The Intermediate-Scale Clustering of Luminous Red Galaxies

We report the intermediate-scale (0.3-40 h^-1 Mpc) clustering of 35,000 luminous early-type galaxies at redshifts 0.16-0.44 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We present the redshift space two-point correlation function ξ(s), the projected correlation function w_p(r_p), and the deprojected real space correlation function ξ(r), for approximately volume-limited samples. As expected, the galaxies are highly clustered, with the correlation length varying from 9.8 ± 0.2 to 11.2 ± 0.2 h^-1 Mpc, dependent on the specific luminosity range. For the -23.2 < M_g < -21.2 sample, the inferred bias relative to that of L_* galaxies is 1.84 ± 0.11 for 1 h^-1 Mpc < r_p ≲ 10 h^-1 Mpc, with yet stronger clustering on smaller scales. We detect luminosity-dependent bias within the sample but see no evidence for redshift evolution between z = 0.2 and z = 0.4. We find a clear indication for deviations from a power-law in the real space correlation function, with a dip at ~2 h^-1 Mpc scales and an upturn on smaller scales. The precision measurements of these clustering trends offer new avenues for the study of the formation and evolution of these massive galaxies.