁴Observatorio Astronómico, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 1 No. 18A-10, Edificio H, CP 111711 Bogotá, Colombia
¹⁵Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), c/ Esteve Terradas 1, Edifici RDIT, Campus PMT-UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, Spain
¹⁶Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Dennis Sciama Building, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX, United Kingdom
¹⁷Institute of Space Sciences, ICE-CSIC, Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans s/n, 08913 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
¹⁸Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, PO Box 500, Batavia, Illinois 60510, USA
¹⁹Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics, The Ohio State University, 191 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
²⁰Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, 191 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
²¹The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
²²Department of Physics, University of Michigan, 450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
²³University of Michigan, 500 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
²⁴Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 West Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA
²⁵NSF NOIRLab, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85719, USA
²⁶Department of Physics, Southern Methodist University, 3215 Daniel Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75275, USA
²⁷Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine 92697, USA
²⁸Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
²⁹Sorbonne Université, CNRS/IN2P3, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies (LPNHE), FR-75005 Paris, France
³⁰Departament de Física, Serra Húnter, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
³¹Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Edifici Cn, Campus UAB, 08193, Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
³²Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Passeig de Lluís Companys, 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
³³Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, United Kingdom
³⁴Departamento de Física, DCI-Campus León, Universidad de Guanajuato, Loma del Bosque 103, León, Guanajuato C. P. 37150, Mexico
³⁵Instituto Avanzado de Cosmología A. C., San Marcos 11—Atenas 202, Magdalena Contreras, Ciudad de México C. P. 10720, Mexico
³⁶Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
³⁷Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, 31 Caroline Street North, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
³⁸Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
³⁹Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomía, s/n, E-18008 Granada, Spain
⁴⁰Departament de Física, EEBE, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, c/Eduard Maristany 10, 08930 Barcelona, Spain
⁴¹Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 4055 McPherson Laboratory, 140 W 18th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
⁴²Department of Physics and Astronomy, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea
⁴³CIEMAT, Avenida Complutense 40, E-28040 Madrid, Spain
⁴⁴Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ohio University, 139 University Terrace, Athens, Ohio 45701, USA
⁴⁵National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China

^*Contact author: jiamin.hou@ast.cam.ac.uk

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 122005 – Published 15 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1wyy-758f

Abstract

We present a measurement of the non-Gaussian four-point correlation function (4PCF) from the DESI DR1 luminous red galaxy (LRG) sample. For the gravitationally induced parity-even 4PCF, we detect a signal with a significance of $14.7 σ$ using our fiducial setup. We assess the robustness of this detection through a series of validation tests, including auto and cross-correlation analyses, sky partitioning across multiple patch combinations, and variations in radial scale cuts. Due to the low completeness of the sample, we find that differences in fiber assignment implementation schemes can significantly impact estimation of the covariance and introduce biases in the data vector. After correcting for these effects, all tests yield consistent results. This is one of the first measurements of the connected 4PCF on the DESI LRG sample; the good agreement between the simulation and the data implies that the amplitude of the density fluctuation inferred from the connected 4PCF is consistent with the Planck $Λ CDM$ cosmology. The methodology and diagnostic framework established in this work provide a foundation for interpreting parity-odd 4PCF.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 122005– Published 15 December, 2025

Vol. 112, Iss. 12 — 15 December 2025

Received 16 August 2025
Accepted 6 November 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1wyy-758f

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Open access publication funded by the Max Planck Society.

Published by the American Physical Society

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Study of the connected four-point correlation function of galaxies from the DESI Data Release 1 luminous red galaxy sample

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