No Arabic abstract
We use dense redshift surveys of nine galaxy clusters at $zsim0.2$ to compare the galaxy distribution in each system with the projected matter distribution from weak lensing. By combining 2087 new MMT/Hectospec redshifts and the data in the literature, we construct spectroscopic samples within the region of weak-lensing maps of high (70--89%) and uniform completeness. With these dense redshift surveys, we construct galaxy number density maps using several galaxy subsamples. The shape of the main cluster concentration in the weak-lensing maps is similar to the global morphology of the number density maps based on cluster members alone, mainly dominated by red members. We cross correlate the galaxy number density maps with the weak-lensing maps. The cross correlation signal when we include foreground and background galaxies at 0.5$z_{rm cl}<z<2z_{rm cl}$ is $10-23$% larger than for cluster members alone at the cluster virial radius. The excess can be as high as 30% depending on the cluster. Cross correlating the galaxy number density and weak-lensing maps suggests that superimposed structures close to the cluster in redshift space contribute more significantly to the excess cross correlation signal than unrelated large-scale structure along the line of sight. Interestingly, the weak-lensing mass profiles are not well constrained for the clusters with the largest cross correlation signal excesses ($>$20% for A383, A689 and A750). The fractional excess in the cross correlation signal including foreground and background structures could be a useful proxy for assessing the reliability of weak-lensing cluster mass estimates.
Weak lensing surveys are emerging as an important tool for the construction of mass selected clusters of galaxies. We evaluate both the efficiency and completeness of a weak lensing selection by combining a dense, complete redshift survey, the Smithsonian Hectospec Lensing Survey (SHELS), with a weak lensing map from the Deep Lens Survey (DLS). SHELS includes 11,692 redshifts for galaxies with R < 20.6 in the four square degree DLS field; the survey is a solid basis for identifying massive clusters of galaxies with redshift z < 0.55. The range of sensitivity of the redshift survey is similar to the range for the DLS convergence map. Only four the twelve convergence peaks with signal-to-noise > 3.5 correspond to clusters of galaxies with M > 1.7 x 10^14 solar masses. Four of the eight massive clusters in SHELS are detected in the weak lensing map yielding a completeness of roughly 50%. We examine the seven known extended cluster x-ray sources in the DLS field: three can be detected in the weak lensing map, three should not be detected without boosting from superposed large-scale structure, and one is mysteriously undetected even though its optical properties suggest that it should produce a detectable lensing signal. Taken together, these results underscore the need for more extensive comparisons among different methods of massive cluster identification.
We use a dense redshift survey in the foreground of the Subaru GTO2deg^2 weak lensing field (centered at $alpha_{2000}$ = 16$^h04^m44^s$;$delta_{2000}$ =43^circ11^{prime}24^{primeprime}$) to assess the completeness and comment on the purity of massive halo identification in the weak lensing map. The redshift survey (published here) includes 4541 galaxies; 4405 are new redshifts measured with the Hectospec on the MMT. Among the weak lensing peaks with a signal-to-noise greater that 4.25, 2/3 correspond to individual massive systems; this result is essentially identical to the Geller et al. (2010) test of the Deep Lens Survey field F2. The Subaru map, based on images in substantially better seeing than the DLS, enables detection of less massive halos at fixed redshift as expected. We demonstrate that the procedure adopted by Miyazaki et al. (2007) for removing some contaminated peaks from the weak lensing map improves agreement between the lensing map and the redshift survey in the identification of candidate massive systems.
Weak gravitational lensing of background galaxies provides a direct probe of the projected matter distribution in and around galaxy clusters. Here we present a self-contained pedagogical review of cluster--galaxy weak lensing, covering a range of topics relevant to its cosmological and astrophysical applications. We begin by reviewing the theoretical foundations of gravitational lensing from first principles, with special attention to the basics and advanced techniques of weak gravitational lensing. We summarize and discuss key findings from recent cluster--galaxy weak-lensing studies on both observational and theoretical grounds, with a focus on cluster mass profiles, the concentration--mass relation, the splashback radius, and implications from extensive mass calibration efforts for cluster cosmology.
In this paper, we compare three methods to reconstruct galaxy cluster density fields with weak lensing data. The first method called FLens integrates an inpainting concept to invert the shear field with possible gaps, and a multi-scale entropy denoising procedure to remove the noise contained in the final reconstruction, that arises mostly from the random intrinsic shape of the galaxies. The second and third methods are based on a model of the density field made of a multi-scale grid of radial basis functions. In one case, the model parameters are computed with a linear inversion involving a singular value decomposition. In the other case, the model parameters are estimated using a Bayesian MCMC optimization implemented in the lensing software Lenstool. Methods are compared on simulated data with varying galaxy density fields. We pay particular attention to the errors estimated with resampling. We find the multi-scale grid model optimized with MCMC to provide the best results, but at high computational cost, especially when considering resampling. The SVD method is much faster but yields noisy maps, although this can be mitigated with resampling. The FLens method is a good compromise with fast computation, high signal to noise reconstruction, but lower resolution maps. All three methods are applied to the MACS J0717+3745 galaxy cluster field, and reveal the filamentary structure discovered in Jauzac et al. 2012. We conclude that sensitive priors can help to get high signal to noise, and unbiased reconstructions.
Weak gravitational lensing is a powerful probe of cosmology and has emerged as a key probe for the Dark Universe. Up till now this science has been conducted mainly at optical wavelengths. Current upgraded and future radio facilities will provide greatly improved data that will allow lensing measurements to be made at these longer wavelengths. In this proceedings I show how the larger facilities such as the SKA can produce game changing cosmological measurements even compared to future optical telescopes. I will also discuss how radio surveys can also provide unique ways in which some of the most problematic systematic errors can be mitigated through the extra information that can be provided in the form of polarisation and rotational velocity measurements. I will also demonstrate the advantages to having overlapping optical and radio weak lensing surveys and how their cross-correlation leads to a cleaner extraction of the cosmological information. Key to the realisation of the great promise of radio weak lensing is the suitable measurements of galaxy shapes in the radio data, either from images or from the visibility data. I shall end with a description of the key issues related to this matter and the radioGREAT challenge which has been proposed to address them.