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Wide-Field Lensing Mass Maps from Dark Energy Survey Science Verification Data

C. Chang et al.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 051301 – Published 29 July 2015
Physics logo See Viewpoint: Sky Survey Casts Light on the Dark Universe

Abstract

We present a mass map reconstructed from weak gravitational lensing shear measurements over 139deg2 from the Dark Energy Survey science verification data. The mass map probes both luminous and dark matter, thus providing a tool for studying cosmology. We find good agreement between the mass map and the distribution of massive galaxy clusters identified using a red-sequence cluster finder. Potential candidates for superclusters and voids are identified using these maps. We measure the cross-correlation between the mass map and a magnitude-limited foreground galaxy sample and find a detection at the 6.8σ level with 20 arc min smoothing. These measurements are consistent with simulated galaxy catalogs based on N-body simulations from a cold dark matter model with a cosmological constant. This suggests low systematics uncertainties in the map. We summarize our key findings in this Letter; the detailed methodology and tests for systematics are presented in a companion paper.

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  • Received 7 May 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.051301

© 2015 American Physical Society

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Sky Survey Casts Light on the Dark Universe

Published 29 July 2015

The Dark Energy Survey has generated a map of invisible dark matter by observing tiny gravitationally induced distortions in the images of distant galaxies.

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Vol. 115, Iss. 5 — 31 July 2015

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