We present a weak lensing detection of filamentary structures in the cosmic web, combining data from the Kilo-Degree Survey, the Red Cluster Sequence Lensing Survey, and the Canada-France-Hawaii ...Telescope Lensing Survey. The line connecting luminous red galaxies with a separation of 3 − 5
h
−1
Mpc was chosen as a proxy for the location of filaments. We measured the average weak lensing shear around ∼11 000 candidate filaments selected in this way from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. After nulling the shear induced by the dark matter haloes around each galaxy, we reported a 3.4
σ
detection of an anisotropic shear signal from the matter that connects them. Adopting a filament density profile, motivated from
N
-body simulations, the average density at the centre of these filamentary structures was found to be 15 ± 4 times the critical density.
Abstract
We apply four statistical learning methods to a sample of 7941 galaxies (z < 0.06) from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey to test the feasibility of using automated algorithms to classify ...galaxies. Using 10 features measured for each galaxy (sizes, colours, shape parameters, and stellar mass), we apply the techniques of Support Vector Machines, Classification Trees, Classification Trees with Random Forest (CTRF) and Neural Networks, and returning True Prediction Ratios (TPRs) of 75.8 per cent, 69.0 per cent, 76.2 per cent, and 76.0 per cent, respectively. Those occasions whereby all four algorithms agree with each other yet disagree with the visual classification (‘unanimous disagreement’) serves as a potential indicator of human error in classification, occurring in ∼ 9 per cent of ellipticals, ∼ 9 per cent of little blue spheroids, ∼ 14 per cent of early-type spirals, ∼ 21 per cent of intermediate-type spirals, and ∼ 4 per cent of late-type spirals and irregulars. We observe that the choice of parameters rather than that of algorithms is more crucial in determining classification accuracy. Due to its simplicity in formulation and implementation, we recommend the CTRF algorithm for classifying future galaxy data sets. Adopting the CTRF algorithm, the TPRs of the five galaxy types are : E, 70.1 per cent; LBS, 75.6 per cent; S0–Sa, 63.6 per cent; Sab–Scd, 56.4 per cent, and Sd–Irr, 88.9 per cent. Further, we train a binary classifier using this CTRF algorithm that divides galaxies into spheroid-dominated (E, LBS, and S0–Sa) and disc-dominated (Sab–Scd and Sd–Irr), achieving an overall accuracy of 89.8 per cent. This translates into an accuracy of 84.9 per cent for spheroid-dominated systems and 92.5 per cent for disc-dominated systems.
We present a sample of luminous red sequence galaxies as the basis for a study of the large-scale structure in the fourth data release of the Kilo-Degree Survey. The selected galaxies are defined by ...a red sequence template, in the form of a data-driven model of the colour-magnitude relation conditioned on redshift. In this work, the red sequence template was built using the broad-band optical+near infrared photometry of KiDS-VIKING and the overlapping spectroscopic data sets. The selection process involved estimating the red sequence redshifts, assessing the purity of the sample and estimating the underlying redshift distributions of redshift bins. After performing the selection, we mitigated the impact of survey properties on the observed number density of galaxies by assigning photometric weights to the galaxies. We measured the angular two-point correlation function of the red galaxies in four redshift bins and constrain the large-scale bias of our red sequence sample assuming a fixed ΛCDM cosmology. We find consistent linear biases for two luminosity-threshold samples (‘dense’ and ‘luminous’). We find that our constraints are well characterised by the passive evolution model.
ABSTRACT
We use the overlap between multiband photometry of the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) and spectroscopic data based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Galaxy And Mass Assembly to infer the ...colour–magnitude relation of red-sequence galaxies. We then use this inferred relation to select luminous red galaxies (LRGs) in the redshift range of 0.1 < z < 0.7 over the entire KiDS Data Release 3 footprint. We construct two samples of galaxies with different constant comoving densities and different luminosity thresholds. The selected red galaxies have photometric redshifts with typical photo-z errors of σz ∼ 0.014(1 + z) that are nearly uniform with respect to observational systematics. This makes them an ideal set of galaxies for lensing and clustering studies. As an example, we use the KiDS-450 cosmic shear catalogue to measure the mean tangential shear signal around the selected LRGs. We detect a significant weak lensing signal for lenses out to z ∼ 0.7.
We present refined cosmological parameter constraints derived from a cosmic shear analysis of the fourth data release of the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS-1000). Our main improvements include enhanced ...galaxy shape measurements made possible by an updated version of the
lens
fit code and improved shear calibration achieved with a newly developed suite of multi-band image simulations. Additionally, we incorporated recent advancements in cosmological inference from the joint Dark Energy Survey Year 3 and KiDS-1000 cosmic shear analysis. Assuming a spatially flat standard cosmological model, we constrain
S
8
≡
σ
8
(Ω
m
/0.3)
0.5
= 0.776
−0.027−0.003
+0.029+0.002
, where the second set of uncertainties accounts for the systematic uncertainties within the shear calibration. These systematic uncertainties stem from minor deviations from realism in the image simulations and the sensitivity of the shear measurement algorithm to the morphology of the galaxy sample. Despite these changes, our results align with previous KiDS studies and other weak lensing surveys, and we find a ∼2.3
σ
level of tension with the
Planck
cosmic microwave background constraints on
S
8
.
ABSTRACT
Galaxy populations show bimodality in a variety of properties: stellar mass, colour, specific star-formation rate, size, and Sérsic index. These parameters are our feature space. We use an ...existing sample of 7556 galaxies from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey, represented using five features and the K-means clustering technique, showed that the bimodalities are the manifestation of a more complex population structure, represented by between two and six clusters. Here we use Self-Organizing Maps (SOM), an unsupervised learning technique that can be used to visualize similarity in a higher dimensional space using a 2D representation, to map these 5D clusters in the feature space on to 2D projections. To further analyse these clusters, using the SOM information, we agree with previous results that the sub-populations found in the feature space can be reasonably mapped on to three or five clusters. We explore where the ‘green valley’ galaxies are mapped on to the SOM, indicating multiple interstitial populations within the green valley population. Finally, we use the projection of the SOM to verify whether morphological information provided by GalaxyZoo users, for example, if features are visible, can be mapped on to the SOM-generated map. Voting on whether galaxies are smooth, likely ellipticals, or ‘featured’ can reasonably be separated but smaller morphological features (bar, spiral arms) can not. SOMs promise to be a useful tool to map and identify instructive sub-populations in multidimensional galaxy survey feature space, provided they are large enough.
ABSTRACT
Cosmological parameter constraints from recent galaxy imaging surveys are reaching percent-level accuracy on the effective amplitude of the lensing signal, S8. The upcoming Legacy Survey of ...Space and Time (LSST) of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will produce subpercent level measurements of cosmological parameters, providing a milestone test of the ΛCDM model. To supply guidance to the upcoming LSST analysis, it is important to understand thoroughly the results from different recent galaxy imaging surveys and assess their consistencies. In this work, we perform a unified catalogue-level reanalysis of three cosmic shear data sets: the first year data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES-Y1), the 1000 deg2 data set from the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS-1000), and the first year data from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-Y1). We utilize a pipeline developed and rigorously tested by the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration to perform the reanalysis and assess the robustness of the results to analysis choices. We find the S8 constraint to be robust to two different small-scale modelling approaches, and varying choices of cosmological priors. Our unified analysis allows the consistency of the surveys to be rigorously tested, and we find the three surveys to be statistically consistent. Due to the partially overlapping footprint, we model the cross-covariance between KiDS-1000 and HSC-Y1 approximately when combining all three data sets, resulting in a 1.6–1.9 per cent constraint on S8 given different assumptions on the cross-covariance.
ABSTRACT
The D4000 spectral break index is one of the most important features in the visible spectrum, as it is a proxy for stellar ages and is also used in galaxy classification. However, its direct ...measurement has always been reserved to spectroscopy. Here, we present a general method to directly measure the D4000 with narrow-band (NB) photometry; it has been validated using realistic simulations, and then evaluated with PAUS NBs, cross-matched with VIPERS spectra (iAB < 22.5, 0.562 < z < 0.967). We also reconstruct the D4000 with the SED-fitting code cigale; the use of PAUS NBs instead of broad-bands significantly improves the SED fitting results. For D4000n, the direct measurement has $\rm \langle SNR \rangle \sim 4$, but we find that for iAB < 21 all direct D4000 measurements have $\rm SNR\gt 3$. The cigale D4000n has $\rm \langle SNR \rangle \sim 20$, but underestimates the error by >50 per cent. Furthermore, the direct method recreates well the D4000–SFR relation, as well as the D4000–mass relation for blue galaxies (for red galaxies, selection effects impact the results). On the other hand, cigale accurately classifies galaxies into red and blue populations. We conclude that the direct measurement of D4000 with narrow-band photometry is a promising tool to determine average properties of galaxy samples, with results compatible with spectroscopy.
ABSTRACT
Using Herschel-SPIRE imaging and the Canada-France Imaging Survey (CFIS) Low Surface Brightness data products from the Ultraviolet Near-Infrared Optical Northern Survey (UNIONS), we present ...a cross-correlation between the cosmic far-infrared background and cosmic optical background fluctuations. The cross-spectrum is measured for two cases: all galaxies are kept in the images; or all individually detected galaxies are masked to produce ‘background’ maps. We report the detection of the cross-correlation signal at $\gtrsim 18\, \sigma$ ($\gtrsim 14\, \sigma$ for the background map). The part of the optical brightness variations that are correlated with the submm emission translates to an rms brightness of $\simeq 32.5\, {\rm mag}\, {\rm arcsec}^{-2}$ in the r band, a level normally unreachable for individual sources. A critical issue is determining what fraction of the cross-power spectrum might be caused by emission from Galactic cirrus. For one of the fields, the Galactic contamination is 10 times higher than the extragalactic signal; however, for the other fields, the contamination is around 20 per cent. An additional discriminant is that the cross-power spectrum is of the approximate form P(k) ∝ 1/k, much shallower than that of Galactic cirrus. We interpret the results in a halo-model framework, which shows good agreement with independent measurements for the scalings of star-formation rates in galaxies. The approach presented in this study holds great promise for future surveys such as FYST/CCAT-prime combined with Euclid or the Vera Rubin Observatory (LSST), which will enable a detailed exploration of the evolution of star formation in galaxies.
Context.
Several semi-analytic models (SAMs) try to explain how galaxies form, evolve, and interact inside the dark matter large-scale structure. These SAMs can be tested by comparing their ...predictions for galaxy–galaxy–galaxy lensing (G3L), which is weak gravitational lensing around galaxy pairs, with observations.
Aims.
We evaluate the SAMs by Henriques et al. (2015, MNRAS, 451, 2663, hereafter H15) and by Lagos et al. (2012, MNRAS, 426, 2142, hereafter L12), which were implemented in the Millennium Run, by comparing their predictions for G3L to observations at smaller scales than previous studies and also for pairs of lens galaxies from different populations.
Methods.
We compared the G3L signal predicted by the SAMs to measurements in the overlap of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey (GAMA), the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), and the VISTA Kilo-degree Infrared Galaxy survey (VIKING) by splitting lens galaxies into two colour and five stellar-mass samples. Using an improved G3L estimator, we measured the three-point correlation of the matter distribution with “mixed lens pairs” with galaxies from different samples, and with “unmixed lens pairs” with galaxies from the same sample.
Results.
Predictions by the H15 SAM for the G3L signal agree with the observations for all colour-selected samples and all but one stellar-mass-selected sample with 95% confidence. Deviations occur for lenses with stellar masses below 9.5
h
−2
M
⊙
at scales below 0.2
h
−1
Mpc. Predictions by the L12 SAM for stellar-mass selected samples and red galaxies are significantly higher than observed, while the predicted signal for blue galaxy pairs is too low.
Conclusions.
The L12 SAM predicts more pairs of low stellar mass and red galaxies than the H15 SAM and the observations, as well as fewer pairs of blue galaxies. This difference increases towards the centre of the galaxies’ host halos. Likely explanations are different treatments of environmental effects by the SAMs and different models of the initial mass function. We conclude that G3L provides a stringent test for models of galaxy formation and evolution.