Northern Galactic Cap Research Articles

Inferring Cosmological Parameters on SDSS via Domain-generalized Neural Networks and Light-cone Simulations

We present a proof-of-concept simulation-based inference on Ωm and σ 8 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) LOWZ Northern Galactic Cap (NGC) catalog using neural networks and domain generalization techniques without the need of summary statistics. Using rapid light-cone simulations L-picola, mock galaxy catalogs are produced that fully incorporate the observational effects. The collection of galaxies is fed as input to a point cloud-based network, Minkowski-PointNet . We also add relatively more accurate Gadget mocks to obtain robust and generalizable neural networks. By explicitly learning the representations that reduce the discrepancies between the two different data sets via the semantic alignment loss term, we show that the latent space configuration aligns into a single plane in which the two cosmological parameters form clear axes. Consequently, during inference, the SDSS BOSS LOWZ NGC catalog maps onto the plane, demonstrating effective generalization and improving prediction accuracy compared to non-generalized models. Results from the ensemble of 25 independently trained machines find Ωm = 0.339 ± 0.056 and σ 8 = 0.801 ± 0.061, inferred only from the distribution of galaxies in the light-cone slices without relying on any indirect summary statistics. A single machine that best adapts to the Gadget mocks yields a tighter prediction of Ωm = 0.282 ± 0.014 and σ 8 = 0.786 ± 0.036. We emphasize that adaptation across multiple domains can enhance the robustness of the neural networks in observational data.

Neutrino Mass Constraint from an Implicit Likelihood Analysis of BOSS Voids

Cosmic voids identified in the spatial distribution of galaxies provide complementary information to two-point statistics. In particular, constraints on the neutrino mass sum, ∑m ν , promise to benefit from the inclusion of void statistics. We perform inference on the CMASS Northern Galactic Cap sample of the third-generation Sloan Digital Sky Survey/Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) with the aim of constraining ∑m ν . We utilize the void size function, the void–galaxy cross power spectrum, and the galaxy auto power spectrum. To extract constraints from these summary statistics we use a simulation-based approach, specifically implicit likelihood inference. We populate approximate gravity-only, particle-neutrino cosmological simulations with an expressive halo occupation distribution model. With a conservative scale cut of kmax=0.15hMpc−1 and a Planck-inspired Lambda cold dark matter prior, we find upper bounds on ∑m ν of 0.43 and 0.35 eV from the galaxy auto power spectrum and the full data vector, respectively (95% credible interval). Relaxing the scale cut to kmax=0.2hMpc−1 , we find 0.28 and 0.32 eV. Generally, void statistics appear to add modest but nonzero information beyond the auto power spectrum. We also substantiate the usual assumption that the void size function is Poisson distributed.

Identification of Galaxy–Galaxy Strong Lens Candidates in the DECam Local Volume Exploration Survey Using Machine Learning

Abstract We perform a search for galaxy–galaxy strong lens systems using a convolutional neural network (CNN) applied to imaging data from the first public data release of the DECam Local Volume Exploration Survey, which contains ∼520 million astronomical sources covering ∼4000 deg2 of the southern sky to a 5σ point–source depth of g = 24.3, r = 23.9, i = 23.3, and z = 22.8 mag. Following the methodology of similar searches using Dark Energy Camera data, we apply color and magnitude cuts to select a catalog of ∼11 million extended astronomical sources. After scoring with our CNN, the highest-scoring 50,000 images were visually inspected and assigned a score on a scale from 0 (not a lens) to 3 (very probable lens). We present a list of 581 strong lens candidates, 562 of which are previously unreported. We categorize our candidates using their human-assigned scores, resulting in 55 Grade A candidates, 149 Grade B candidates, and 377 Grade C candidates. We additionally highlight eight potential quadruply lensed quasars from this sample. Due to the location of our search footprint in the northern Galactic cap (b > 10 deg) and southern celestial hemisphere (decl. < 0 deg), our candidate list has little overlap with other existing ground-based searches. Where our search footprint does overlap with other searches, we find a significant number of high-quality candidates that were previously unidentified, indicating a degree of orthogonality in our methodology. We report properties of our candidates including apparent magnitude and Einstein radius estimated from the image separation.

Measurement of the evolving galaxy luminosity and mass function using clustering-based redshift inference

ABSTRACT We develop a framework for using clustering-based redshift inference (cluster-$z$ ) to measure the evolving galaxy luminosity function (GLF) and galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) using Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer W1 (3.4 μm) mid-infrared photometry and positions. We use multiple reference sets from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey, Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. Combining the resulting cluster-$z$ s allows us to enlarge the study area, and by accounting for the specific properties of each reference set, making best use of each reference set to produce the best overall result. Thus we are able to measure the GLF and GSMF over ∼7500 deg2 of the Northern Galactic Cap up to $z$ < 0.6. Our method can easily be adapted for new studies with fainter magnitudes, which pose difficulties for the derivation of photo-$z$ s. With better statistics in future surveys this technique is a strong candidate for studies with new emerging data from, e.g. the Vera C Rubin Observatory, the Euclid mission or the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Using angular two-point correlations to self-calibrate the photometric redshift distributions of DECaLS DR9

ABSTRACT Calibrating the redshift distributions of photometric galaxy samples is essential in weak lensing studies. The self-calibration method combines angular auto- and cross-correlations between galaxies in multiple photometric redshift (photo-z) bins to reconstruct the scattering rates matrix between redshift bins. In this paper, we test a recently proposed self-calibration algorithm using the DECaLS Data Release 9 and investigate to what extent the scattering rates are determined. We first mitigate the spurious angular correlations due to imaging systematics by a machine learning based method. We then improve the algorithm for χ2 minimization and error estimation. Finally, we solve for the scattering matrices, carry out a series of consistency tests, and find reasonable agreements: (1) finer photo-z bins return a high-resolution scattering matrix, and it is broadly consistent with the low-resolution matrix from wider bins; (2) the scattering matrix from the Northern Galactic Cap is almost identical to that from Southern Galactic Cap; (3) the scattering matrices are in reasonable agreement with those constructed from the power spectrum and the weighted spectroscopic subsample. We also evaluate the impact of cosmic magnification. Although it changes little the diagonal elements of the scattering matrix, it affects the off-diagonals significantly. The scattering matrix also shows some dependence on scale cut of input correlations, which may be related to a known numerical degeneracy between certain scattering pairs. This work demonstrates the feasibility of the self-calibration method in real data and provides a practical alternative to calibrate the redshift distributions of photometric samples.

Cosmological analysis of three-dimensional BOSS galaxy clustering and Planck CMB lensing cross correlations via Lagrangian perturbation theory

We present a formalism for jointly fitting pre- and post-reconstruction redshift-space clustering (RSD) and baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) plus gravitational lensing (of the CMB) that works directly with the observed 2-point statistics. The formalism is based upon (effective) Lagrangian perturbation theory and a Lagrangian bias expansion, which models RSD, BAO and galaxy-lensing cross correlations within a consistent dynamical framework. As an example we present an analysis of clustering measured by the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey in combination with CMB lensing measured by Planck. The post-reconstruction BAO strongly constrains the distance-redshift relation, the full-shape redshift-space clustering constrains the matter density and growth rate, and CMB lensing constrains the clustering amplitude. Using only the redshift space data we obtain Ωm = 0.303 ± 0.008, H 0 = 69.21 ± 0.78 and σ 8 = 0.743 ± 0.043. The addition of lensing information, even when restricted to the Northern Galactic Cap, improves constraints to Ωm = 0.303 ± 0.008, H 0 = 69.21 ± 0.77 and σ 8 = 0.707 ± 0.035, in tension with CMB and cosmic shear constraints. The combination of Ωm and H 0 are consistent with Planck, though their constraints derive mostly from redshift-space clustering. The low σ 8 value are driven by cross correlations with CMB lensing in the low redshift bin (z ≃ 0.38) and at large angular scales, which show a 20% deficit compared to expectations from galaxy clustering alone. We conduct several systematics tests on the data and find none that could fully explain these tensions.

Dust polarization modelling at large scale over the northern Galactic cap using EBHIS and Planck data

The primary source of systematic uncertainty in the quest for the B-mode polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) introduced by primordial gravitational waves is polarized thermal emission from Galactic dust. Therefore, accurate characterization and separation of the polarized thermal dust emission is an essential step in distinguishing such a faint CMB B-mode signal. We provide a modelling framework to simulate polarized thermal dust emission based on the model described in Ghosh et al. (2017, A&A, 601, A71), making use of both the Planck dust and Effelsberg-Bonn HI surveys over the northern Galactic cap. Our seven-parameter dust model, incorporating both HI gas in three different column density templates as a proxy for spatially variable dust intensity and a phenomenological model of Galactic magnetic field, is able to reproduce both one- and two-point statistics of the observed dust polarization maps seen by Planck at 353 GHz over a selected low-column density region in the northern Galactic cap. This work has important applications in assessing the accuracy of component separation methods and in quantifying the confidence level of separating polarized Galactic emission and the CMB B-mode signal, as is needed for ongoing and future CMB missions.

The Third Data Release of the Beijing–Arizona Sky Survey

Abstract The Beijing–Arizona Sky Survey (BASS) is a wide and deep imaging survey that covers a 5400 deg2 area in the northern Galactic cap with the 2.3 m Bok telescope using two filters (g and r bands). The Mosaic z-band Legacy Survey (MzLS) covers the same area in the z band with the 4 m Mayall telescope. These two surveys will be used for spectroscopic targeting by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) in the northernmost portion of the DESI footprint. This paper describes the third data release (DR3) of BASS, which contains the photometric data from all BASS and MzLS observations from 2015 January until the completion of BASS in 2019 March. The median astrometric precision relative to Gaia positions is about 17 mas and the median photometric offset relative to the Pan-STARRS1 photometry is within 5 mmag. The median 5σ AB magnitude depths for point sources are 24.2, 23.6, and 23.0 mag for the g, r, and z bands, respectively. The photometric depth within the survey area is highly homogeneous, and the difference between the 20% and 80% depth is less than 0.3 mag. The DR3 data, including raw data, calibrated single-epoch images, single-epoch photometric catalogs, stacked images, and co-added photometric catalogs, are publicly accessible at http://batc.bao.ac.cn/BASS/doku.php?id=datarelease:home.

Graph Database Solution for Higher-order Spatial Statistics in the Era of Big Data

Abstract We present an algorithm for the fast computation of the general N-point spatial correlation functions of any discrete point set embedded within an Euclidean space of . Utilizing the concepts of kd-trees and graph databases, we describe how to count all possible N-tuples in binned configurations within a given length scale, e.g., all pairs of points or all triplets of points with side lengths < r MAX. Through benchmarking, we show the computational advantage of our new graph-based algorithm over more traditional methods. We show measurements of the three-point correlation function up to scales of ∼200 Mpc (beyond the baryon acoustic oscillation scale in physical units) using current Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data. Finally, we present a preliminary exploration of the small-scale four-point correlation function of 568,776 SDSS Constant (stellar) Mass (CMASS) galaxies in the northern Galactic cap over the redshift range of 0.43 < z < 0.7. We present the publicly available code GRAMSCI (GRAph Made Statistics for Cosmological Information; bitbucket.org/csabiu/gramsci), under a Gnu is Not Unix (GNU) General Public License.

Mapping the Real Space Distributions of Galaxies in SDSS DR7. II. Measuring the Growth Rate, Clustering Amplitude of Matter, and Biases of Galaxies at Redshift 0.1

Abstract We extend the real-space mapping method developed in Shi et al. so that it can be applied to flux-limited galaxy samples. We use an ensemble of mock catalogs to demonstrate the reliability of this extension, showing that it allows for an accurate recovery of the real-space correlation functions and galaxy biases. We also demonstrate that, using an iterative method applied to intermediate-scale clustering data, we can obtain an unbiased estimate of the growth rate of structure , which is related to the clustering amplitude of matter, to an accuracy of ∼10%. Applying this method to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (DR7), we construct a real-space galaxy catalog spanning the redshift range 0.01 ≤ z ≤ 0.2, which contains 584,473 galaxies in the northern Galactic cap. Using these data, we infer at a median redshift z = 0.1, which is consistent with the WMAP9 cosmology at the 1σ level. By combining this measurement with the real-space clustering of galaxies and with galaxy–galaxy weak lensing measurements for the same sets of galaxies, we are able to break the degeneracy between f, σ 8, and b. From the SDSS DR7 data alone, we obtain the following cosmological constraints at redshift z = 0.1: f = , σ 8 = , and b = , , , and for galaxies within different absolute magnitude bins , [−22, 0, −21.0], [−21.0, −20.0], and [−20.0, −19.0], respectively.

The First Data Release of the Beijing-Arizona Sky Survey

Abstract The Beijing-Arizona Sky Survey (BASS) is a new wide-field legacy imaging survey in the northern Galactic cap using the 2.3 m Bok telescope. The survey will cover about 5400 deg2 in the g and r bands, and the expected 5σ depths (corrected for the Galactic extinction) in these two bands are g = 24.0 and r = 23.4 mag (AB magnitude). BASS started observations in 2015 January and had completed about 41% of the area as of 2016 July. The first data release contains calibrated images obtained in 2015 and 2016 and their corresponding single-epoch and co-added catalogs. The actual depths of the single-epoch images are g ∼ 23.4 and r ∼ 22.9 mag. The full depths of the three epochs are g ∼ 24.1 and r ∼ 23.5 mag.

Project Overview of the Beijing–Arizona Sky Survey

The Beijing–Arizona Sky Survey (BASS) is a wide-field two-band photometric survey of the northern Galactic Cap using the 90Prime imager on the 2.3 m Bok telescope at Kitt Peak. It is a four-year collaboration between the National Astronomical Observatory of China and Steward Observatory, the University of Arizona, serving as one of the three imaging surveys to provide photometric input catalogs for target selection of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) project. BASS will take up to 240 dark/gray nights to cover an area of about 5400 deg2 in the g and r bands. The 5σ limiting AB magnitudes for point sources in the two bands, corrected for the Galactic extinction, are 24.0 and 23.4 mag, respectively. BASS, together with other DESI imaging surveys, will provide unique science opportunities that cover a wide range of topics in both Galactic and extragalactic astronomy.

The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: higher order correlations revealed by germ–grain Minkowski functionals

We probe the higher-order clustering of the galaxies in the final data release (DR12) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) using the method of germ-grain Minkowski Functionals (MFs). Our sample consists of 410,615 BOSS galaxies from the northern Galactic cap in the redshift range 0.450--0.595. We show the MFs to be sensitive to contributions up to the six-point correlation function for this data set. We ensure with a custom angular mask that the results are more independent of boundary effects than in previous analyses of this type. We extract the higher-order part of the MFs and quantify the difference to the case without higher-order correlations. The resulting $\chi^{2}$ value of over 10,000 for a modest number of degrees of freedom, O(200), indicates a 100-sigma deviation and demonstrates that we have a highly significant signal of the non-Gaussian contributions to the galaxy distribution. This statistical power can be useful in testing models with differing higher-order correlations. Comparing the galaxy data to the QPM and MultiDark-Patchy mocks, we find that the latter better describes the observed structure. From an order-by-order decomposition we expect that, for example, already a reduction of the amplitude of the MD-Patchy mock power spectrum by 5% would remove the remaining tension.

MEASUREMENT OF A REDSHIFT-SPACE POWER SPECTRUM FOR BOSS GALAXIES AND THE GROWTH RATE AT REDSHIFT 0.57

ABSTRACT We present a measurement of the two-dimensional (2D) redshift-space power spectrum for the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey Data Release 11 CMASS galaxies in the northern Galactic cap based on the method developed by Jing & Börner. In this method, we first measure the 2D redshift-space correlation function and obtain the 2D power spectrum based on Fourier transform of the correlation function. The method is tested with an N-body mock galaxy catalog, which demonstrates that the method can yield an accurate and unbiased measurement of the redshift-space power spectrum given that the input 2D correlation function is correct. Compared with previous measurements in literature that are usually based on direct Fourier transform in redshift space, our method has the advantages that the window function and shot noise are fully corrected. Thus, our measurement can facilitate a direct comparison with the theoretical predictions. Our 2D power spectrum, by construction, can reproduce the 2D correlation function, and it can reproduce, for example, the 2D power spectrum of Beutler et al. accurately if ours is convolved with the window function they provided. We then develop a method to measure the structure growth rate, by separating the anisotropic redshift-space power spectrum from the isotropic real-space power spectrum. We have carefully corrected for the nonlinearities in the mapping from real space to redshift space, according to the theoretical model of Zhang et al. Finally, we obtain the measurement of structure growth rate f( )σ 8( ) = 0.438 ± 0.037 at the effective redshift = 0.57. The result is useful for constraining cosmological parameters. The measurements of the 2D power spectrum will be released soon.

Past and present cosmic structure in the SDSS DR7 main sample

We present a chrono-cosmography project, aiming at the inference of the four dimensional formation history of the observed large scale structure from its origin to the present epoch. To do so, we perform a full-scale Bayesian analysis of the northern galactic cap of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 main galaxy sample, relying on a fully probabilistic, physical model of the non-linearly evolved density field. Besides inferring initial conditions from observations, our methodology naturally and accurately reconstructs non-linear features at the present epoch, such as walls and filaments, corresponding to high-order correlation functions generated by late-time structure formation. Our inference framework self-consistently accounts for typical observational systematic and statistical uncertainties such as noise, survey geometry and selection effects. We further account for luminosity dependent galaxy biases and automatic noise calibration within a fully Bayesian approach. As a result, this analysis provides highly-detailed and accurate reconstructions of the present density field on scales larger than ∼ 3 Mpc/h, constrained by SDSS observations. This approach also leads to the first quantitative inference of plausible formation histories of the dynamic large scale structure underlying the observed galaxy distribution. The results described in this work constitute the first full Bayesian non-linear analysis of the cosmic large scale structure with the demonstrated capability of uncertainty quantification. Some of these results will be made publicly available along with this work. The level of detail of inferred results and the high degree of control on observational uncertainties pave the path towards high precision chrono-cosmography, the subject of simultaneously studying the dynamics and the morphology of the inhomogeneous Universe.

Characterising the local void with the X-ray cluster survey REFLEX II

AbstractClaims of a significant underdensity or void in the density distribution on scales out to ≃ 300 Mpc have recently been made using samples of galaxies. We present the results of an alternative test of the matter distribution on these scales using clusters of galaxies, which provide an independent and powerful probe of large-scale structure. We study the density distribution of X-ray clusters from the ROSAT-based REFLEX II catalogue, which covers a contiguous area of 4.24 steradians in the southern hempsphere (34% of the entire sky). Using the normalised comoving number density of clusters we find evidence for an underdensity (30-40%), out to z∼ 0.04, equivalent to ≃170 Mpc and with a significance of 3.4σ. On scales between 300 Mpc and 1 Gpc the distribution of REFLEX II clusters is consistent with being uniform. We also confirm recent results that the underdensity has a large contribution from the direction of the South Galactic Cap region, but is not significant in the direction of the Northern Galactic Cap as viewed from the southern sky. Both the limited size of the detected underdensity and its lack of isotropy, argue against the idea that the Type Ia supernovae data can be explained without the need for dark energy.

A Bayesian Method for the Extinction

AbstractWe propose a Bayesian method to measure the total Galactic extinction parameters, RV and AV. Validation tests based on the simulated data indicate that the method can achieve the accuracy of around 0.01 mag. We apply this method to the SDSS BHB stars in the northern Galactic cap and find that the derived extinctions are highly consistent with those from Schlegel et al. (1998). It suggests that the Bayesian method is promising for the extinction estimation, even the reddening values are close to the observational errors.

Exploring the total Galactic extinction with SDSS BHB stars

Aims: We used 12,530 photometrically-selected blue horizontal branch (BHB) stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to estimate the total extinction of the Milky Way at the high Galactic latitudes, $R_V$ and $A_V$ in each line of sight. Methods: A Bayesian method was developed to estimate the reddening values in the given lines of sight. Based on the most likely values of reddening in multiple colors, we were able to derive the values of $R_V$ and $A_V$. Results: We selected 94 zero-reddened BHB stars from seven globular clusters as the template. The reddening in the four SDSS colors for the northern Galactic cap were estimated by comparing the field BHB stars with the template stars. The accuracy of this estimation is around 0.01\,mag for most lines of sight. We also obtained $<R_V>$ to be around 2.40$\pm1.05$ and $A_V$ map within an uncertainty of 0.1\,mag. The results, including reddening values in the four SDSS colors, $A_V$, and $R_V$ in each line of sight, are released on line. In this work, we employ an up-to-date parallel technique on GPU card to overcome time-consuming computations. We plan to release online the C++ CUDA code used for this analysis. Conclusions: The extinction map derived from BHB stars is highly consistent with that from Schlegel, Finkbeiner & Davis(1998). The derived $R_V$ is around 2.40$\pm1.05$. The contamination probably makes the $R_V$ be larger.

The local hole revealed by galaxy counts and redshifts

The redshifts of ~250000 galaxies are used to study the Local Hole and its associated peculiar velocities. The sample, compiled from 6dFGS and SDSS provides wide sky coverage to a depth of ~300h-1Mpc. We have therefore examined K and r limited galaxy redshift distributions and number counts to map the local density field. Comparing observed galaxy n(z) distributions to homogeneous models in three large regions of the high latitude sky, we find evidence for under-densities ranging from ~4-40% in these regions to depths of ~150h-1Mpc with the deepest under-density being over the Southern Galactic cap. Using the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey we then establish the normalisation of galaxy counts at fainter magnitudes and thus confirm that the underdensity over all three fields at K<12.5 is ~15+-3%. Finally, we further use redshift catalogues to map peculiar velocities over the same areas using the average redshift - magnitude, zbar(m), technique of Soneira (1979). After accounting for the direct effect of large-scale structure on zbar(m) we can then search for peculiar velocities. Taking all three regions into consideration the data reject at the ~4sigma level the idea that we have recovered the CMB rest frame in the volume probed. There is therefore some consistent evidence from counts and Hubble diagram for a local ~150h-1Mpc underdensity that deeper counts and redshifts in the Northern Galactic cap suggest may extend to ~300h-1Mpc.

CAN WE REPRODUCE THE X-RAY BACKGROUND SPECTRAL SHAPE USING LOCAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI?

The X-ray background (XRB) is due to the aggregate of active galactic nuclei (AGN), which peak in activity at z~1 and is often modeled as the sum of different proportions of unabsorbed, moderately- and heavily-absorbed AGN. We present the summed spectrum of a complete sample of local AGN (the Northern Galactic Cap of the 58-month Swift/BAT catalog, z<0.2) using 0.4-200keV data and directly determine the different proportions of unabsorbed, moderately and heavily-absorbed AGN that make up the summed spectrum. This stacked low redshift AGN spectrum is remarkably similar in shape to the XRB spectrum (when shifted to z~1), but the observed proportions of different absorption populations differ from most XRB synthesis models. AGN with Compton-thick absorption account for only ~12% of the sample, but produce a significant contribution to the overall spectrum. We confirm that Compton reflection is more prominent in moderately-absorbed AGN and that the photon index differs intrinsically between unabsorbed and absorbed AGN. The AGN in our sample account for only ~1% of the XRB intensity. The reproduction of the XRB spectral shape suggests that strong evolution in individual AGN properties is not required between z~0 and 1.