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Accounting for object detection bias in weak gravitational lensing studies

Hoekstra, H; Kannawadi, A; Kitching, TD; (2021) Accounting for object detection bias in weak gravitational lensing studies. Astronomy & Astrophysics , 646 , Article A124. 10.1051/0004-6361/202038998. Green open access

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Abstract

Weak lensing by large-scale structure is a powerful probe of cosmology if the apparent alignments in the shapes of distant galaxies can be accurately measured. Most studies have therefore focused on improving the fidelity of the shape measurements themselves, but the preceding step of object detection has been largely ignored. In this paper, we study the impact of object detection for a Euclid-like survey and show that it leads to biases that exceed requirements for the next generation of cosmic shear surveys. In realistic scenarios, the blending of galaxies is an important source of detection bias. We find that METADETECTION is able to account for blending, leading to average multiplicative biases that meet requirements for Stage IV surveys, provided a sufficiently accurate model for the point spread function is available. Further work is needed to estimate the performance for actual surveys. Combined with sufficiently realistic image simulations, this provides a viable way forward towards accurate shear estimates for Stage IV surveys.

Type: Article
Title: Accounting for object detection bias in weak gravitational lensing studies
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202038998
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202038998
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: gravitational lensing: weak; large-scale structure of Universe
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10124279
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