Engineering topics

Shajib, Anowar J.

Publications and source records attributed to Shajib, Anowar J..

10 records

DOE OSTI2024

Project Dinos I: A joint lensing–dynamics constraint on the deviation from the power law in the mass profile of massive ellipticals

The mass distribution in massive elliptical galaxies encodes their evolutionary history, thus providing an avenue to constrain the baryonic astrophysics in their evolution. The power-law assumption for the radial mass profile in ellipticals has been sufficient to describe several observables to the noise level, including strong lensing and stellar dynamics. In this paper, we quantitatively constrained any deviation, or the lack thereof, from the power-law mass profile in massive ellipticals through joint lensing–dynamics analysis of a large statistical sample with 77 galaxy–galaxy lens systems. We performed an improved and uniform lens modelling of these systems from archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging using the automated lens modelling pipeline dolphin. We combined the lens model posteriors with the stellar dynamics to constrain the deviation from the power law after accounting for the line-of-sight lensing effects, a first for analyses on galaxy–galaxy lenses. We find that the Sloan Lens ACS Survey lens galaxies with a mean redshift of 0.2 are consistent with the power-law profile within 1.1σ (2.8σ) and the Strong Lensing Legacy Survey lens galaxies with a mean redshift of 0.6 are consistent within 0.8σ (2.1σ), for a spatially constant (Osipkov–Merritt) stellar anisotropy profile. We adopted the spatially constant anisotropy profile as our baseline choice based on previous dynamical observables of local ellipticals. However, spatially resolved stellar kinematics of lens galaxies are necessary to differentiate between the two anisotropy models. Future studies will use our lens models to constrain the mass distribution individually in the dark matter and baryonic components.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

TDCOSMO. XII. Improved Hubble constant measurement from lensing time delays using spatially resolved stellar kinematics of the lens galaxy

Strong-lensing time delays enable measurement of the Hubble constant ($H_{0}$) independently of other traditional methods. The main limitation to the precision of time-delay cosmography is mass-sheet degeneracy (MSD). Some of the previous TDCOSMO analyses broke the MSD by making standard assumptions about the mass density profile of the lens galaxy, reaching 2% precision from seven lenses. However, this approach could potentially bias the $H_0$ measurement or underestimate the errors. For this work, we broke the MSD for the first time using spatially resolved kinematics of the lens galaxy in RXJ1131$-$1231 obtained from the Keck Cosmic Web Imager spectroscopy, in combination with previously published time delay and lens models derived from Hubble Space Telescope imaging. This approach allowed us to robustly estimate $H_0$, effectively implementing a maximally flexible mass model. Following a blind analysis, we estimated the angular diameter distance to the lens galaxy $D_{\rm d} = 865_{-81}^{+85}$ Mpc and the time-delay distance $D_{\Delta t} = 2180_{-271}^{+472}$ Mpc, giving $H_0 = 77.1_{-7.1}^{+7.3}$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ - for a flat $\Lambda$ cold dark matter cosmology. The error budget accounts for all uncertainties, including the MSD inherent to the lens mass profile and the line-of-sight effects, and those related to the mass-anisotropy degeneracy and projection effects. Our new measurement is in excellent agreement with those obtained in the past using standard simply parametrized mass profiles for this single system ($H_0 = 78.3^{+3.4}_{-3.3}$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$) and for seven lenses ($H_0 = 74.2_{-1.6}^{+1.6}$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$), or for seven lenses using single-aperture kinematics and the same maximally flexible models used by us ($H_0 = 73.3^{+5.8}_{-5.8}$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$). This agreement corroborates the methodology of time-delay cosmography.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

LensingETC: A Tool to Optimize Multifilter Imaging Campaigns of Galaxy-scale Strong Lensing Systems

Imaging data is the principal observable required to use galaxy-scale strong lensing in a multitude of applications in extragalactic astrophysics and cosmology. In this paper, we develop Lensing Exposure Time Calculator (LensingETC; to optimize the efficiency of telescope-time usage when planning multifilter imaging campaigns for galaxy-scale strong lenses. This tool simulates realistic data tailored to specified instrument characteristics and then automatically models them to assess the power of the data in constraining lens model parameters. We demonstrate a use case of this tool by optimizing a two-filter observing strategy (in the IR and ultraviolet-visual (UVIS)) within the limited exposure time per system allowed by a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Snapshot program. We find that higher resolution is more advantageous to gain constraining power on the lensing observables, when there is a trade-off between signal-to-noise ratio and resolution; for example, between the UVIS and IR filters of the HST. We also find that, whereas a point-spread function (PSF) with sub-Nyquist sampling allows the sample mean for a model parameter to be robustly recovered for both galaxy–galaxy and point-source lensing systems, a sub-Nyquist-sampled PSF introduces a larger scatter than a Nyquist-sampled one in the deviation from the ground truth for point-source lens systems.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2022

The Hubble Constant from Strongly Lensed Supernovae with Standardizable Magnifications

The dominant uncertainty in the current measurement of the Hubble constant (H 0 ) with strong gravitational lensing time delays is attributed to uncertainties in the mass profiles of the main deflector galaxies. Strongly lensed supernovae (glSNe) can provide, in addition to measurable time delays, lensing magnification constraints when knowledge about the unlensed apparent brightness of the explosion is imposed. We present a hierarchical Bayesian framework to combine a data set of SNe that are not strongly lensed and a data set of strongly lensed SNe with measured time delays. We jointly constrain (i) H 0 using the time delays as an absolute distance indicator, (ii) the lens model profiles using the magnification ratio of lensed and unlensed fluxes on the population level, and (iii) the unlensed apparent magnitude distribution of the SN population and the redshift–luminosity relation of the relative expansion history of the universe. We apply our joint inference framework on a future expected data set of glSNe and forecast that a sample of 144 glSNe of Type Ia with well-measured time series and imaging data will measure H 0 to 1.5%. We discuss strategies to mitigate systematics associated with using absolute flux measurements of glSNe to constrain the mass density profiles. Using the magnification of SN images is a promising and complementary alternative to using stellar kinematics. Future surveys, such as the Rubin and Roman observatories, will be able to discover the necessary number of glSNe, and with additional follow-up observations, this methodology will provide precise constraints on mass profiles and H 0 .

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Cosmology Intertwined III: $f \sigma_8$ and $S_8$

The standard $\Lambda$ Cold Dark Matter cosmological model provides a wonderful fit to current cosmological data, but a few tensions and anomalies became statistically significant with the latest data analyses. While these anomalies could be due to the presence of systematic errors in the experiments, they could also indicate the need for new physics beyond the standard model. In this Letter of Interest we focus on the tension of the Planck data with weak lensing measurements and redshift surveys, about the value of the matter energy density $\Omega_m$, and the amplitude or rate of the growth of structure ($\sigma_8,f\sigma_8$). We list a few interesting models for solving this tension, and we discuss the importance of trying to fit with a single model a full array of data and not just one parameter at a time.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Snowmass2021 - Letter of interest cosmology intertwined I: Perspectives for the next decade

The standard Λ Cold Dark Matter cosmological model provides an amazing description of a wide range of astrophysical and astronomical data. However, there are a few big open questions, that make the standard model look like a first-order approximation to a more realistic scenario that still needs to be fully understood. In this Letter of Interest we will list a few important goals that need to be addressed in the next decade, also taking into account the current discordances present between the different cosmological probes, as the Hubble constant H0 value, the σ8S8 tension, and the anomalies present in the Planck results. Finally, we will give an overview of upgraded experiments and next-generation space-missions and facilities on Earth that will be of crucial importance to address all these questions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Snowmass2021 - Letter of interest cosmology intertwined IV: The age of the universe and its curvature

A precise measurement of the curvature of the Universe is of prime importance for cosmology since it could not only confirm the paradigm of primordial inflation but also help in discriminating between different early-Universe scenarios. Recent observations, while broadly consistent with a spatially flat standard Λ Cold Dark Matter ( Λ CDM) model, show tensions that still allow (and, in some cases, even suggest) a few percent deviations from a flat universe. In particular, the Planck Cosmic Microwave Background power spectra, assuming the nominal likelihood, prefer a closed universe at more than 99% confidence level. While new physics could be at play, this anomaly may be the result of an unresolved systematic error or just a statistical fluctuation. However, since positive curvature allows a larger age of the Universe, an accurate determination of the age of the oldest objects provides a smoking gun in confirming or falsifying the current flat Λ CDM model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Snowmass2021 - Letter of interest cosmology intertwined II: The hubble constant tension

The current cosmological probes have provided a fantastic confirmation of the standard Λ Cold Dark Matter cosmological model, which has been constrained with unprecedented accuracy. However, with the increase of the experimental sensitivity, a few statistically significant tensions between different independent cosmological datasets emerged. While these tensions can be in part the result of systematic errors, the persistence after several years of accurate analysis strongly hints at cracks in the standard cosmological scenario and the need for new physics. In this Letter of Interest we will focus on the 4.4σ tension between the Planck estimate of the Hubble constant H0 and the SH0ES collaboration measurements. After showing the H0 evaluations made from different teams using different methods and geometric calibrations, we will list a few interesting models of new physics that could solve this tension and discuss how the next decade’s experiments will be crucial.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Improved time-delay lens modelling and H 0 inference with transient sources

ABSTRACT Strongly lensed explosive transients such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, fast radio bursts, and gravitational waves are very promising tools to determine the Hubble constant (H0) in the near future in addition to strongly lensed quasars. In this work, we show that the transient nature of the point source provides an advantage over quasars: The lensed host galaxy can be observed before or after the transient’s appearance. Therefore, the lens model can be derived from images free of contamination from bright point sources. We quantify this advantage by comparing the precision of a lens model obtained from the same lenses with and without point sources. Based on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) observations with the same sets of lensing parameters, we simulate realistic mock data sets of 48 quasar lensing systems (i.e. adding AGN in the galaxy centre) and 48 galaxy–galaxy lensing systems (assuming the transient source is not visible but the time delay and image positions have been or will be measured). We then model the images and compare the inferences of the lens model parameters and H0. We find that the precision of the lens models (in terms of the deflector mass slope) is better by a factor of 4.1 for the sample without lensed point sources, resulting in an increase of H0 precision by a factor of 2.9. The opportunity to observe the lens systems without the transient point sources provides an additional advantage for time-delay cosmography over lensed quasars. It facilitates the determination of higher signal-to-noise stellar kinematics of the main deflector, and thus its mass density profile, which, in turn plays a key role in breaking the mass-sheet degeneracy and constraining H0.

Ding, Xuheng↗

DOE OSTI2021

Dark matter haloes of massive elliptical galaxies at z ∼ 0.2 are well described by the Navarro–Frenk–White profile

ABSTRACT We investigate the internal structure of elliptical galaxies at z ∼ 0.2 from a joint lensing–dynamics analysis. We model Hubble Space Telescope images of a sample of 23 galaxy–galaxy lenses selected from the Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) survey. Whereas the original SLACS analysis estimated the logarithmic slopes by combining the kinematics with the imaging data, we estimate the logarithmic slopes only from the imaging data. We find that the distribution of the lensing-only logarithmic slopes has a median 2.08c ± 0.03 and intrinsic scatter 0.13 ± 0.02, consistent with the original SLACS analysis. We combine the lensing constraints with the stellar kinematics and weak lensing measurements, and constrain the amount of adiabatic contraction in the dark matter (DM) haloes. We find that the DM haloes are well described by a standard Navarro–Frenk–White halo with no contraction on average for both of a constant stellar mass-to-light ratio (M/L) model and a stellar M/L gradient model. For the M/L gradient model, we find that most galaxies are consistent with no M/L gradient. Comparison of our inferred stellar masses with those obtained from the stellar population synthesis method supports a heavy initial mass function (IMF) such as the Salpeter IMF. We discuss our results in the context of previous observations and simulations, and argue that our result is consistent with a scenario in which active galactic nucleus feedback counteracts the baryonic-cooling-driven contraction in the DM haloes.

Shajib, Anowar J.↗