ENEAR redshift-distance survey: Cosmological constraints

We present an analysis of the ENEAR sample of peculiar velocities of field and cluster elliptical galaxies, obtained with D-n-sigma distances. We use the velocity correlation function psi(1)(r) to analyze the statistics of th e field object's velocities, while the analysis of the cluster data is base d on the estimate of their rms peculiar velocity V-rms. The results are com pared with predictions from cosmological models using linear theory. The st atistics of the model velocity field is parameterized by the amplitude eta( 8) = sigma(8)Omega(m)(0.6) and by the shape parameter r of the cold dark ma tter-like power spectrum. This analysis is performed in redshift space, so as to circumvent the need to address corrections due to inhomogeneous Malmq uist bias and to the redshift cutoff adopted in the sample selection. From the velocity correlation statistics, we obtain eta(8) = 0.51(+0.24)(-0.09) for Gamma = 0.25 at the 2 sigma level for one interesting fitting parameter . This result agrees with that obtained from a similar analysis of the SFI I-band Tully-Fisher (TF) survey of field Sc galaxies. Even though less cons training, a consistent result is obtained by comparing the measured V-rms o f clusters with linear theory predictions. For Gamma = 0.25, we find eta(8) = 0.63(-0.19)(+0.22) at 1 sigma. Again, this result agrees, within the unc ertainties, with that obtained from the SCI cluster sample based on TF dist ances. Overall, our results point toward a statistical concordance of the c osmic flows traced by spiral and early-type galaxies, with galaxy distances estimated using TF and D-n-sigma distance indicators, respectively.