The Large-Scale 3-point correlation function of SDSS Luminous Red
  Galaxies
  We present new measurements of the redshift-space three-point correlation
function (3PCF) of Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) from the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey (SDSS). Using the largest dataset to date, the Data Release 7 (DR7)
LRGs, and an improved binning scheme compared to previous measurements, we
measure the LRG 3PCF on large scales up to ~90 Mpc/h, from the mildly
non-linear to quasi-linear regimes. Comparing the LRG correlations to the dark
matter two- and three-point correlation functions, obtained from N-body
simulations we infer linear and non-linear bias parameters. As expected, LRGs
are highly biased tracers of large scale structure, with a linear bias b1 ~ 2;
the LRGs also have a large positive non-linear bias parameter, in agreement
with predictions of galaxy population models. The use of the 3PCF to estimate
biasing helps to also make estimates of the cosmological parameter {\sigma_8},
as well as to infer best-fit parameters of the Halo Occupation Distribution
parameters for LRGs. We also use a large suite of public mock catalogs to
characterize the error covariance matrix for the 3PCF and compare the variance
among simulation results with jackknife error estimates.
