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Abstract:

It is well known that estimating the pairwise velocity of galaxies, v_{12}, from the redshift space galaxy correlation function is difficult because this method is highly sensitive to the assumed model of the pairwise velocity dispersion. Here we propose an alternative method to estimate v_{12} directly from peculiar velocity samples, which contain redshift-independent distances as well as galaxy redshifts. In contrast to other dynamical measures which determine beta = sigma_8 x Omega^{0.6}, our method can provide an estimate of (sigma_8)^2 x Omega^{0.6} for a range of sigma_8 (here Omega is the cosmological mass density parameter while sigma_8 is the standard normalization parameter for the spectrum of matter density fluctuations). We demonstrate how to measure this quantity from realistic catalogues.

Abstract:

In a recent Letter we have shown how COBE-DMR maps may be used to disprove Gaussianity at a high confidence level. In this report we digress on a few issues closely related to this Letter. We present the general formalism for surveying non-Gaussianity employed. We present a few more tests for systematics. We wonder about the theoretical implications of our result.