Engineering topics

Baugh, Carlton M.

Publications and source records attributed to Baugh, Carlton M..

11 records

DOE OSTI2021

Characterizing the target selection pipeline for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Bright Galaxy Survey

ABSTRACT We present the steps taken to produce a reliable and complete input galaxy catalogue for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS) using the photometric Legacy Survey DR8 DECam. We analyse some of the main issues faced in the selection of targets for the DESI BGS, such as star–galaxy separation, contamination by fragmented stars and bright galaxies. Our pipeline utilizes a new way to select BGS galaxies using Gaia photometry and we implement geometrical and photometric masks that reduce the number of spurious objects. The resulting catalogue is cross-matched with the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey to assess the completeness of the galaxy catalogue and the performance of the target selection. We also validate the clustering of the sources in our BGS catalogue by comparing with mock catalogues and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data. Finally, the robustness of the BGS selection criteria is assessed by quantifying the dependence of the target galaxy density on imaging and other properties. The largest systematic correlation we find is a 7 per cent suppression of the target density in regions of high stellar density.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

The PAU Survey: an improved photo- z sample in the COSMOS field

Here we present – and make publicly available – accurate and precise photometric redshifts in the ACS footprint from the COSMOS field for objects with i AB ≤ 23. The redshifts are computed using a combination of narrow-band photometry from PAUS, a survey with 40 narrow bands spaced at $100\,\mathring{\rm A}$ intervals covering the range from 4500 to $8500\,\mathring{\rm A}$, and 26 broad, intermediate, and narrow bands covering the UV, visible and near-infrared spectrum from the COSMOS2015 catalogue. We introduce a new method that models the spectral energy distributions as a linear combination of continuum and emission-line templates and computes its Bayes evidence, integrating over the linear combinations. The correlation between the UV luminosity and the $\mathrm{O\,{\small II}}$ line is measured using the 66 available bands with the zCOSMOS spectroscopic sample, and used as a prior which constrains the relative flux between continuum and emission-line templates. The flux ratios between the $\mathrm{O\,{\small II}}$ line and H α , H β and $\mathrm{O\,{\small III}}$ are similarly measured and used to generate the emission-line templates. Comparing to public spectroscopic surveys via the quantity Δ z ≡ (z photo – z spec )/(1 + z spec ), we find the photometric redshifts to be more precise than previous estimates, with σ 68 (Δ z ) ≈ (0.003, 0.009) for galaxies at magnitude i AB ~ 18 and i AB ~ 23, respectively, which is three times and 1.66 times tighter than COSMOS2015. Additionally, we find the redshifts to be very accurate on average, yielding a median of the Δ z distribution compatible with |median(Δ z )| ≤ 0.001 at all redshifts and magnitudes considered. Both the added PAUS data and new methodology contribute significantly to the improved results. The catalogue produced with the technique presented here is expected to provide a robust redshift calibration for current and future lensing surveys, and allows one to probe galaxy formation physics in an unexplored luminosity-redshift regime, thanks to its combination of depth, completeness, and excellent redshift precision and accuracy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Can we detect the color-density relation with photometric redshifts?

A variety of methods have been proposed to define and to quantify galaxy environments. While these techniques work well in general with spectroscopic redshift samples, their application to photometric redshift surveys remains uncertain. To investigate whether galaxy environments can be robustly measured with photo-z samples, we quantify how the density measured with the nearest-neighbor approach is affected by photo-z uncertainties by using the Durham mock galaxy catalogs in which the 3D real-space environments and the properties of galaxies are known exactly. Furthermore, we present an optimization scheme in the choice of parameters used in the 2D projected measurements that yield the tightest correlation with respect to the 3D real-space environments. By adopting the optimized parameters in the density measurements, we show that the correlation between the 2D projected optimized density and the real-space density can still be revealed, and the color–density relation is also visible out to z ∼ 0.8 even for a photo-z uncertainty (σ{sub Δ{sub z/(1+z)}}) up to 0.06. We find that at redshifts 0.3 < z < 0.5 a deep (i ∼ 25) photometric redshift survey with σ{sub Δ{sub z/(1+z)}} = 0.02 yields a performance in small-scale density measurement that is comparable to a shallower i ∼ 22.5 spectroscopic sample with ∼10% sampling rate. Finally, we discuss the application of the local density measurements to the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey (PS-MDS), one of the largest deep optical imaging surveys. Using data from ∼5 square degrees of survey area, our results show that it is possible to measure local density and to probe the color–density relation with 3σ confidence level out to z ∼ 0.8 in the PS-MDS. The color–density relation, however, quickly degrades for data covering smaller areas.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Galaxy cluster lensing masses in modified lensing potentials

In this study, we determine the concentration–mass relation of 19 X-ray selected galaxy clusters from the Cluster Lensing and Supernova Survey with Hubble survey in theories of gravity that directly modify the lensing potential. We model the clusters as Navarro–Frenk–White haloes and fit their lensing signal, in the Cubic Galileon and Nonlocal gravity models, to the lensing convergence profiles of the clusters. We discuss a number of important issues that need to be taken into account, associated with the use of non-parametric and parametric lensing methods, as well as assumptions about the background cosmology. Our results show that the concentration and mass estimates in the modified gravity models are, within the error bars, the same as in Λ cold dark matter. This result demonstrates that, for the Nonlocal model, the modifications to gravity are too weak at the cluster redshifts, and for the Galileon model, the screening mechanism is very efficient inside the cluster radius. However, at distances ~ [2–20] Mpc/h from the cluster centre, we find that the surrounding force profiles are enhanced by ~ 20–40% in the Cubic Galileon model. This has an impact on dynamical mass estimates, which means that tests of gravity based on comparisons between lensing and dynamical masses can also be applied to the Cubic Galileon model.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Weak lensing by voids in modified lensing potentials

We study lensing by voids in Cubic Galileon and Nonlocal gravity cosmologies, which are examples of theories of gravity that modify the lensing potential. We find voids in the dark matter and halo density fields of N-body simulations and compute their lensing signal analytically from the void density profiles, which we show are well fit by a simple analytical formula. In the Cubic Galileon model, the modifications to gravity inside voids are not screened and they approximately double the size of the lensing effects compared to GR. The difference is largely determined by the direct effects of the fifth force on lensing and less so by the modified density profiles. For this model, we also discuss the subtle impact on the force and lensing calculations caused by the screening effects of haloes that exist in and around voids. In the Nonlocal model, the impact of the modified density profiles and the direct modifications to lensing are comparable, but they boost the lensing signal by only ≈ 10%, compared with that of GR. Overall, our results suggest that lensing by voids is a promising tool to test models of gravity that modify lensing.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2014

Nonlinear structure formation in nonlocal gravity

We study the nonlinear growth of structure in nonlocal gravity models with the aid of N-body simulation and the spherical collapse and halo models. We focus on a model in which the inverse-squared of the d'Alembertian operator acts on the Ricci scalar in the action. For fixed cosmological parameters, this model differs from ΛCDM by having a lower late-time expansion rate and an enhanced and time-dependent gravitational strength ∼ 6% larger today). Compared to ΛCDM today, in the nonlocal model, massive haloes are slightly more abundant (by ∼ 10% at M ∼ 10{sup 14} M{sub ⊙}/h) and concentrated ≈ 8% enhancement over a range of mass scales), but their linear bias remains almost unchanged. We find that the Sheth-Tormen formalism describes the mass function and halo bias very well, with little need for recalibration of free parameters. The fitting of the halo concentrations is however essential to ensure the good performance of the halo model on small scales. For k ∼> 1 h/Mpc, the amplitude of the nonlinear matter and velocity divergence power spectra exhibits a modest enhancement of ∼ 12% to 15%, compared to ΛCDM today. This suggests that this model might only be distinguishable from ΛCDM by future observational missions. We point out that the absence of a screening mechanism may lead to tensions with Solar System tests due to local time variations of the gravitational strength, although this is subject to assumptions about the local time evolution of background averaged quantities.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2014

The observational status of Galileon gravity after Planck

We use the latest CMB data from Planck, together with BAO measurements, to constrain the full parameter space of Galileon gravity. We constrain separately the three main branches of the theory known as the Cubic, Quartic and Quintic models, and find that all yield a very good fit to these data. Unlike in ΛCDM, the Galileon model constraints are compatible with local determinations of the Hubble parameter and predict nonzero neutrino masses at over 5σ significance. We also identify that the low l part of the CMB lensing spectrum may be able to distinguish between ΛCDM and Galileon models. In the Cubic model, the lensing potential deepens at late times on sub-horizon scales, which is at odds with the current observational suggestion of a positive ISW effect. Compared to ΛCDM, the Quartic and Quintic models predict less ISW power in the low l region of the CMB temperature spectrum, and as such are slightly preferred by the Planck data. We illustrate that residual local modifications to gravity in the Quartic and Quintic models may render the Cubic model as the only branch of Galileon gravity that passes Solar System tests.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2014

Halo model and halo properties in Galileon gravity cosmologies

We investigate the performance of semi-analytical modelling of large-scale structure in Galileon gravity cosmologies using results from N-body simulations. We focus on the Cubic and Quartic Galileon models that provide a reasonable fit to CMB, SNIa and BAO data. We demonstrate that the Sheth-Tormen mass function and linear halo bias can be calibrated to provide a very good fit to our simulation results. We also find that the halo concentration-mass relation is well fitted by a power law. The nonlinear matter power spectrum computed in the halo model approach is found to be inaccurate in the mildly nonlinear regime, but captures reasonably well the effects of the Vainshtein screening mechanism on small scales. In the Cubic model, the screening mechanism hides essentially all of the effects of the fifth force inside haloes. In the case of the Quartic model, the screening mechanism leaves behind residual modifications to gravity, which make the effective gravitational strength time-varying and smaller than the standard value. Compared to normal gravity, this causes a deficiency of massive haloes and leads to a weaker matter clustering on small scales. For both models, we show that there are realistic halo occupation distributions of Luminous Red Galaxies that can match both the observed large-scale clustering amplitude and the number density of these galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Simulating the quartic Galileon gravity model on adaptively refined meshes

We develop a numerical algorithm to solve the high-order nonlinear derivative-coupling equation associated with the quartic Galileon model, and implement it in a modified version of the ramses N-body code to study the effect of the Galileon field on the large-scale matter clustering. The algorithm is tested for several matter field configurations with different symmetries, and works very well. This enables us to perform the first simulations for a quartic Galileon model which provides a good fit to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy, supernovae and baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO) data. Our result shows that the Vainshtein mechanism in this model is very efficient in suppressing the spatial variations of the scalar field. However, the time variation of the effective Newtonian constant caused by the curvature coupling of the Galileon field cannot be suppressed by the Vainshtein mechanism. This leads to a significant weakening of the strength of gravity in high-density regions at late times, and therefore a weaker matter clustering on small scales. We also find that without the Vainshtein mechanism the model would have behaved in a completely different way, which shows the crucial role played by nonlinearities in modified gravity theories and the importance of performing self-consistent N-body simulations for these theories.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Spherical collapse in Galileon gravity: fifth force solutions, halo mass function and halo bias

We study spherical collapse in the Quartic and Quintic Covariant Galileon gravity models within the framework of the excursion set formalism. We derive the nonlinear spherically symmetric equations in the quasi-static and weak-field limits, focusing on model parameters that fit current CMB, SNIa and BAO data. We demonstrate that the equations of the Quintic model do not admit physical solutions of the fifth force in high density regions, which prevents the study of structure formation in this model. For the Quartic model, we show that the effective gravitational strength deviates from the standard value at late times (z∼<1), becoming larger if the density is low, but smaller if the density is high. This shows that the Vainshtein mechanism at high densities is not enough to screen all of the modifications of gravity. This makes halos that collapse at z∼<1 feel an overall weaker gravity, which suppresses halo formation. However, the matter density in the Quartic model is higher than in standard ΛCDM, which boosts structure formation and dominates over the effect of the weaker gravity. In the Quartic model there is a significant overabundance of high-mass halos relative to ΛCDM. Dark matter halos are also less biased than in ΛCDM, with the difference increasing appreciably with halo mass. However, our results suggest that the bias may not be small enough to fully reconcile the predicted matter power spectrum with LRG clustering data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Nonlinear structure formation in the cubic Galileon gravity model

We model the linear and nonlinear growth of large scale structure in the Cubic Galileon gravity model, by running a suite of N-body cosmological simulations using the ECOSMOG code. Our simulations include the Vainshtein screening effect, which reconciles the Cubic Galileon model with local tests of gravity. In the linear regime, the amplitude of the matter power spectrum increases by ∼ 20% with respect to the standard ΛCDM model today. The modified expansion rate accounts for ∼ 15% of this enhancement, while the fifth force is responsible for only ∼ 5%. This is because the effective unscreened gravitational strength deviates from standard gravity only at late times, even though it can be twice as large today. In the nonlinear regime (k∼>0.1h Mpc{sup −1}), the fifth force leads to only a modest increase (∼<8%) in the clustering power on all scales due to the very efficient operation of the Vainshtein mechanism. Such a strong effect is typically not seen in other models with the same screening mechanism. The screening also results in the fifth force increasing the number density of halos by less than 10%, on all mass scales. Our results show that the screening does not ruin the validity of linear theory on large scales which anticipates very strong constraints from galaxy clustering data. We also show that, whilst the model gives an excellent match to CMB data on small angular scales (l∼>50), the predicted integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect is in tension with Planck/WMAP results.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗