The statistical properties of the ellipticities of galaxy images depend on how galaxies form and evolve, and therefore constrain models of galaxy morphology, which are key to the removal of the ...intrinsic alignment contamination of cosmological weak lensing surveys, as well as to the calibration of weak lensing shape measurements. We construct such models based on the halo properties of the Millennium Simulation and confront them with a sample of 90 000 galaxies from the COSMOS Survey, covering three decades in luminosity and redshifts out to z = 2. The ellipticity measurements are corrected for effects of point spread function smearing, spurious image distortions and measurement noise. Dividing galaxies into early, late and irregular types, we find that early-type galaxies have up to a factor of 2 lower intrinsic ellipticity dispersion than late-type galaxies. None of the samples shows evidence for redshift evolution, while the ellipticity dispersion for late-type galaxies scales strongly with absolute magnitude at the bright end. The simulation-based models reproduce the main characteristics of the intrinsic ellipticity distributions although which model fares best depends on the selection criteria of the galaxy sample. We observe fewer close-to-circular late-type galaxy images in COSMOS than expected for a sample of randomly oriented circular thick discs and discuss possible explanations for this deficit.
We present new constraints on the relationship between galaxies and their host dark matter haloes, measured from the location of the peak of the stellar-to-halo mass ratio (SHMR), up to the most ...massive galaxy clusters at redshift z ∼ 0.8 and over a volume of nearly 0.1 Gpc3. We use a unique combination of deep observations in the CFHTLenS/VIPERS field from the near-UV to the near-IR, supplemented by ∼60 000 secure spectroscopic redshifts, analysing galaxy clustering, galaxy–galaxy lensing and the stellar mass function. We interpret our measurements within the halo occupation distribution (HOD) framework, separating the contributions from central and satellite galaxies. We find that the SHMR for the central galaxies peaks at
$M_{\rm h, peak} = 1.9^{+0.2}_{-0.1}\times 10^{12}{\,{\rm M}_{{\odot }}}$
with an amplitude of 0.025, which decreases to ∼0.001 for massive haloes (
${{{M}_{\rm h}}}> 10^{14} {\,{\rm M}_{{\odot }}}$
). Compared to central galaxies only, the total SHMR (including satellites) is boosted by a factor of 10 in the high-mass regime (cluster-size haloes), a result consistent with cluster analyses from the literature based on fully independent methods. After properly accounting for differences in modelling, we have compared our results with a large number of results from the literature up to z = 1: we find good general agreement, independently of the method used, within the typical stellar-mass systematic errors at low to intermediate mass (
${{{M}_{\rm \star }}}<10^{11} {\,{\rm M}_{{\odot }}}$
) and the statistical errors above. We have also compared our SHMR results to semi-analytic simulations and found that the SHMR is tilted compared to our measurements in such a way that they over- (under-) predict star formation efficiency in central (satellite) galaxies.
ABSTRACT
Expanding from previous work, we present weak-lensing (WL) measurements for a total sample of 30 distant (zmedian = 0.93) massive galaxy clusters from the South Pole Telescope ...Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SPT-SZ) Survey, measuring galaxy shapes in Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys images. We remove cluster members and preferentially select z ≳ 1.4 background galaxies via V − I colour, employing deep photometry from VLT/FORS2 and Gemini-South/GMOS. We apply revised calibrations for the WL shape measurements and the source redshift distribution to estimate the cluster masses. In combination with earlier Magellan/Megacam results for lower-redshifts clusters, we infer refined constraints on the scaling relation between the SZ detection significance and the cluster mass, in particular regarding its redshift evolution. The mass scale inferred from the WL data is lower by a factor $0.76^{+0.10}_{-0.14}$ (at our pivot redshift z = 0.6) compared to what would be needed to reconcile a flat Planck νΛCDM cosmology (in which the sum of the neutrino masses is a free parameter) with the observed SPT-SZ cluster counts. In order to sensitively test the level of (dis-)agreement between SPT clusters and Planck, further expanded WL follow-up samples are needed.
ABSTRACT We present a multiwavelength study of the 90 brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in a sample of galaxy clusters selected via the Sunyaev Zel'dovich effect by the South Pole Telescope, ...utilizing data from various ground- and space-based facilities. We infer the star-formation rate (SFR) for the BCG in each cluster-based on the UV and IR continuum luminosity, as well as the O iiλλ3726,3729 emission line luminosity in cases where spectroscopy is available-and find seven systems with SFR > 100 M yr−1. We find that the BCG SFR exceeds 10 M yr−1 in 31 of 90 (34%) cases at 0.25 < z < 1.25, compared to ∼1%-5% at z ∼ 0 from the literature. At z 1, this fraction increases to %, implying a steady decrease in the BCG SFR over the past ∼9 Gyr. At low-z, we find that the specific SFR in BCGs is declining more slowly with time than for field or cluster galaxies, which is most likely due to the replenishing fuel from the cooling ICM in relaxed, cool core clusters. At z 0.6, the correlation between the cluster central entropy and BCG star formation-which is well established at z ∼ 0-is not present. Instead, we find that the most star-forming BCGs at high-z are found in the cores of dynamically unrelaxed clusters. We use data from the Hubble Space Telescope to investigate the rest-frame near-UV morphology of a subsample of the most star-forming BCGs, and find complex, highly asymmetric UV morphologies on scales as large as ∼50-60 kpc. The high fraction of star-forming BCGs hosted in unrelaxed, non-cool core clusters at early times suggests that the dominant mode of fueling star formation in BCGs may have recently transitioned from galaxy-galaxy interactions to ICM cooling.
The galaxy cluster 1ES 0657-558 (z = 0.296) is remarkably well suited for addressing outstanding issues in both galaxy evolution and fundamental physics. We present a reconstruction of the mass ...distribution from both strong and weak gravitational lensing data. Multicolor, high-resolution HST ACS images allow detection of many more arc candidates than were previously known, especially around the subcluster. Using the known redshift of one of the multiply imaged systems, we determine the remaining source redshifts using the predictive power of the strong-lens model. Combining this information with shape measurements of "weakly" lensed sources, we derive a high-resolution, absolutely calibrated mass map, using no assumptions regarding the physical properties of the underlying cluster potential. This map provides the best available quantification of the total mass of the central part of the cluster. We also confirm the result from Clowe and colleagues that the total mass does not trace the baryonic mass.
We present a comprehensive analysis of weak gravitational lensing by large-scale structure in the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), in which we combine space-based galaxy shape ...measurements with ground-based photometric redshifts to study the redshift dependence of the lensing signal and constrain cosmological parameters. After applying our weak lensing-optimized data reduction, principal-component interpolation for the spatially, and temporally varying ACS point-spread function, and improved modelling of charge-transfer inefficiency, we measured a lensing signal that is consistent with pure gravitational modes and no significant shape systematics. We carefully estimated the statistical uncertainty from simulated COSMOS-like fields obtained from ray-tracing through the Millennium Simulation, including the full non-Gaussian sampling variance. We tested our lensing pipeline on simulated space-based data, recalibrated non-linear power spectrum corrections using the ray-tracing analysis, employed photometric redshift information to reduce potential contamination by intrinsic galaxy alignments, and marginalized over systematic uncertainties. We find that the weak lensing signal scales with redshift as expected from general relativity for a concordance ΛCDM cosmology, including the full cross-correlations between different redshift bins. Assuming a flat ΛCDM cosmology, we measure $\sigma_8$($\Omega_\mathrm{m}$/0.3$)^{0.51}$ = 0.75±0.08 from lensing, in perfect agreement with WMAP-5, yielding joint constraints $\Omega_\mathrm{m}$ = $0.266^{+0.025}_{-0.023}$, $\sigma_8$ = $0.802^{+0.028}_{-0.029}$ (all 68.3% conf.). Dropping the assumption of flatness and using priors from the HST Key Project and Big-Bang nucleosynthesis only, we find a negative deceleration parameter q0 at 94.3% confidence from the tomographic lensing analysis, providing independent evidence of the accelerated expansion of the Universe. For a flat wCDM cosmology and prior w ∈ -2,0, we obtain w <-0.41 (90% conf.). Our dark energy constraints are still relatively weak solely due to the limited area of COSMOS. However, they provide an important demonstration of the usefulness of tomographic weak lensing measurements from space.
We present a quantitative analysis of the largest contiguous maps of projected mass density obtained from gravitational lensing shear. We use data from the 154 deg2 covered by the ...Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLenS). Our study is the first attempt to quantitatively characterize the scientific value of lensing maps, which could serve in the future as a complementary approach to the study of the dark universe with gravitational lensing. We show that mass maps contain unique cosmological information beyond that of traditional two-point statistical analysis techniques.
Using a series of numerical simulations, we first show how, reproducing the CFHTLenS observing conditions, gravitational lensing inversion provides a reliable estimate of the projected matter distribution of large-scale structure. We validate our analysis by quantifying the robustness of the maps with various statistical estimators. We then apply the same process to the CFHTLenS data. We find that the two-point correlation function of the projected mass is consistent with the cosmological analysis performed on the shear correlation function discussed in the CFHTLenS companion papers. The maps also lead to a significant measurement of the third-order moment of the projected mass, which is in agreement with analytic predictions, and to a marginal detection of the fourth-order moment. Tests for residual systematics are found to be consistent with zero for the statistical estimators we used. A new approach for the comparison of the reconstructed mass map to that predicted from the galaxy distribution reveals the existence of giant voids in the dark matter maps as large as 3° on the sky. Our analysis shows that lensing mass maps are not only consistent with the results obtained by the traditional shear approach, but they also appear promising for new techniques such as peak statistics and the morphological analysis of the projected dark matter distribution.
We present a new gravitational lens model of the Hubble Frontier Fields cluster Abell 370 (z = 0.375) using imaging and spectroscopy from Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based spectroscopy. We ...combine constraints from a catalog of 909 weakly lensed galaxies and 39 multiply imaged sources comprised of 114 multiple images, including a system of multiply imaged candidates at z = 7.84 0.02, to obtain a best-fit mass distribution using the cluster lens modeling code Strong and Weak Lensing United. As the only analysis of A370 using strong and weak lensing constraints from Hubble Frontier Fields data, our method provides an independent check of assumptions on the mass distribution used in other methods. Convergence, shear, and magnification maps are made publicly available through the HFF website (http://www.stsci.edu/hst/campaigns/frontier-fields). We find that the model we produce is similar to models produced by other groups, with some exceptions due to the differences in lensing code methodology. In an effort to study how our total projected mass distribution traces light, we measure the stellar mass density distribution using Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera imaging. Comparing our total mass density to our stellar mass density in a radius of 0.3 Mpc, we find a mean projected stellar to total mass ratio of (stat.) using the diet Salpeter initial mass function. This value is in general agreement with independent measurements of in clusters of similar total mass and redshift.
We study the shapes of galaxy dark matter haloes by measuring the anisotropy of the weak gravitational lensing signal around galaxies in the second Red-sequence Cluster Survey (RCS2). We determine ...the average shear anisotropy within the virial radius for three lens samples: the “all” sample, which contains all galaxies with 19 < mr′ < 21.5, and the “red” and “blue” samples, whose lensing signals are dominated by massive low-redshift early-type and late-type galaxies, respectively. To study the environmental dependence of the lensing signal, we separate each lens sample into an isolated and clustered part and analyse them separately. We address the impact of several complications on the halo ellipticity measurement, including PSF residual systematics in the shape catalogues, multiple deflections, and the clustering of lenses. We estimate that the impact of these is small for our lens selections. Furthermore, we measure the azimuthal dependence of the distribution of physically associated galaxies around the lens samples. We find that these satellites preferentially reside near the major axis of the lenses, and constrain the angle between the major axis of the lens and the average location of the satellites to ⟨θ⟩ = 43.7° ± 0.3° for the “all” lenses, ⟨θ⟩ = 41.7° ± 0.5° for the “red” lenses and ⟨θ⟩ = 42.0° ± 1.4° for the “blue” lenses. We do not detect a significant shear anisotropy for the average “red” and “blue” lenses, although for the most elliptical “red” and “blue” galaxies it is marginally positive and negative, respectively. For the “all” sample, we find that the anisotropy of the galaxy-mass cross-correlation function ⟨f − f45⟩ = 0.23 ± 0.12, providing weak support for the view that the average galaxy is embedded in, and preferentially aligned with, a triaxial dark matter halo. Assuming an elliptical Navarro-Frenk-White profile, we find that the ratio of the dark matter halo ellipticity and the galaxy ellipticity fh = eh/eg = 1.50-1.01+1.03, which for a mean lens ellipticity of 0.25 corresponds to a projected halo ellipticity of eh = 0.38-0.25+0.26 if the halo and the lens are perfectly aligned. For isolated galaxies of the “all” sample, the average shear anisotropy increases to ⟨f-f45⟩ = 0.51-0.25+0.26 and fh = 4.73-2.05+2.17, whilst for clustered galaxies the signal is consistent with zero. These constraints provide lower limits on the average dark matter halo ellipticity, as scatter in the relative position angle between the galaxies and the dark matter haloes is expected to reduce the shear anisotropy by a factor ~2.