Shear peak statistics has gained a lot of attention recently as a practical alternative to the two-point statistics for constraining cosmological parameters. We perform a shear peak statistics ...analysis of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Science Verification (SV) data, using weak gravitational lensing measurements from a 139 deg super( 2) field. We measure the abundance of peaks identified in aperture mass maps, as a function of their signal-to-noise ratio, in the signal-to-noise range ... To predict the peak counts as a function of cosmological parameters, we use a suite of N-body simulations spanning 158 models with varying ... and ..., fixing ..., to which we have applied the DES SV mask and redshift distribution. In our fiducial analysis we measure ..., after marginalizing over the shear multiplicative bias and the error on the mean redshift of the galaxy sample. We introduce models of intrinsic alignments, blending and source contamination by cluster members. These models indicate that peaks with ... would require significant corrections, which is why we do not include them in our analysis. We compare our results to the cosmological constraints from the two-point analysis on the SV field and find them to be in good agreement in both the central value and its uncertainty. We discuss prospects for future peak statistics analysis with upcoming DES data. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
Abstract
We present Magellan/IMACS spectroscopy of the recently discovered Milky Way satellite Tucana III (Tuc III). We identify 26 member stars in Tuc III from which we measure a mean radial ...velocity of
v
hel
= −102.3 ± 0.4 (stat.) ± 2.0 (sys.)
, a velocity dispersion of
, and a mean metallicity of
. The upper limit on the velocity dispersion is
σ
< 1.5
at 95.5% confidence, and the corresponding upper limit on the mass within the half-light radius of Tuc III is 9.0 × 10
4
M
⊙
. We cannot rule out mass-to-light ratios as large as 240
M
⊙
/
L
⊙
for Tuc III, but much lower mass-to-light ratios that would leave the system baryon-dominated are also allowed. We measure an upper limit on the metallicity spread of the stars in Tuc III of 0.19 dex at 95.5% confidence. Tuc III has a smaller metallicity dispersion and likely a smaller velocity dispersion than any known dwarf galaxy, but a larger size and lower surface brightness than any known globular cluster. Its metallicity is also much lower than those of the clusters with similar luminosity. We therefore tentatively suggest that Tuc III is the tidally stripped remnant of a dark matter-dominated dwarf galaxy, but additional precise velocity and metallicity measurements will be necessary for a definitive classification. If Tuc III is indeed a dwarf galaxy, it is one of the closest external galaxies to the Sun. Because of its proximity, the most luminous stars in Tuc III are quite bright, including one star at
V
= 15.7 that is the brightest known member star of an ultra-faint satellite.
Microplastic (MP) pollution is a global environmental issue, and traditionally treated wastewater has been identified as a source of land-based microplastics into the aquatic environment. This study ...evaluated the performance of a pilot-scale biofilter to polish wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent before it enters the environment. The filter was divided into four zones, allowing the concentration of microplastics to be followed through the filter. It was fed with secondary effluent from a conventional WWTP in Denmark. The raw effluent from the WWTP contained 917 items m−3 which corresponded to a mass concentration of 24.8 µg m−3. After the top layer of the biofilter, the concentration had decreased to a median value of 197 item m−3 and 2.8 µg m−3, indicating an overall removal efficiency of 79% in terms of particle number and 89% in terms of particle mass. We also observed a tendency that MP of larger size and higher particle mass were more likely to be retained. After the last filtration zone, all MP larger than 100 µm had been removed. The results of this study demonstrate that biofilters are able to lower the MP abundance in treated wastewater significantly, but a complete removal is not ensured, hence some MP, particularly small-sized ones, can still be discharged into the receiving environment.
We describe redMaPPer, a new red sequence cluster finder specifically designed to make optimal use of ongoing and near-future large photometric surveys. The algorithm has multiple attractive ...features: (1) it can iteratively self-train the red sequence model based on a minimal spectroscopic training sample, an important feature for high-redshift surveys. (2) It can handle complex masks with varying depth. (3) It produces cluster-appropriate random points to enable large-scale structure studies. (4) All clusters are assigned a full redshift probability distribution P(z). (5) Similarly, clusters can have multiple candidate central galaxies, each with corresponding centering probabilities. (6) The algorithm is parallel and numerically efficient: it can run a Dark Energy Survey-like catalog in ~500 CPU hours. (7) The algorithm exhibits excellent photometric redshift performance, the richness estimates are tightly correlated with external mass proxies, and the completeness and purity of the corresponding catalogs are superb. We apply the redMaPPer algorithm to ~10,000 deg super(2) of SDSS DR8 data and present the resulting catalog of ~25,000 clusters over the redshift range z isin 0.08, 0.55. The redMaPPer photometric redshifts are nearly Gaussian, with a scatter sigma sub(z) approximately 0.006 at z approximately 0.1, increasing to sigma sub(z) approximately 0.02 at z approximately 0.5 due to increased photometric noise near the survey limit. The median value for | Delta z|/(1 + z) for the full sample is 0.006. The incidence of projection effects is low (< or =, slant5%). Detailed performance comparisons of the redMaPPer DR8 cluster catalog to X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich catalogs are presented in a companion paper.
ABSTRACT We describe an algorithm for identifying point-source transients and moving objects on reference-subtracted optical images containing artifacts of processing and instrumentation. The ...algorithm makes use of the supervised machine learning technique known as Random Forest. We present results from its use in the Dark Energy Survey Supernova program (DES-SN), where it was trained using a sample of 898,963 signal and background events generated by the transient detection pipeline. After reprocessing the data collected during the first DES-SN observing season (2013 September through 2014 February) using the algorithm, the number of transient candidates eligible for human scanning decreased by a factor of 13.4, while only 1.0% of the artificial Type Ia supernovae (SNe) injected into search images to monitor survey efficiency were lost, most of which were very faint events. Here we characterize the algorithm's performance in detail, and we discuss how it can inform pipeline design decisions for future time-domain imaging surveys, such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and the Zwicky Transient Facility. An implementation of the algorithm and the training data used in this paper are available at at http://portal.nersc.gov/project/dessn/autoscan.
We present the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) discovery of the optical counterpart of the first binary neutron star merger detected through gravitational-wave emission, GW170817. Our observations ...commenced 10.5 hr post-merger, as soon as the localization region became accessible from Chile. We imaged 70 deg2 in the i and z bands, covering 93% of the initial integrated localization probability, to a depth necessary to identify likely optical counterparts (e.g., a kilonova). At 11.4 hr post-merger we detected a bright optical transient located from the nucleus of NGC 4993 at redshift z = 0.0098, consistent (for km s−1 Mpc−1) with the distance of 40 8 Mpc reported by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration (LVC). At detection the transient had magnitudes of and , and thus an absolute magnitude of , in the luminosity range expected for a kilonova. We identified 1500 potential transient candidates. Applying simple selection criteria aimed at rejecting background events such as supernovae, we find the transient associated with NGC 4993 as the only remaining plausible counterpart, and reject chance coincidence at the 99.5% confidence level. We therefore conclude that the optical counterpart we have identified near NGC 4993 is associated with GW170817. This discovery ushers in the era of multi-messenger astronomy with gravitational waves and demonstrates the power of DECam to identify the optical counterparts of gravitational-wave sources.
We present time-delay measurements for the new quadruple imaged quasar DES J0408−5354, the first quadruple imaged quasar found in the Dark Energy Survey (DES). Our result is made possible by ...implementing a new observational strategy using almost daily observations with the MPIA 2.2 m telescope at La Silla observatory and deep exposures reaching a signal-to-noise ratio of about 1000 per quasar image. This data qualityallows us to catch small photometric variations (a few mmag rms) of the quasar, acting on temporal scales much shorter than microlensing, and hence making the time delay measurement very robust against microlensing. In only seven months we very accurately measured one of the time delays in DES J0408−5354: Δt(AB) = −112.1 ± 2.1 days (1.8%) using only the MPIA 2.2 m data. In combination with data taken with the 1.2 m Euler Swiss telescope, we also measured two delays involving the D component of the system Δt(AD) = −155.5 ± 12.8 days (8.2%) and Δt(BD) = −42.4 ± 17.6 days (41%), where all the error bars include systematics. Turning these time delays into cosmological constraints will require deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging or ground-based adaptive optics (AO), and information on the velocity field of the lensing galaxy.
We report the discovery, spectroscopic confirmation, and first lens models of the first, strongly lensed quasars from a combined search in WISE and Gaia-DR1 over the DES footprint. Their Einstein ...radii span a range between ≈2.0 arcsec and ≈0.4 arcsec. Two of these (WGD2038-4008, RA = 20:38:02.65, Dec. = -40:08:14.64; WGD2021-4115, RA = 20:21:39.45, Dec. = -41:15:57.11) also have confirmed deflector redshifts. The four-image lens WGD2038-4008, with source and deflector redshifts s = 0.777 ± 0.001 and zl = 0.230 ± 0.002, respectively, has a deflector with radius Reff ≈ 3.4 arcsec, stellar mass log(M*/M⊙) = 11.64 + 0.20 -0.43, and extended isophotal shape variation. Simple lens models yield Einstein radii RE = (1.30 ± 0.04) arcsec, axis ratio q = 0.75 ± 0.1 (compatible with that of the starlight) and considerable shear-ellipticity degeneracies. The two-image lens WGD2021-4115 has zs = 1.390 ± 0.001 and zl = 0.335 ± 0.002, and Einstein radius RE = (1.1 ± 0.1) arcsec, but higher-resolution imaging is needed to accurately separate the deflector and faint quasar image. Analogous lens model degeneracies hold for the other six lenses (J0146-1133, J0150-4041, J0235-2433, J0245-0556, J0259-2338, and J0508-2748) shown in this paper.
We present the first cosmological parameter constraints using measurements of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from the Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program (DES-SN). The analysis uses a subsample of 207 ...spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia from the first three years of DES-SN, combined with a low-redshift sample of 122 SNe from the literature. Our "DES-SN3YR" result from these 329 SNe Ia is based on a series of companion analyses and improvements covering SN Ia discovery, spectroscopic selection, photometry, calibration, distance bias corrections, and evaluation of systematic uncertainties. For a flat ΛCDM model we find a matter density . For a flat wCDM model, and combining our SN Ia constraints with those from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), we find a dark energy equation of state , and . For a flat w0waCDM model, and combining probes from SN Ia, CMB and baryon acoustic oscillations, we find and . These results are in agreement with a cosmological constant and with previous constraints using SNe Ia (Pantheon, JLA).
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