Beyond BAO: Improving cosmological constraints from BOSS data with measurement of the void-galaxy cross-correlation

We present a measurement of the anisotropic void-galaxy cross-correlation function in the CMASS galaxy sample of the BOSS DR12 data release. We perform a joint fit to the data for redshift space distortions (RSD) due to galaxy peculiar velocities and anisotropies due to the Alcock-Paczynski (AP) effect, for the first time using a velocity field reconstruction technique to remove the complicating effects of RSD in the void center positions themselves. Fits to the void-galaxy function give a 1% measurement of the AP parameter combination D_A(z )H (z )/c =0.4367 ±0.0045 at redshift z =0.57 , where D_A is the angular diameter distance and H the Hubble parameter, exceeding the precision obtainable from baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) by a factor of ∼3.5 and free of systematic errors. From voids alone we also obtain a 10% measure of the growth rate, f σ₈(z =0.57 )=0.501 ±0.051 . The parameter degeneracies are orthogonal to those obtained from galaxy clustering. Combining void information with that from BAO and galaxy RSD in the same CMASS sample, we measure D_A(0.57 )/r_s=9.383 ±0.077 (at 0.8% precision), H (0.57 )r_s=(14.05 ±0.14 )10³ kms^-1 Mpc^-1 (1%), and f σ₈=0.453 ±0.022 (4.9%), consistent with cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements from Planck. These represent a factor ∼2 improvement in precision over previous results through the inclusion of void information. Fitting a flat cosmological constant Λ CDM model to these results in combination with Planck CMB data, we find up to an 11% reduction in uncertainties on H₀ and Ω_m compared to use of the corresponding BOSS consensus values. Constraints on extended models with nonflat geometry and a dark energy of state that differs from w =-1 show an even greater improvement.