The combination of Galaxy-Galaxy Lensing (GGL) and Redshift Space Distortion of galaxy clustering (RSD) is a privileged technique to test General Relativity predictions, and break degeneracies between the growth rate of structure parameter $f$ and th
e amplitude of the linear power-spectrum $sigma_8$. We perform a joint GGL and RSD analysis on 250 sq. degrees using shape catalogues from CFHTLenS and CFHT-Stripe 82, and spectroscopic redshifts from the BOSS CMASS sample. We adjust a model that includes non-linear biasing, RSD and Alcock-Paczynski effects. We find $f(z=0.57) =0.95pm0.23$, $sigma_8(z=0.57)=0.55pm0.07$ and $Omega_{rm m} = 0.31pm0.08$, in agreement with Planck cosmological results 2018. We also estimate the probe of gravity $E_{rm G} = 0.43pm0.10$ in agreement with $Lambda$CDM-GR predictions of $E_{rm G} = 0.40$. This analysis reveals that RSD efficiently decreases the GGL uncertainty on $Omega_{rm m}$ by a factor of 4, and by 30% on $sigma_8$. We use an N-body simulation supplemented by an abundance matching prescription for CMASS to build a set of overlapping lensing and clustering mocks. Together with additional spectroscopic data, this helps us to quantify and correct several systematic errors, such as photometric redshifts. We make our mock catalogues available on the Skies and Universe database.
In Montero-Dorta et al. 2017, we show that luminous red galaxies (LRGs) from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) at $zsim0.55$ can be divided into two groups based on their star formation histories. So-called fast-growing LRGs
assemble $80%$ of their stellar mass at $zsim5$, whereas slow-growing LRGs reach the same evolutionary state at $zsim1.5$. We further demonstrate that these two subpopulations present significantly different clustering properties on scales of $sim1 - 30 mathrm{Mpc}$. Here, we measure the mean halo mass of each subsample using the galaxy-galaxy lensing technique, in the $sim190deg^2$ overlap of the LRG catalogue and the CS82 and CFHTLenS shear catalogues. We show that fast- and slow-growing LRGs have similar lensing profiles, which implies that they live in haloes of similar mass: $logleft(M_{rm halo}^{rm fast}/h^{-1}mathrm{M}_{odot}right) = 12.85^{+0.16}_{-0.26}$ and $logleft(M_{rm halo}^{rm slow}/h^{-1}mathrm{M}_{odot}right) =12.92^{+0.16}_{-0.22}$. This result, combined with the clustering difference, suggests the existence of galaxy assembly bias, although the effect is too subtle to be definitively proven given the errors on our current weak-lensing measurement. We show that this can soon be achieved with upcoming surveys like DES.
We present the results of combined deep Keck/NIRC2, HST/WFC3 near-infrared and Herschel far infrared observations of an extremely star forming dusty lensed galaxy identified from the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS J133542
.9+300401). The galaxy is gravitationally lensed by a massive WISE identified galaxy cluster at $zsim1$. The lensed galaxy is spectroscopically confirmed at $z=2.685$ from detection of $rm {CO (1 rightarrow 0)}$ by GBT and from detection of $rm {CO (3 rightarrow 2)}$ obtained with CARMA. We use the combined spectroscopic and imaging observations to construct a detailed lens model of the background dusty star-forming galaxy (DSFG) which allows us to study the source plane properties of the target. The best-fit lens model provide magnification of $mu_{rm star}=2.10pm0.11$ and $mu_{rm dust}=2.02pm0.06$ for the stellar and dust components respectively. Multi-band data yields a magnification corrected star formation rate of $1900(pm200),M_{odot}{rm yr^{-1}}$ and stellar mass of $6.8_{-2.7}^{+0.9}times10^{11},M_{odot}$ consistent with a main sequence of star formation at $zsim2.6$. The CO observations yield a molecular gas mass of $8.3(pm1.0)times10^{10},M_{odot}$, similar to the most massive star-forming galaxies, which together with the high star-formation efficiency are responsible for the intense observed star formation rates. The lensed DSFG has a very short gas depletion time scale of $sim40$ Myr. The high stellar mass and small gas fractions observed indicate that the lensed DSFG likely has already formed most of its stellar mass and could be a progenitor of the most massive elliptical galaxies found in the local Universe.
We carry out a joint analysis of redshift-space distortions and galaxy-galaxy lensing, with the aim of measuring the growth rate of structure; this is a key quantity for understanding the nature of gravity on cosmological scales and late-time cosmic
acceleration. We make use of the final VIPERS redshift survey dataset, which maps a portion of the Universe at a redshift of $z simeq 0.8$, and the lensing data from the CFHTLenS survey over the same area of the sky. We build a consistent theoretical model that combines non-linear galaxy biasing and redshift-space distortion models, and confront it with observations. The two probes are combined in a Bayesian maximum likelihood analysis to determine the growth rate of structure at two redshifts $z=0.6$ and $z=0.86$. We obtain measurements of $fsigma_8(0.6) = 0.48 pm 0.12$ and $fsigma_8(0.86) = 0.48 pm 0.10$. The additional galaxy-galaxylensing constraint alleviates galaxy bias and $sigma_8$ degeneracies, providing direct measurements of $[f(0.6),sigma_8(0.6)] = [0.93 pm 0.22, 0.52 pm 0.06]$ and $f(0.86),sigma_8(0.86)] = [0.99 pm 0.19, 0.48 pm 0.04]$. These measurements are statistically consistent with a Universe where the gravitational interactions can be described by General Relativity, although they are not yet accurate enough to rule out some commonly considered alternatives. Finally, as a complementary test we measure the gravitational slip parameter, $E_G$ , for the first time at $z>0.6$. We find values of $smash{overline{E}_G}(0.6) = 0.16 pm 0.09$ and $smash{overline{E}_G}(0.86) = 0.09 pm 0.07$, when $E_G$ is averaged over scales above $3 h^{-1} rm{Mpc}$. We find that our $E_G$ measurements exhibit slightly lower values than expected for standard relativistic gravity in a {Lambda}CDM background, although the results are consistent within $1-2sigma$.
[abridged] We present a strong-lensing analysis of MACSJ0717.5+3745, based on the full depth of the Hubble Frontier Field (HFF) observations, which brings the number of multiply imaged systems to 61, ten of which are spectroscopically confirmed. The
total number of images comprised in these systems rises to 165. Our analysis uses a parametric mass reconstruction technique, as implemented in the Lenstool software, to constrain a mass distribution composed of four large-scale mass components + galaxy-scale perturbers. We find a superposition of cored isothermal mass components to provide a good fit to the observational constraints, resulting in a very shallow mass distribution for the smooth (large-scale) component. Given the implications of such a flat mass profile, we investigate whether a model composed of peaky non-cored mass components can also reproduce the observational constraints. We find that such a non-cored mass model reproduces the observational constraints equally well. Although the total mass distributions of both models are consistent, as well as the integrated two dimensional mass profiles, we find that the smooth and the galaxy-scale components are very different. We conclude that, even in the HFF era, the generic degeneracy between smooth and galaxy-scale components is not broken, in particular in such a complex galaxy cluster. Consequently, insights into the mass distribution of MACS J0717 remain limited, underlining the need for additional probes beyond strong lensing. Our findings also have implications for estimates of the lensing magnification: we show that the amplification difference between the two models is larger than the error associated with either model. This uncertainty decreases the area of the image plane where we can reliably study the high-redshift Universe by 50 to 70%.
