Engineering topics

Eifler, T. F.

Publications and source records attributed to Eifler, T. F..

At least 55 records · Page 3

DOE OSTI2020

Increasing the census of ultracool dwarfs in wide binary and multiple systems using Dark Energy Survey DR1 and Gaia DR2 data

ABSTRACT We present the discovery of 255 binary and 6 multiple system candidates with wide (> 5 arcsec) separation composed by ultracool dwarfs (UCDs) companions to stars, plus nine double ultracool dwarf systems. These systems were selected based on common distance criteria. About 90 per cent of the total sample has proper motions available and 73 per cent of the systems also satisfy a common proper motion criterion. The sample of ultracool candidates was taken from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the candidate stellar primaries are from Gaia DR2 and DES data. We compute chance alignment probabilities in order to assess the physical nature of each pair. We find that 174 candidate pairs with Gaia DR2 primaries and 81 pairs with a DES star as a primary have chance alignment probabilities $\lt 5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. Only nine candidate systems composed of two UCDs were identified. The sample of candidate multiple systems is made up of five triple systems and one quadruple system. The majority of the UCDs found in binaries and multiples are of early L type and the typical wide binary fraction over the L spectral types is $2\!-\!4{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. Our sample of candidate wide binaries with UCDs as secondaries constitutes a substantial increase over the known number of such systems, which are very useful to constrain the formation and evolution of UCDs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Optical follow-up of gravitational wave triggers with DECam during the first two LIGO/VIRGO observing runs

Gravitational wave (GW) events detectable by LIGO and Virgo have several possible progenitors, including black hole mergers, neutron star mergers, black hole–neutron star mergers, supernovae, and cosmic string cusps. A subset of GW events is expected to produce electromagnetic (EM) emission that, once detected, will provide complementary information about their astrophysical context. To that end, the LIGO–Virgo Collaboration (LVC) sends GW candidate alerts to the astronomical community so that searches for their EM counterparts can be pursued. The DESGW group, consisting of members of the Dark Energy Survey (DES), the LVC, and other members of the astronomical community, uses the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) to perform a search and discovery program for optical signatures of LVC GW events. DESGW aims to use a sample of GW events as standard sirens for cosmology. Due to the short decay timescale of the expected EM counterparts and the need to quickly eliminate survey areas with no counterpart candidates, it is critical to complete the initial analysis of each night’s images as quickly as possible. We discuss our search area determination, imaging pipeline, and candidate selection processes. We review results from the DESGW program during the first two LIGO–Virgo observing campaigns and introduce other science applications that our pipeline enables.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2020

STRIDES: Spectroscopic and photometric characterization of the environment and effects of mass along the line of sight to the gravitational lenses DES J0408–5354 and WGD 2038–4008

In time-delay cosmography, three of the key ingredients are (1) determining the velocity dispersion of the lensing galaxy, (2) identifying galaxies and groups along the line of sight with sufficient proximity and mass to be included in the mass model, and (3) estimating the external convergence κ_ext from less massive structures that are not included in the mass model. We present results on all three of these ingredients for two time-delay lensed quad quasar systems, DES J0408–5354 and WGD 2038–4008 . We use the Gemini, Magellan, and VLT telescopes to obtain spectra to both measure the stellar velocity dispersions of the main lensing galaxies and to identify the line-of-sight galaxies in these systems. Next, we identify 10 groups in DES J0408–5354 and two groups in WGD 2038–4008 using a group-finding algorithm. We then identify the most significant galaxy and galaxy-group perturbers using the ‘flexion shift’ criterion. We determine the probability distribution function of the external convergence κ_ext for both of these systems based on our spectroscopy and on the DES-only multiband wide-field observations. Using weighted galaxy counts, calibrated based on the Millennium Simulation, we find that DES J0408–5354 is located in a significantly underdense environment, leading to a tight (width |$\sim 3{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$|⁠), negative-value κ_ext distribution. On the other hand, WGD 2038–4008 is located in an environment of close to unit density, and its low source redshift results in a much tighter κ_ext of |$\sim 1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$|⁠, as long as no external shear constraints are imposed.

WGD 2038-4008↗

DOE OSTI2020

Validation of selection function, sample contamination and mass calibration in galaxy cluster samples

ABSTRACT We construct and validate the selection function of the MARD-Y3 galaxy cluster sample. This sample was selected through optical follow-up of the 2nd ROSAT faint source catalogue with Dark Energy Survey year 3 data. The selection function is modelled by combining an empirically constructed X-ray selection function with an incompleteness model for the optical follow-up. We validate the joint selection function by testing the consistency of the constraints on the X-ray flux–mass and richness–mass scaling relation parameters derived from different sources of mass information: (1) cross-calibration using South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SPT-SZ) clusters, (2) calibration using number counts in X-ray, in optical and in both X-ray and optical while marginalizing over cosmological parameters, and (3) other published analyses. We find that the constraints on the scaling relation from the number counts and SPT-SZ cross-calibration agree, indicating that our modelling of the selection function is adequate. Furthermore, we apply a largely cosmology independent method to validate selection functions via the computation of the probability of finding each cluster in the SPT-SZ sample in the MARD-Y3 sample and vice versa. This test reveals no clear evidence for MARD-Y3 contamination, SPT-SZ incompleteness or outlier fraction. Finally, we discuss the prospects of the techniques presented here to limit systematic selection effects in future cluster cosmological studies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: cosmology with moments of weak lensing mass maps – validation on simulations

ABSTRACT We present a simulated cosmology analysis using the second and third moments of the weak lensing mass (convergence) maps. The second moment, or variances, of the convergence as a function of smoothing scale contains information similar to standard shear two-point statistics. The third moment, or the skewness, contains additional non-Gaussian information. The analysis is geared towards the third year (Y3) data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), but the methodology can be applied to other weak lensing data sets. We present the formalism for obtaining the convergence maps from the measured shear and for obtaining the second and third moments of these maps given partial sky coverage. We estimate the covariance matrix from a large suite of numerical simulations. We test our pipeline through a simulated likelihood analyses varying 5 cosmological parameters and 10 nuisance parameters and identify the scales where systematic or modelling uncertainties are not expected to affect the cosmological analysis. Our simulated likelihood analysis shows that the combination of second and third moments provides a 1.5 per cent constraint on S8 ≡ σ8(Ωm/0.3)0.5 for DES Year 3 data. This is 20 per cent better than an analysis using a simulated DES Y3 shear two-point statistics, owing to the non-Gaussian information captured by the inclusion of higher order statistics. This paper validates our methodology for constraining cosmology with DES Year 3 data, which will be presented in a subsequent paper.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Noise from undetected sources in Dark Energy Survey images

ABSTRACT For ground-based optical imaging with current CCD technology, the Poisson fluctuations in source and sky background photon arrivals dominate the noise budget and are readily estimated. Another component of noise, however, is the signal from the undetected population of stars and galaxies. Using injection of artifical galaxies into images, we demonstrate that the measured variance of galaxy moments (used for weak gravitational lensing measurements) in Dark Energy Survey (DES) images is significantly in excess of the Poisson predictions, by up to 30 per cent, and that the background sky levels are overestimated by current software. By cross-correlating distinct images of ‘empty’ sky regions, we establish that there is a significant image noise contribution from undetected static sources (US), which, on average, are mildly resolved at DES resolution. Treating these US as a stationary noise source, we compute a correction to the moment covariance matrix expected from Poisson noise. The corrected covariance matrix matches the moment variances measured on the injected DES images to within 5 per cent. Thus, we have an empirical method to statistically account for US in weak lensing measurements, rather than requiring extremely deep sky simulations. We also find that local sky determinations can remove most of the bias in flux measurements, at a small penalty in additional, but quantifiable, noise.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2020

OzDES multi-object fibre spectroscopy for the Dark Energy Survey: Results and second data release

We present a description of the Australian Dark Energy Survey (OzDES) and summarize the results from its 6 years of operations. Using the 2dF fibre positioner and AAOmega spectrograph on the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope, OzDES has monitored 771 active galactic nuclei, classified hundreds of supernovae, and obtained redshifts for thousands of galaxies that hosted a transient within the 10 deep fields of the Dark Energy Survey. We also present the second OzDES data release, containing the redshifts of almost 30 000 sources, some as faint as r_AB = 24 mag, and 375 000 individual spectra. These data, in combination with the time-series photometry from the Dark Energy Survey, will be used to measure the expansion history of the Universe out to z ∼ 1.2 and the masses of hundreds of black holes out to z ∼ 4. OzDES is a template for future surveys that combine simultaneous monitoring of targets with wide-field imaging cameras and wide-field multi-object spectrographs.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Chemical Analysis of the Ultrafaint Dwarf Galaxy Grus II. Signature of High-mass Stellar Nucleosynthesis

We present a detailed abundance analysis of the three brightest member stars at the top of the giant branch of the ultrafaint dwarf (UFD) galaxy Grus II. All stars exhibit a higher than expected [Mg/Ca] ratio compared to metal-poor stars in other UFD galaxies and in the Milky Way (MW) halo. Nucleosynthesis in high-mass ( 20 M ⊙) core-collapse supernovae has been shown to create this signature. The abundances of this small sample (three) stars suggests the chemical enrichment of Grus II could have occurred through substantial high-mass stellar evolution, and is consistent with the framework of a top-heavy initial mass function. However, with only three stars it cannot be ruled out that the abundance pattern is the result of a stochastic chemical enrichment at early times in the galaxy. The most metal-rich of the three stars also possesses a small enhancement in rapid neutron-capture (r-process) elements. The abundance pattern of the r-process elements in this star matches the scaled r-process pattern of the solar system and r-process enhanced stars in other dwarf galaxies and in the MW halo, hinting at a common origin for these elements across a range of environments. All current proposed astrophysical sites of r-process element production are associated with high-mass stars, thus the possible top-heavy initial mass function of Grus II would increase the likelihood of any of these events occurring. The time delay between the α and r-process element enrichment of the galaxy favors a neutron star merger as the origin of the r-process elements in Grus II.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Modelling the Milky Way – I. Method and first results fitting the thick disc and halo with DES-Y3 data

ABSTRACT We present a technique to fit the stellar components of the Galaxy by comparing Hess Diagrams (HDs) generated from trilegal models to real data. We apply this technique, which we call mwfitting, to photometric data from the first 3 yr of the Dark Energy Survey (DES). After removing regions containing known resolved stellar systems such as globular clusters, dwarf galaxies, nearby galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Sagittarius Stream, our main sample spans a total area of ∼2300 deg2. We further explore a smaller subset (∼1300 deg2) that excludes all regions with known stellar streams and stellar overdensities. Validation tests on synthetic data possessing similar properties to the DES data show that the method is able to recover input parameters with a precision better than 3 per cent. We fit the DES data with an exponential thick disc model and an oblate double power-law halo model. We find that the best-fitting thick disc model has radial and vertical scale heights of 2.67 ± 0.09 kpc and 925 ± 40 pc, respectively. The stellar halo is fit with a broken power-law density profile with an oblateness of 0.75 ± 0.01, an inner index of 1.82 ± 0.08, an outer index of 4.14 ± 0.05, and a break at 18.52 ± 0.27 kpc from the Galactic centre. Several previously discovered stellar overdensities are recovered in the residual stellar density map, showing the reliability of mwfitting in determining the Galactic components. Simulations made with the best-fitting parameters are a promising way to predict Milky Way star counts for surveys such as the LSST and Euclid.

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DOE OSTI2020

Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: Cosmological constraints from cluster abundances and weak lensing

In this work we perform a joint analysis of the counts and weak lensing signal of redMaPPer clusters selected from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Year 1 dataset. Our analysis uses the same shear and source photometric redshifts estimates as were used in the DES combined probes analysis. Our analysis results in surprisingly low values for $S_8 =\sigma_8(\Omega_{\rm m}/0.3)^{0.5}= 0.65\pm 0.04$, driven by a low matter density parameter, $\Omega_{\rm m}=0.179^{+0.031}_{-0.038}$, with $\sigma_8-\Omega_{\rm m}$ posteriors in $2.4\sigma$ tension with the DES Y1 3x2pt results, and in $5.6\sigma$ with the Planck CMB analysis. These results include the impact of post-unblinding changes to the analysis, which did not improve the level of consistency with other data sets compared to the results obtained at the unblinding. The fact that multiple cosmological probes (supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, cosmic shear, galaxy clustering and CMB anisotropies), and other galaxy cluster analyses all favor significantly higher matter densities suggests the presence of systematic errors in the data or an incomplete modeling of the relevant physics. Cross checks with X-ray and microwave data, as well as independent constraints on the observable--mass relation from SZ selected clusters, suggest that the discrepancy resides in our modeling of the weak lensing signal rather than the cluster abundance. Repeating our analysis using a higher richness threshold ($\lambda \ge 30$) significantly reduces the tension with other probes, and points to one or more richness-dependent effects not captured by our model.

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DOE OSTI2020

Supernova Siblings: Assessing the Consistency of Properties of Type Ia Supernovae that Share the Same Parent Galaxies

While many studies have shown a correlation between properties of the light curves of SNe Ia and properties of their host galaxies, it remains unclear what is driving these correlations. We introduce a new direct method to study these correlations by analyzing "parent" galaxies that host multiple SNe Ia "siblings." In this study, we search the Dark Energy Survey SN sample, one of the largest samples of discovered SNe, and find eight galaxies that hosted two likely SNe Ia. Comparing the light-curve properties of these SNe and recovered distances from the light curves, we find no better agreement between properties of SNe in the same galaxy as any random pair of galaxies, with the exception of the SN light-curve stretch. We show at 2.8 σ significance that at least one-half of the intrinsic scatter of SNe Ia distance modulus residuals is not from common host properties. We also discuss the robustness with which we could make this evaluation with LSST, which will find 100 × more pairs of galaxies, and pave a new line of study on the consistency of SNe Ia in the same parent galaxies. Finally, we argue that it is unlikely that some of these SNe are actually single, lensed SN with multiple images.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

The Diffuse Light Envelope of Luminous Red Galaxies

We use a stacking method to study the radial light profiles of luminous red galaxies (LRGs) at redshift $\sim 0.62$ and $\sim 0.25$, out to a radial range of 200 kpc. We do not find noticeable evolution of the profiles at the two redshifts. The LRG profiles appear to be well approximated by a single Sersic profile, although some excess light can be seen outside 60 kpc. We quantify the excess light by measuring the integrated flux and find that the excess is about 10% -- a non-dominant but still nonnegligible component.

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DOE OSTI2020

DES16C3cje: A low-luminosity, long-lived supernova

ABSTRACT We present DES16C3cje, a low-luminosity, long-lived type II supernova (SN II) at redshift 0.0618, detected by the Dark Energy Survey (DES). DES16C3cje is a unique SN. The spectra are characterized by extremely narrow photospheric lines corresponding to very low expansion velocities of ≲1500 km s−1, and the light curve shows an initial peak that fades after 50 d before slowly rebrightening over a further 100 d to reach an absolute brightness of Mr ∼ −15.5 mag. The decline rate of the late-time light curve is then slower than that expected from the powering by radioactive decay of 56Co, but is comparable to that expected from accretion power. Comparing the bolometric light curve with hydrodynamical models, we find that DES16C3cje can be explained by either (i) a low explosion energy (0.11 foe) and relatively large 56Ni production of 0.075 M⊙ from an ∼15 M⊙ red supergiant progenitor typical of other SNe II, or (ii) a relatively compact ∼40 M⊙ star, explosion energy of 1 foe, and 0.08 M⊙ of 56Ni. Both scenarios require additional energy input to explain the late-time light curve, which is consistent with fallback accretion at a rate of ∼0.5 × 10−8 M⊙ s−1.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Studying Type II supernovae as cosmological standard candles using the Dark Energy Survey

ABSTRACT Despite vast improvements in the measurement of the cosmological parameters, the nature of dark energy and an accurate value of the Hubble constant (H0) in the Hubble–Lemaître law remain unknown. To break the current impasse, it is necessary to develop as many independent techniques as possible, such as the use of Type II supernovae (SNe II). The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the utility of SNe II for deriving accurate extragalactic distances, which will be an asset for the next generation of telescopes where more-distant SNe II will be discovered. More specifically, we present a sample from the Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program (DES-SN) consisting of 15 SNe II with photometric and spectroscopic information spanning a redshift range up to 0.35. Combining our DES SNe with publicly available samples, and using the standard candle method (SCM), we construct the largest available Hubble diagram with SNe II in the Hubble flow (70 SNe II) and find an observed dispersion of 0.27 mag. We demonstrate that adding a colour term to the SN II standardization does not reduce the scatter in the Hubble diagram. Although SNe II are viable as distance indicators, this work points out important issues for improving their utility as independent extragalactic beacons: find new correlations, define a more standard subclass of SNe II, construct new SN II templates, and dedicate more observing time to high-redshift SNe II. Finally, for the first time, we perform simulations to estimate the redshift-dependent distance-modulus bias due to selection effects.

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DOE OSTI2020

Supernova host galaxies in the dark energy survey: I. Deep coadds, photometry, and stellar masses

ABSTRACT The 5-yr Dark Energy Survey Supernova Programme (DES-SN) is one of the largest and deepest transient surveys to date in terms of volume and number of supernovae. Identifying and characterizing the host galaxies of transients plays a key role in their classification, the study of their formation mechanisms, and the cosmological analyses. To derive accurate host galaxy properties, we create depth-optimized coadds using single-epoch DES-SN images that are selected based on sky and atmospheric conditions. For each of the five DES-SN seasons, a separate coadd is made from the other four seasons such that each SN has a corresponding deep coadd with no contaminating SN emission. The coadds reach limiting magnitudes of order ∼27 in g band, and have a much smaller magnitude uncertainty than the previous DES-SN host templates, particularly for faint objects. We present the resulting multiband photometry of host galaxies for samples of spectroscopically confirmed type Ia (SNe Ia), core-collapse (CCSNe), and superluminous (SLSNe) as well as rapidly evolving transients (RETs) discovered by DES-SN. We derive host galaxy stellar masses and probabilistically compare stellar-mass distributions to samples from other surveys. We find that the DES spectroscopically confirmed sample of SNe Ia selects preferentially fewer high-mass hosts at high-redshift compared to other surveys, while at low redshift the distributions are consistent. DES CCSNe and SLSNe hosts are similar to other samples, while RET hosts are unlike the hosts of any other transients, although these differences have not been disentangled from selection effects.

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DOE OSTI2020

A joint SZ–X-ray–optical analysis of the dynamical state of 288 massive galaxy clusters

In this work, we use imaging from the first three years of the Dark Energy Survey to characterize the dynamical state of 288 galaxy clusters at 0.1 ≲ z ≲ 0.9 detected in the South Pole Telescope (SPT) Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ) effect survey (SPT-SZ). We examine spatial offsets between the position of the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) and the centre of the gas distribution as traced by the SPT-SZ centroid and by the X-ray centroid/peak position from Chandra and XMM data. We show that the radial distribution of offsets provides no evidence that SPT SZ-selected cluster samples include a higher fraction of mergers than X-ray-selected cluster samples. We use the offsets to classify the dynamical state of the clusters, selecting the 43 most disturbed clusters, with half of those at z ≳ 0.5, a region seldom explored previously. We find that Schechter function fits to the galaxy population in disturbed clusters and relaxed clusters differ at z > 0.55 but not at lower redshifts. Disturbed clusters at z > 0.55 have steeper faint-end slopes and brighter characteristic magnitudes. Within the same redshift range, we find that the BCGs in relaxed clusters tend to be brighter than the BCGs in disturbed samples, while in agreement in the lower redshift bin. Possible explanations includes a higher merger rate, and a more efficient dynamical friction at high redshift. The red-sequence population is less affected by the cluster dynamical state than the general galaxy population.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Blinding multiprobe cosmological experiments

ABSTRACT The goal of blinding is to hide an experiment’s critical results – here the inferred cosmological parameters – until all decisions affecting its analysis have been finalized. This is especially important in the current era of precision cosmology, when the results of any new experiment are closely scrutinized for consistency or tension with previous results. In analyses that combine multiple observational probes, like the combination of galaxy clustering and weak lensing in the Dark Energy Survey (DES), it is challenging to blind the results while retaining the ability to check for (in)consistency between different parts of the data. We propose a simple new blinding transformation, which works by modifying the summary statistics that are input to parameter estimation, such as two-point correlation functions. The transformation shifts the measured statistics to new values that are consistent with (blindly) shifted cosmological parameters while preserving internal (in)consistency. We apply the blinding transformation to simulated data for the projected DES Year 3 galaxy clustering and weak lensing analysis, demonstrating that practical blinding is achieved without significant perturbation of internal-consistency checks, as measured here by degradation of the χ2 between the data and best-fitting model. Our blinding method’s performance is expected to improve as experiments evolve to higher precision and accuracy.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2020

Milky Way Satellite Census. I. The Observational Selection Function for Milky Way Satellites in DES Y3 and Pan-STARRS DR1

We report the results of a systematic search for ultra-faint Milky Way satellite galaxies using data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and Pan-STARRS1 (PS1). Together, DES and PS1 provide multi-band photometry in optical/near-infrared wavelengths over ~80% of the sky. Our search for satellite galaxies targets ~25,000 deg$^2$ of the high-Galactic-latitude sky reaching a 10$\sigma$ point-source depth of $\gtrsim$ 22.5 mag in the $g$ and $r$ bands. While satellite galaxy searches have been performed independently on DES and PS1 before, this is the first time that a self-consistent search is performed across both data sets. We do not detect any new high-significance satellite galaxy candidates, while recovering the majority of satellites previously detected in surveys of comparable depth. We characterize the sensitivity of our search using a large set of simulated satellites injected into the survey data. We use these simulations to derive both analytic and machine-learning models that accurately predict the detectability of Milky Way satellites as a function of their distance, size, luminosity, and location on the sky. To demonstrate the utility of this observational selection function, we calculate the luminosity function of Milky Way satellite galaxies, assuming that the known population of satellite galaxies is representative of the underlying distribution. We provide access to our observational selection function to facilitate comparisons with cosmological models of galaxy formation and evolution.

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