Cosmic homogeneity: a spectroscopic and model-independent measurement

Cosmology relies on the Cosmological Principle, i.e. the hypothesis that the Universe is homogeneous and isotropic on large scales. This implies in particular that the counts of galaxies should approach a homogeneous scaling with volume at sufficiently large scales. Testing homogeneity is crucial to obtain a correct interpretation of the physical assumptions underlying the current cosmic acceleration and structure formation of the Universe. In this letter, we use the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey to make the first spectroscopic and model-independent measurements of the angular homogeneity scale theta(h). Applying four statistical estimators, we show that the angular distribution of galaxies in the range 0.46 < z < 0.62 is consistent with homogeneity at large scales, and that theta(h) varies with redshift, indicating a smoother Universe in the past. These results are in agreement with the foundations of the standard cosmological paradigm.