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Dodelson, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Dodelson, S..

At least 91 records · Page 5

Optical–SZE scaling relations for DES optically selected clusters within the SPT-SZ Survey

We study the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) signature in South Pole Telescope (SPT) data for an ensemble of 719 optically identified galaxy clusters selected from 124.6 deg$^2$ of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) science verification data, detecting a stacked SZE signal down to richness $\lambda\sim20$. The SZE signature is measured using matched-filtered maps of the 2500 deg$^2$ SPT-SZ survey at the positions of the DES clusters, and the degeneracy between SZE observable and matched-filter size is broken by adopting as priors SZE and optical mass-observable relations that are either calibrated using SPT selected clusters or through the Arnaud et al. (2010, A10) X-ray analysis. We measure the SPT signal to noise $\zeta$-$\lambda$, relation and two integrated Compton-$y$ $Y_\textrm{500}$-$\lambda$ relations for the DES-selected clusters and compare these to model expectations accounting for the SZE-optical center offset distribution. For clusters with $\lambda > 80$, the two SPT calibrated scaling relations are consistent with the measurements, while for the A10-calibrated relation the measured SZE signal is smaller by a factor of $0.61 \pm 0.12$ compared to the prediction. For clusters at $20 < \lambda < 80$, the measured SZE signal is smaller by a factor of $\sim$0.20-0.80 (between 2.3 and 10~$\sigma$ significance) compared to the prediction, with the SPT calibrated scaling relations and larger $\lambda$ clusters showing generally better agreement. We quantify the required corrections to achieve consistency, showing that there is a richness dependent bias that can be explained by some combination of contamination of the observables and biases in the estimated masses. We discuss possible physical effects, as contamination from line-of-sight projections or from point sources, larger offsets in the SZE-optical centering or larger scatter in the $\lambda$-mass relation at lower richnesses.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Dark Energy Survey view of the Sagittarius stream: Discovery of two faint stellar system candidates

We report the discovery of two new candidate stellar systems in the constellation of Cetus using the data from the first two years of the Dark Energy Survey (DES). The objects, DES J0111–1341 and DES J0225+0304, are located at a heliocentric distance of ~25 kpc and appear to have old and metal-poor populations. Their distances to the Sagittarius orbital plane, ~1.73 kpc (DES J0111–1341) and ~0.50 kpc (DES J0225+0304), indicate that they are possibly associated with the Sagittarius dwarf stream. The half-light radius (rh ≃ 4.55 pc) and luminosity (MV ≃ +0.3) of DES J0111–1341 are consistent with it being an ultrafaint stellar cluster, while the half-light radius (rh ≃ 18.55 pc) and luminosity (MV ≃ –1.1) of DES J0225+0304 place it in an ambiguous region of size–luminosity space between stellar clusters and dwarf galaxies. Determinations of the characteristic parameters of the Sagittarius stream, metallicity spread (–2.18 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ –0.95) and distance gradient (23 kpc ≲ D⊙ ≲ 29 kpc), within the DES footprint in the Southern hemisphere, using the same DES data, also indicate a possible association between these systems. If these objects are confirmed through spectroscopic follow-up to be gravitationally bound systems and to share a Galactic trajectory with the Sagittarius stream, DES J0111–1341 and DES J0225+0304 would be the first ultrafaint stellar systems associated with the Sagittarius stream. Moreover, DES J0225+0304 would also be the first confirmed case of an ultrafaint satellite of a satellite.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Imprint of DES superstructures on the cosmic microwave background

Here, small temperature anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background can be sourced by density perturbations via the late-time integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect. Large voids and superclusters are excellent environments to make a localized measurement of this tiny imprint. In some cases excess signals have been reported. We probed these claims with an independent data set, using the first year data of the Dark Energy Survey in a different footprint, and using a different super-structure finding strategy. We identified 52 large voids and 102 superclusters at redshifts $0.2 < z < 0.65$. We used the Jubilee simulation to a priori evaluate the optimal ISW measurement configuration for our compensated top-hat filtering technique, and then performed a stacking measurement of the CMB temperature field based on the DES data. For optimal configurations, we detected a cumulative cold imprint of voids with $\Delta T_{f} \approx -5.0\pm3.7~\mu K$ and a hot imprint of superclusters $\Delta T_{f} \approx 5.1\pm3.2~\mu K$ ; this is $\sim1.2\sigma$ higher than the expected $|\Delta T_{f}| \approx 0.6~\mu K$ imprint of such super-structures in $\Lambda$CDM. If we instead use an a posteriori selected filter size ($R/R_{v}=0.6$), we can find a temperature decrement as large as $\Delta T_{f} \approx -9.8\pm4.7~\mu K$ for voids, which is $\sim2\sigma$ above $\Lambda$CDM expectations and is comparable to previous measurements made using SDSS super-structure data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Inference from the small scales of cosmic shear with current and future Dark Energy Survey data

Cosmic shear is sensitive to fluctuations in the cosmological matter density field, including on small physical scales, where matter clustering is affected by baryonic physics in galaxies and galaxy clusters, such as star formation, supernovae feedback and AGN feedback. While muddying any cosmological information that is contained in small scale cosmic shear measurements, this does mean that cosmic shear has the potential to constrain baryonic physics and galaxy formation. We perform an analysis of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Science Verification (SV) cosmic shear measurements, now extended to smaller scales, and using the Mead et al. 2015 halo model to account for baryonic feedback. While the SV data has limited statistical power, we demonstrate using a simulated likelihood analysis that the final DES data will have the statistical power to differentiate among baryonic feedback scenarios. We also explore some of the difficulties in interpreting the small scales in cosmic shear measurements, presenting estimates of the size of several other systematic effects that make inference from small scales difficult, including uncertainty in the modelling of intrinsic alignment on nonlinear scales, `lensing bias', and shape measurement selection effects. For the latter two, we make use of novel image simulations. While future cosmic shear datasets have the statistical power to constrain baryonic feedback scenarios, there are several systematic effects that require improved treatments, in order to make robust conclusions about baryonic feedback.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Cosmology from large-scale galaxy clustering and galaxy–galaxy lensing with Dark Energy Survey Science Verification data

We present cosmological constraints from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) using a combined analysis of angular clustering of red galaxies and their cross-correlation with weak gravitational lensing of background galaxies. We use a 139 square degree contiguous patch of DES data from the Science Verification (SV) period of observations. Using large scale measurements, we constrain the matter density of the Universe as $\Omega_m = 0.31 \pm 0.09$ and the clustering amplitude of the matter power spectrum as $\sigma_8 = 0.74 +\pm 0.13$ after marginalizing over seven nuisance parameters and three additional cosmological parameters. This translates into $S_8$ = $\sigma_8(\Omega_m/0.3)^{0.16} = 0.74 \pm 0.12$ for our fiducial lens redshift bin at 0.35 < z < 0.5, while $S_8 = 0.78 \pm 0.09$ using two bins over the range 0.2 < z < 0.5. We study the robustness of the results under changes in the data vectors, modelling and systematics treatment, including photometric redshift and shear calibration uncertainties, and find consistency in the derived cosmological parameters. We show that our results are consistent with previous cosmological analyses from DES and other data sets and conclude with a joint analysis of DES angular clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing with Planck CMB data, Baryon Accoustic Oscillations and Supernova type Ia measurements.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Joint analysis of galaxy-galaxy lensing and galaxy clustering: Methodology and forecasts for Dark Energy Survey

The joint analysis of galaxy-galaxy lensing and galaxy clustering is a promising method for inferring the growth function of large scale structure. Our analysis will be carried out on data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), with its measurements of both the distribution of galaxies and the tangential shears of background galaxies induced by these foreground lenses. We develop a practical approach to modeling the assumptions and systematic effects affecting small scale lensing, which provides halo masses, and large scale galaxy clustering. Introducing parameters that characterize the halo occupation distribution (HOD), photometric redshift uncertainties, and shear measurement errors, we study how external priors on different subsets of these parameters affect our growth constraints. Degeneracies within the HOD model, as well as between the HOD and the growth function, are identified as the dominant source of complication, with other systematic effects sub-dominant. The impact of HOD parameters and their degeneracies necessitate the detailed joint modeling of the galaxy sample that we employ. Finally, we conclude that DES data will provide powerful constraints on the evolution of structure growth in the universe, conservatively/optimistically constraining the growth function to 7.9%/4.8% with its first-year data that covered over 1000 square degrees, and to 3.9%/2.3% with its full five-year data that will survey 5000 square degrees, including both statistical and systematic uncertainties.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Dark Energy Survey: more than dark energy – an overview

This overview paper describes the legacy prospect and discovery potential of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) beyond cosmological studies, illustrating it with examples from the DES early data. DES is using a wide-field camera (DECam) on the 4 m Blanco Telescope in Chile to image 5000 sq deg of the sky in five filters (grizY). By its completion, the survey is expected to have generated a catalogue of 300 million galaxies with photometric redshifts and 100 million stars. In addition, a time-domain survey search over 27 sq deg is expected to yield a sample of thousands of Type Ia supernovae and other transients. The main goals of DES are to characterize dark energy and dark matter, and to test alternative models of gravity; these goals will be pursued by studying large-scale structure, cluster counts, weak gravitational lensing and Type Ia supernovae. However, DES also provides a rich data set which allows us to study many other aspects of astrophysics. In this paper, we focus on additional science with DES, emphasizing areas where the survey makes a difference with respect to other current surveys. The paper illustrates, using early data (from ‘Science Verification’, and from the first, second and third seasons of observations), what DES can tell us about the Solar system, the Milky Way, galaxy evolution, quasars and other topics. In addition, we show that if the cosmological model is assumed to be Λ+cold dark matter, then important astrophysics can be deduced from the primary DES probes. Highlights from DES early data include the discovery of 34 trans-Neptunian objects, 17 dwarf satellites of the Milky Way, one published z > 6 quasar (and more confirmed) and two published superluminous supernovae (and more confirmed).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Cosmic shear measurements with Dark Energy Survey Science Verification data

Here, we present measurements of weak gravitational lensing cosmic shear two-point statistics using Dark Energy Survey Science Verification data. We also demonstrate that our results are robust to the choice of shear measurement pipeline, either ngmix or im3shape, and robust to the choice of two-point statistic, including both real and Fourier-space statistics. Our results pass a suite of null tests including tests for B-mode contamination and direct tests for any dependence of the two-point functions on a set of 16 observing conditions and galaxy properties, such as seeing, airmass, galaxy color, galaxy magnitude, etc. We furthermore use a large suite of simulations to compute the covariance matrix of the cosmic shear measurements and assign statistical significance to our null tests. We find that our covariance matrix is consistent with the halo model prediction, indicating that it has the appropriate level of halo sample variance. We also compare the same jackknife procedure applied to the data and the simulations in order to search for additional sources of noise not captured by the simulations. We find no statistically significant extra sources of noise in the data. We determined that the overall detection significance with tomography for our highest source density catalog is 9.7 σ. Cosmological constraints from the measurements in this work are presented in a companion paper [DES et al., Phys. Rev. D 94, 022001 (2016).].

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Joint Measurement of Lensing-Galaxy Correlations Using SPT and DES SV Data

We measure the correlation of galaxy lensing and cosmic microwave background lensing with a set of galaxies expected to trace the matter density field. The measurements are performed using pre-survey Dark Energy Survey (DES) Science Verification optical imaging data and millimeter-wave data from the 2500 square degree South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SPT-SZ) survey. The two lensing-galaxy correlations are jointly fit to extract constraints on cosmological parameters, constraints on the redshift distribution of the lens galaxies, and constraints on the absolute shear calibration of DES galaxy lensing measurements. We show that an attractive feature of these fits is that they are fairly insensitive to the clustering bias of the galaxies used as matter tracers. The measurement presented in this work confirms that DES and SPT data are consistent with each other and with the currently favored ΛCDM cosmological model. It also demonstrates that joint lensing-galaxy correlation measurement considered here contains a wealth of information that can be extracted using current and future surveys.

cosmic background radiation↗

Detection of the kinematic Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect with DES Year 1 and SPT

Here, we detect the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect with a statistical significance of $4.2 \sigma$ by combining a cluster catalogue derived from the first year data of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) with CMB temperature maps from the South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SPT-SZ) Survey. This measurement is performed with a differential statistic that isolates the pairwise kSZ signal, providing the first detection of the large-scale, pairwise motion of clusters using redshifts derived from photometric data. By fitting the pairwise kSZ signal to a theoretical template we measure the average central optical depth of the cluster sample, $\bar{\tau}_e = (3.75 \pm 0.89)\cdot 10^{-3}$. We compare the extracted signal to realistic simulations and find good agreement with respect to the signal-to-noise, the constraint on $\bar{\tau}_e$, and the corresponding gas fraction. High-precision measurements of the pairwise kSZ signal with future data will be able to place constraints on the baryonic physics of galaxy clusters, and could be used to probe gravity on scales $ \gtrsim 100$ Mpc.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Cosmic Visions Dark Energy: Science

Cosmic surveys provide crucial information about high energy physics including strong evidence for dark energy, dark matter, and inflation. Ongoing and upcoming surveys will start to identify the underlying physics of these new phenomena, including tight constraints on the equation of state of dark energy, the viability of modified gravity, the existence of extra light species, the masses of the neutrinos, and the potential of the field that drove inflation. Even after the Stage IV experiments, DESI and LSST, complete their surveys, there will still be much information left in the sky. This additional information will enable us to understand the physics underlying the dark universe at an even deeper level and, in case Stage IV surveys find hints for physics beyond the current Standard Model of Cosmology, to revolutionize our current view of the universe. There are many ideas for how best to supplement and aid DESI and LSST in order to access some of this remaining information and how surveys beyond Stage IV can fully exploit this regime. These ideas flow to potential projects that could start construction in the 2020's.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Cross-correlation of gravitational lensing from DES Science Verification data with SPT and Planck lensing

We measure the cross-correlation between weak lensing of galaxy images and of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The effects of gravitational lensing on different sources will be correlated if the lensing is caused by the same mass fluctuations. We use galaxy shape measurements from 139 deg(2) of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Science Verification data and overlapping CMB lensing from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) and Planck. The DES source galaxies have a median redshift of z(med) similar to 0.7, while the CMB lensing kernel is broad and peaks at z similar to 2. The resulting cross-correlation is maximally sensitive to mass fluctuations at z similar to 0.44. Assuming the Planck 2015 best-fitting cosmology, the amplitude of the DESxSPT cross-power is found to be A(SPT) = 0.88 +/- 0.30 and that from DESxPlanck to be A(Planck) = 0.86 +/- 0.39, where A = 1 corresponds to the theoretical prediction. These are consistent with the expected signal and correspond to significances of 2.9 sigma and 2.2 sigma, respectively. We demonstrate that our results are robust to a number of important systematic effects including the shear measurement method, estimator choice, photo-z uncertainty and CMB lensing systematics. We calculate a value of A = 1.08 +/- 0.36 for DESxSPT when we correct the observations with a simple intrinsic alignment model. With three measurements of this cross-correlation now existing in the literature, there is not yet reliable evidence for any deviation from the expected LCDM level of cross-correlation. We provide forecasts for the expected signal-to-noise ratio of the combination of the five-year DES survey and SPT-3G.

Kirk, D.↗

CosmoSIS: A system for MC parameter estimation

CosmoSIS is a modular system for cosmological parameter estimation, based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo and related techniques. It provides a series of samplers, which drive the exploration of the parameter space, and a series of modules, which calculate the likelihood of the observed data for a given physical model, determined by the location of a sample in the parameter space. While CosmoSIS ships with a set of modules that calculate quantities of interest to cosmologists, there is nothing about the framework itself, nor in the Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique, that is specific to cosmology. Thus CosmoSIS could be used for parameter estimation problems in other fields, including HEP. This paper describes the features of CosmoSIS and show an example of its use outside of cosmology. Furthermore, it also discusses how collaborative development strategies differ between two different communities: that of HEP physicists, accustomed to working in large collaborations, and that of cosmologists, who have traditionally not worked in large groups.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Eight ultra-faint galaxy candidates discovered in year two of the dark energy survey

We report the discovery of eight new ultra-faint dwarf galaxy candidates in the second year of optical imaging data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). Six of these candidates are detected at high confidence, while two lower-confidence candidates are identified in regions of non-uniform survey coverage. The new stellar systems are found by three independent automated search techniques and are identified as overdensities of stars, consistent with the isochrone and luminosity function of an old and metal-poor simple stellar population. The new systems are faint (M{sub V} > −4.7 mag) and span a range of physical sizes (17 pc < r{sub 1/2} < 181 pc) and heliocentric distances (25 kpc < D{sub ⊙} < 214 kpc). All of the new systems have central surface brightnesses consistent with known ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (μ ≳ 27.5 mag arcsec{sup −2}). Roughly half of the DES candidates are more distant, less luminous, and/or have lower surface brightnesses than previously known Milky Way satellite galaxies. Most of the candidates are found in the southern part of the DES footprint close to the Magellanic Clouds. We find that the DES data alone exclude (p < 10{sup −3}) a spatially isotropic distribution of Milky Way satellites and that the observed distribution can be well, though not uniquely, described by an association between several of the DES satellites and the Magellanic system. Our model predicts that the full sky may hold ∼100 ultra-faint galaxies with physical properties comparable to the DES satellites and that 20%–30% of these would be spatially associated with the Magellanic Clouds.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Measurement of Gravitational Lensing of the Cosmic Microwave Background by Galaxy Clusters Using Data from the South Pole Telescope

Clusters of galaxies are expected to gravitationally lens the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and thereby generate a distinct signal in the CMB on arcminute scales. Measurements of this effect can be used to constrain the masses of galaxy clusters with CMB data alone. Here we present a measurement of lensing of the CMB by galaxy clusters using data from the South Pole Telescope (SPT). We also develop a maximum likelihood approach to extract the CMB cluster lensing signal and validate the method on mock data. We quantify the effects on our analysis of several potential sources of systematic error and find that they generally act to reduce the best-fit cluster mass. It is estimated that this bias to lower cluster mass is roughly 0.85σ in units of the statistical error bar, although this estimate should be viewed as an upper limit. Furthermore, we apply our maximum likelihood technique to 513 clusters selected via their Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ) signatures in SPT data, and rule out the null hypothesis of no lensing at 3.1σ. The lensing-derived mass estimate for the full cluster sample is consistent with that inferred from the SZ flux: M 200,lens = 0.83 +0.38 -0.37 M 200,SZ (68% C.L., statistical error only).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

CosmoSIS: Modular cosmological parameter estimation

Cosmological parameter estimation is entering a new era. Large collaborations need to coordinate high-stakes analyses using multiple methods; furthermore such analyses have grown in complexity due to sophisticated models of cosmology and systematic uncertainties. In this paper we argue that modularity is the key to addressing these challenges: calculations should be broken up into interchangeable modular units with inputs and outputs clearly defined. Here we present a new framework for cosmological parameter estimation, CosmoSIS, designed to connect together, share, and advance development of inference tools across the community. We describe the modules already available in CosmoSIS, including CAMB, Planck, cosmic shear calculations, and a suite of samplers. Lastly, we illustrate it using demonstration code that you can run out-of-the-box with the installer available at http://bitbucket.org/joezuntz/cosmosis

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗