1303.2609 (Hong Guo et al.)

Mass and color dependence of the three-point correlation function of galaxies in the local universe    [PDF]

Hong Guo, Cheng Li, Y. P. Jing, G. Boerner

We measure the three-point correlation function (3PCF) of the SDSS DR7 main sample galaxies in both redshift and projected spaces on scales up to $40\mpchi$. The dependence of the 3PCF on stellar mass and color is explored in different scales and triangle shapes. We find a weak but significant stellar mass dependence. More massive galaxies generally have higher amplitudes of the 3PCF, but lower amplitudes of the reduced 3PCF. The reduced 3PCF in both redshift and projected spaces only has mild shape dependence on small scales ($<2\mpchi$), regardless of stellar mass and color. The shape dependence of the reduced 3PCF does not correlate with the stellar mass on small scales. On large scales, the shape dependence of the reduced 3PCF is stronger for lower-mass galaxies. The reduced 3PCF in the projected space shows weaker shape dependence but stronger stellar mass and color dependence, indicating that the redshift-space distortion reduces the dependence on galaxy properties. Red galaxies have higher amplitudes of the reduced 3PCF than those of the blue galaxies, implying that the nonlinear bias is important for the dependence on color.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1303.2609