No Arabic abstract
I propose a new approach to free-form cluster lens modeling that is inspired by the JPEG image compression method. This approach is motivated specifically by the need for accurate modeling of high-magnification regions in galaxy clusters. Existing modeling methods may struggle in these regions due to their limited flexibility in the parametrization of the lens, even for a wide variety of free-form methods. This limitation especially hinders the characterization of faint galaxies at high redshifts, which have important implications for the formation of the first galaxies and even for the nature of dark matter. JPEG images are extremely accurate representations of their original, uncompressed counterparts but use only a fraction of number of parameters to represent that information. Its relevance is immediately obvious to cluster lens modeling. Using this technique, it is possible to construct flexible models that are capable of accurately reproducing the true mass distribution using only a small number of free parameters. Transferring this well-proven technology to cluster lens modeling, I demonstrate that this `JPEG parametrization is indeed flexible enough to accurately approximate an N-body simulated cluster.
We develop a novel statistical strong lensing approach to probe the cosmological parameters by exploiting multiple redshift image systems behind galaxies or galaxy clusters. The method relies on free-form mass inversion of strong lenses and does not need any additional information other than gravitational lensing. Since in free-form lensing the solution space is a high-dimensional convex polytope, we consider Bayesian model comparison analysis to infer the cosmological parameters. The volume of the solution space is taken as a tracer of the probability of the underlying cosmological assumption. In contrast to parametric mass
Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) imaging of the most powerful lensing clusters provides access to the most magnified distant galaxies. The challenge is to construct lens models capable of describing these complex massive, merging clusters so that individual lensed systems can be reliably identified and their intrinsic properties accurately derived. We apply the free-form lensing method (WSLAP+) to A2744, providing a model independent map of the cluster mass, magnification, and geometric distance estimates to multiply-lensed sources. We solve simultaneously for a smooth cluster component on a pixel grid, together with local deflections by the cluster member galaxies. Combining model prediction with photometric redshift measurements, we correct and complete several systems recently claimed, and identify 4 new systems - totalling 65 images of 21 systems spanning a redshift range of 1.4<z<9.8. The reconstructed mass shows small enhancements in the directions where significant amounts of hot plasma can be seen in X-ray. We compare photometric redshifts with geometric redshifts, finding a high level of self-consistency. We find excellent agreement between predicted and observed fluxes - with a best-fit slope of 0.999+-0.013 and an RMS of ~0.25 mag, demonstrating that our magnification correction of the lensed background galaxies is very reliable. Intriguingly, few multiply-lensed galaxies are detected beyond z~7.0, despite the high magnification and the limiting redshift of z~11.5 permitted by the HFF filters. With the additional HFF clusters we can better examine the plausibility of any pronounced high-z deficit, with potentially important implications for the reionization epoch and the nature of dark matter.
Parameter estimation with non-Gaussian stochastic fields is a common challenge in astrophysics and cosmology. In this paper, we advocate performing this task using the scattering transform, a statistical tool sharing ideas with convolutional neural networks (CNNs) but requiring no training nor tuning. It generates a compact set of coefficients, which can be used as robust summary statistics for non-Gaussian information. It is especially suited for fields presenting localized structures and hierarchical clustering, such as the cosmological density field. To demonstrate its power, we apply this estimator to a cosmological parameter inference problem in the context of weak lensing. On simulated convergence maps with realistic noise, the scattering transform outperforms classic estimators and is on a par with state-of-the-art CNN. It retains the advantages of traditional statistical descriptors, has provable stability properties, allows to check for systematics, and importantly, the scattering coefficients are interpretable. It is a powerful and attractive estimator for observational cosmology and the study of physical fields in general.
We examine the massive colliding cluster El Gordo, one of the most massive clusters at high redshift. We use a free-form lensing reconstruction method that avoids making assumptions about the mass distribution. We use data from the RELICS program and identify new multiply lensed system candidates. The new set of constraints and free-form method provides a new independent mass estimate of this intriguing colliding cluster. Our results are found to be consistent with earlier parametric models, indirectly confirming the assumptions made in earlier work. By fitting a double gNFW profile to the lens model, and extrapolating to the virial radius, we infer a total mass for the cluster of $M_{200c}=(1.08^{+0.65}_{-0.12})times10^{15}$M$_{odot}$. We estimate the uncertainty in the mass due to errors in the photometric redshifts, and discuss the uncertainty in the inferred virial mass due to the extrapolation from the lens model. We also find in our lens map a mass overdensity corresponding to the large cometary tail of hot gas, reinforcing its interpretation as a large tidal feature predicted by hydrodynamical simulations that mimic El Gordo. Finally, we discuss the observed relation between the plasma and the mass map, finding that the peak in the projected mass map may be associated with a large concentration of colder gas, exhibiting possible star formation. El Gordo is one of the first clusters that will be observed with JWST, which is expected to unveil new high redshift lensed galaxies around this interesting cluster, and provide a more accurate estimation of its mass.
We present an end-to-end image compression system based on compressive sensing. The presented system integrates the conventional scheme of compressive sampling and reconstruction with quantization and entropy coding. The compression performance, in terms of decoded image quality versus data rate, is shown to be comparable with JPEG and significantly better at the low rate range. We study the parameters that influence the system performance, including (i) the choice of sensing matrix, (ii) the trade-off between quantization and compression ratio, and (iii) the reconstruction algorithms. We propose an effective method to jointly control the quantization step and compression ratio in order to achieve near optimal quality at any given bit rate. Furthermore, our proposed image compression system can be directly used in the compressive sensing camera, e.g. the single pixel camera, to construct a hardware compressive sampling system.