ν Gundam: a unified framework for point-redshift and PDF-aware spatial correlation functions

Original title: $ν$Gundam: a unified framework for point-redshift and PDF-aware spatial correlation functions

By Donoso, Cortez, Sureshkumar +1Oct 21, 2026

Score████░░░░░░4.4

VerdictWorth a reader's time today.

Abstract

Context. Photometric-redshift uncertainties redistribute galaxy pairs along the line of sight (LOS), diluting spatial clustering measurements. Propagating full redshift probability density functions (PDFs) through standard pair-count estimators remains computationally demanding. Aims. We present $ν$Gundam, a unified framework to propagate radial PDFs at the pair-count level while retaining a common interface for exact, compressed, and stochastic projected-clustering calculations. Methods. The code implements four modes: exact empirical-PDF integration, Gaussian-mixture compression, Monte Carlo (MC) sampling, and a quantile-compression method. All modes accumulate pair counts on a resolved (r_p,π) grid, from which ξ(r_p,π) and w_p(r_p;Π) are reconstructed. We validate these with DESI galaxies and CosmoDC2 mocks. Results. The PDF-aware modes produce nearly indistinguishable LOS redistribution kernels, while point-photo-z estimates discard probabilistic pair information. Radial uncertainty mainly redistributes the clustering signal to larger $π$; the depth required to recover the truth projection scales with the pairwise radial dispersion. For practical settings, MC, quantile, and Gaussian-mixture compression reproduce the exact result with fractional RMS residuals below 5%. Applied to DESI Bright Galaxy Survey samples, MC sampling recovers spectroscopic clustering shapes and relative amplitudes for r_pgtrsim0.8 h⁻¹Mpc using sample-dependent recovery depths of ~400 and ~180 h⁻¹Mpc for red and blue galaxies. Conclusions. Projected clustering with redshift PDFs is a pair-redistribution problem. When propagated consistently, the signal is recovered accurately and efficiently. The integration depth is sample dependent and should be part of the measurement definition rather than a fixed choice.

E. Donoso, C. A. Lopez Cortez, U. Sureshkumar, Mariano J. Domínguez Romero

The editor's rubric

Heuristic review

Leverage3 / 5: A method or resource many groups across the field will adopt within a year.; 18% of this desk’s rubric
Magnitude2 / 5: Solid incremental gain on a meaningful problem.; 20% of this desk’s rubric
Evidence3 / 5: Solid: multiple benchmarks or cohorts, ablations, fair baselines, released code or data.; 22% of this desk’s rubric
Novelty3 / 5: A genuinely new approach to an open problem.; 22% of this desk’s rubric
Trajectory3 / 5: A clear path to scale.; 10% of this desk’s rubric
Stakes2 / 5: Benefits a professional community (practitioners, clinicians, engineers).; 8% of this desk’s rubric

Dimension	Level	Weight	What that level means
Leverage	███░░ 3	18%	A method or resource many groups across the field will adopt within a year.
Magnitude	██░░░ 2	20%	Solid incremental gain on a meaningful problem.
Evidence	███░░ 3	22%	Solid: multiple benchmarks or cohorts, ablations, fair baselines, released code or data.
Novelty	███░░ 3	22%	A genuinely new approach to an open problem.
Trajectory	███░░ 3	10%	A clear path to scale.
Stakes	██░░░ 2	8%	Benefits a professional community (practitioners, clinicians, engineers).

Editor’s rationale

Heuristic triage from title and abstract text only, not a reading of the paper. Cues found: method (we propose, new method); novelty (alternative to status quo); verification (error bars); scale (scalable, efficient); stakes (energy).

How the score was computed

rank-2026-10-18

Score████░░░░░░4.4

Score = 10 × (75% × adjusted merit / 10 + 15% × attention + 10% × freshness)

Desks place stronger verdicts first, then use this score to order work within the same verdict.

Merit: 5.4 / 10; Weighted rubric, evidence-gated.
Adjusted merit: 4.6 / 10; Shrunk toward the desk prior by editor confidence (44%).
Attention: 0%; Citations, upvotes, points, mentions.
Freshness: 89%; Half-life decay since publication.

No attention signals recorded yet.

The record

Reviewed by heuristic-v7 on Oct 22, 2026, 07:29 UTC. Paper type: method.
Categories: astro-ph.CO
BRIEF, No.3 in the Physics edition of October 22, 2026.