Galaxy Clustering Beyond Two-Point Statistics

Abstract
The last few years have seen a vast array of new techniques for analyzing high-precision data from current and upcoming galaxy surveys. Most are motivated by the idea that an optimal analysis of galaxy clustering should go beyond the canonical two-point (2pt) statistics. We tested and benchmarked several of these techniques in the community data challenge "Beyond-2pt". The methods were density-split clustering, nearest-neighbor statistics, the BACCO power spectrum emulator, void statistics, field-level effective field theory (EFT), and joint power spectrum and bispectrum analyses using both EFT and simulation-based inference.

DESI has since developed a simulation-based emulator pipeline that models many of these alternative clustering statistics down to non-linear scales. In the DESI Emulator Mock Challenge, we tested it on mock galaxies built with a galaxy–halo connection model different from the one used for training.
I will review the results of both challenges, focusing on problems solved, lessons learned, and the research still needed before beyond-2pt methods can be applied robustly to DESI data.

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