An Algorithm to locate the centers of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations
  The cosmic structure formed from Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) in the
early universe is imprinted in the galaxy distribution observable in large
scale surveys, and is used as a standard ruler in contemporary cosmology. BAO
are typically detected as a preferential length scale in two point statistics,
which gives little information about the location of BAO structures in real
space. The aim of the algorithm described in this paper is to find probable
centers of BAO in the cosmic matter distribution. The algorithm convolves the
three dimensional distribution of matter density with a spherical shell kernel
of variable radius placed at different locations. The locations that correspond
to the highest values of the convolution correspond to the probable centers of
BAO. This method is realized in an open-source, computationally efficient
algorithm. We describe the algorithm and present the results of applying it to
the SDSS DR9 CMASS survey and associated mock catalogs. A detailed performance
study demonstrates the algorithm's ability to locate BAO centers, and in doing
so presents a novel detection of the BAO scale in galaxy surveys.
