Instruct: Identify the main and secondary category of Arxiv papers based on the titles and abstracts
Query: Comment on the paper ``The ESO Slice Project galaxy redshift survey: V.
  Evidence for a D=3 sample dimensionality''   In a recent analysis of number counts in the ESP survey Scaramella et al.
(1998) claim to find evidence for a cross-over to homogeneity at large scales,
and against a fractal behaviour with dimension $D \approx 2$. In this comment
we note firstly that, if such a cross-over exists as described by the authors,
the scale characterizing it is ~ 100 - 300 Mpc/h. This invalidates the
``standard'' analysis of the same catalogue given elsewhere by the authors
which results in a ``correlation length'' of only r_0 = 4 Mpc/h. Furthermore we
show that the evidences for a cross-over to homogeneity rely on the choice of
cosmological model, and most crucially on the so called K corrections. We show
that the D ~ 3 behaviour seen in the K-corrected data of Scaramella et al. is
in fact unstable, increasing systematically towards D=4 as a function of the
absolute magnitude limit. This behaviour can be quantitatively explained as the
effect of an unphysical K-correction in the relevant range of red-shift (z ~
0.1- 0.3). A more consistent interpretation of the number counts is that D is
in the range 2 - 2.5, depending on the cosmological model, consistent with the
continuation of the fractal D ~ 2 behaviour observed at scales up to ~100
Mpc/h. This implies a smaller K-correction. Given, however, the uncertainty in
the effect of intrinsic fluctuations on the number counts statistic, and its
sensitivity on these large scales to the uncertain K corrections, we conclude
that it is premature to put a definitive constraint on the galaxy distribution
using the ESP data alone.

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The categories of this paper are: cond-mat
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The categories of this paper are: q-fin
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The categories of this paper are: comp-gas
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The categories of this paper are: hep-ph
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The categories of this paper are: nlin
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The categories of this paper are: adap-org
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The categories of this paper are: chao-dyn
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The categories of this paper are: hep-th
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The categories of this paper are: cmp-lg
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The categories of this paper are: mtrl-th
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The categories of this paper are: stat
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The categories of this paper are: chem-ph
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The categories of this paper are: cs
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The categories of this paper are: nucl-ex
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The categories of this paper are: dg-ga
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The categories of this paper are: plasm-ph