Related papers: Principal Component Analysis of Weak Lensing Surve…
We explore the sensitivity of weak lensing observables to the expansion history of the universe and to the growth of cosmic structures, as well as the relative contribution of both effects to constraining cosmological parameters. We utilize…
Cosmological weak lensing gives rise to correlations in the ellipticities of faint galaxies. This cosmic shear signal depends upon the matter power spectrum, thus providing a means to constrain cosmological parameters. It has recently been…
The present generation of weak lensing surveys will be superseded by surveys run from space with much better sky coverage and high level of signal to noise ratio, such as SNAP. However, removal of any systematics or noise will remain a…
Weak gravitational lensing is responsible for the shearing and magnification of the images of high-redshift sources due to the presence of intervening matter. The distortions are due to fluctuations in the gravitational potential, and are…
In classical cosmological analysis of large scale structure surveys with 2-pt functions, the parameter measurement precision is limited by several key degeneracies within the cosmology and astrophysics sectors. For cosmic shear, clustering…
We consider how upcoming photometric large scale structure surveys can be optimized to measure the properties of dark energy and possible cosmic scale modifications to General Relativity in light of realistic astrophysical and instrumental…
During the past few years, secure detections of cosmic shear have been obtained, manifest in the correlation of the observed ellipticities of galaxies. Constraints have already been placed on cosmological parameters, such as the…
We investigate the expected correlation between the weak gravitational shear of distant galaxies and the orientation of foreground galaxies, through the use of numerical simulations. This shear-ellipticity correlation can mimic a…
We introduce a new algorithm for interpolating measurements of the point-spread function (PSF) using stars from many exposures. The principal components of the variation in the PSF pattern from multiple exposures are used to solve for…
Weak lensing surveys provide a powerful probe of dark energy through the measurement of the mass distribution of the local Universe. A number of ground-based and space-based surveys are being planned for this purpose. Here, we study the…
Stage IV weak lensing experiments will offer more than an order of magnitude leap in precision. We must therefore ensure that our analyses remain accurate in this new era. Accordingly, previously ignored systematic effects must be…
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…
We investigate the origin of $\Lambda$CDM parameter constraints in weak lensing, with a focus on the Hubble constant. We explain why current cosmic shear data are sensitive to the parameter combination $S_8 \propto \sigma_8 \Omega_m^{0.5}$,…
Shear estimation bias from galaxy detection and blending identification is now recognized as an issue for ongoing and future weak lensing surveys. Currently, the empirical approach to correcting for this bias involves numerically shearing…
Cosmic shear measurements have now improved to the point where they deserve to be treated on par with CMB and galaxy clustering data for cosmological parameter analysis, using the full measured aperture mass variance curve rather than a…
The statistics of shear peaks have been shown to provide valuable cosmological information beyond the power spectrum, and will be an important constraint of models of cosmology with the large survey areas provided by forthcoming…
In the very near future, weak lensing surveys will map the projected density of the universe in an unbiased way over large regions of the sky. In order to interpret the results of studies it is helpful to develop an understanding of the…
We study the statistics of peaks in a weak lensing reconstructed mass map of the first 450 square degrees of the Kilo Degree Survey. The map is computed with aperture masses directly applied to the shear field with an NFW-like compensated…
Owing to the mass-sheet degeneracy, cosmic shear maps do not probe directly the Fourier modes of the underlying mass distribution on scales comparable to the survey size and larger. To assess the corresponding effect on attainable…
In cosmic shear likelihood analyses the covariance is most commonly assumed to be constant in parameter space. Therefore, when calculating the covariance matrix (analytically or from simulations), its underlying cosmology should not…