Related papers: Cosmic Shear with Keck: Systematic Effects
The standard theory of weak gravitational lensing relies on the infinitesimal light beam approximation. In this context, images are distorted by convergence and shear, the respective sources of which unphysically depend on the resolution of…
Many recent studies have demonstrated that scaling arguments, such as the so-called hierarchical {\em ansatz}, are extremely useful in understanding the statistical properties of weak gravitational lensing. This is especially true on small…
In this paper we investigate the impact that realistic scale-dependence systematic effects may have on cosmic shear tomography. We model spatially varying residual ellipticity and size variations in weak lensing measurements and propagate…
Convergence maps of the integrated matter distribution are a key science result from weak gravitational lensing surveys. To date, recovering convergence maps has been performed using a planar approximation of the celestial sphere. However,…
Weak gravitational lensing (WL) has been established as one of the most promising probes of cosmology. So far, most studies have exploited the shear effect of WL leading to coherent distortions of galaxy shapes. But WL also introduces…
Weak lensing by large-scale structure is a powerful probe of cosmology if the apparent alignments in the shapes of distant galaxies can be accurately measured. Most studies have therefore focused on improving the fidelity of the shape…
Strong gravitational lensing provides a geometric probe of cosmology in a unique manner through distance ratios involving the source and lens. This is well known for the time delay distance derived from measured delays between lightcurves…
We present a comprehensive full-sky 3-dimensional analysis of the weak-lensing fields and their corresponding power spectra. Using the formalism of spin-weight spherical harmonics and spherical Bessel functions, we relate the two-point…
Weak gravitational lensing has the potential to constrain cosmological parameters to high precision. However, as shown by the Shear TEsting Programmes (STEP) and GRavitational lEnsing Accuracy Testing (GREAT) Challenges, measuring galaxy…
Strong gravitational lensing of quasars has the potential to unlock the poorly understood physics of these fascinating objects, as well as serve as a probe of the lensing mass distribution and of cosmological parameters. In particular,…
Optical weak lensing surveys have become a powerful tool for precision cosmology, but remain subject to systematic effects that can severely bias cosmological parameter estimates if not carefully removed. We discuss the possibility of…
We present estimates of the gravitational lensing shear variance obtained from images taken at the CFHT using the UH8K CCD mosaic camera. Six fields were observed for a total of 1 hour each in V and I, resulting in catalogs containing…
Weak lensing is an important technique to determine the masses of galaxy groups. However, the distortion imprint on the shape of the background galaxies is affected by all the mass content along the line-of-sight. Using COSMOS shear mock…
We discuss the origin of galactic angular momentum, and the statistics of the present day spin distribution. It is expected that the galaxy spin axes are correlated with the intermediate principal axis of the gravitational shear tensor.…
I show how weak gravitational lensing can be used to image the 3-D mass distribution in the Universe. An inverse relation to the lensing equation, relating the lensing potential evaluated at each source to the full 3-D Newtonian potential,…
We present a cosmic shear analysis of the 100 square degree weak lensing survey, combining data from the CFHTLS-Wide, RCS, VIRMOS-DESCART and GaBoDS surveys. Spanning ~100 square degrees, with a median source redshift z~0.78, this combined…
Weak lensing measurements are entering a precision era to statistically map the distribution of matter in the universe. The most common measurement has been of the variance of the projected surface density of matter, which corresponds to…
Strong gravitational lensing images are subject to shape distortions due to inhomogeneities along the line of sight. The leading order shape distortion is shear, which, if measurable, will be a complementary cosmological probe to…
Measurements of weak gravitational lensing using the cosmic microwave background and the shapes of galaxies have refined our understanding of the late-time history of the Universe. While optical surveys have been the primary source for…
As gravitational lensing measurements become increasingly precise, it becomes necessary to include ever higher order effects in the theoretical calculations. Here we show how the difference between the shear and the reduced shear manifest…