arXiv subjects

Andrej Dvornik

Publications and source records attributed to Andrej Dvornik.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Studying galaxy troughs and ridges using Weak Gravitational Lensing with the Kilo-Degree Survey

We study projected underdensities in the cosmic galaxy density field known as 'troughs', and their overdense counterparts, which we call 'ridges'. We identify these regions using a bright sample of foreground galaxies from the photometric Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), specifically selected to mimic the spectroscopic Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey (GAMA). Using background galaxies from KiDS, we measure the weak gravitational lensing profiles of the troughs/ridges. We quantify the amplitude of their lensing strength $A$ as a function of galaxy density percentile rank $P$ and galaxy overdensity $δ$, and find that the skewness in the galaxy density distribution is reflected in the total mass distribution measured by weak lensing. We interpret our results using the mock galaxy catalogue from the Marenostrum Institut de Ciències de l'Espai (MICE) simulation, and find a good agreement with our observations. Using signal-to-noise weights derived from the Scinet LIghtCone Simulations (SLICS) mock catalogue we optimally stack the lensing signal of KiDS troughs with an angular radius $θ_A$ = {5,10,15,20} arcmin, resulting in {16.8,14.9,10.13,7.55} $σ$ detections. Finally, we select troughs using a volume-limited sample of galaxies, split into two redshift bins between 0.1 < z < 0.3. For troughs/ridges with transverse comoving radius $R_A$ = 1.9 Mpc/h, we find no significant difference in the comoving Excess Surface Density as a function of $P$ and $δ$ between the low- and high-redshift sample. Using the MICE and SLICS mocks we predict that trough and ridge evolution could be detected with gravitational lensing using deeper and wider lensing surveys, such as those from the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and Euclid.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

Unveiling Galaxy Bias via the Halo Model, KiDS and GAMA

We measure the projected galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing signals using the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey and Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) to study galaxy bias. We use the concept of non-linear and stochastic galaxy biasing in the framework of halo occupation statistics to constrain the parameters of the halo occupation statistics and to unveil the origin of galaxy biasing. The bias function $Γ_{\text{gm}}(r_{\text{p}})$, where $r_{\text{p}}$ is the projected comoving separation, is evaluated using the analytical halo model from which the scale dependence of $Γ_{\text{gm}}(r_{\text{p}})$, and the origin of the non-linearity and stochasticity in halo occupation models can be inferred. Our observations unveil the physical reason for the non-linearity and stochasticity, further explored using hydrodynamical simulations, with the stochasticity mostly originating from the non-Poissonian behaviour of satellite galaxies in the dark matter haloes and their spatial distribution, which does not follow the spatial distribution of dark matter in the halo. The observed non-linearity is mostly due to the presence of the central galaxies, as was noted from previous theoretical work on the same topic. We also see that overall, more massive galaxies reveal a stronger scale dependence, and out to a larger radius. Our results show that a wealth of information about galaxy bias is hidden in halo occupation models. These models should therefore be used to determine the influence of galaxy bias in cosmological studies.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2017

A KiDS weak lensing analysis of assembly bias in GAMA galaxy groups

We investigate possible signatures of halo assembly bias for spectroscopically selected galaxy groups from the GAMA survey using weak lensing measurements from the spatially overlapping regions of the deeper, high-imaging-quality photometric KiDS survey. We use GAMA groups with an apparent richness larger than 4 to identify samples with comparable mean host halo masses but with a different radial distribution of satellite galaxies, which is a proxy for the formation time of the haloes. We measure the weak lensing signal for groups with a steeper than average and with a shallower than average satellite distribution and find no sign of halo assembly bias, with the bias ratio of $0.85^{+0.37}_{-0.25}$, which is consistent with the $Λ$CDM prediction. Our galaxy groups have typical masses of $10^{13} M_{\odot}/h$, naturally complementing previous studies of halo assembly bias on galaxy cluster scales.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

First test of Verlinde's theory of Emergent Gravity using Weak Gravitational Lensing measurements

Verlinde (2016) proposed that the observed excess gravity in galaxies and clusters is the consequence of Emergent Gravity (EG). In this theory the standard gravitational laws are modified on galactic and larger scales due to the displacement of dark energy by baryonic matter. EG gives an estimate of the excess gravity (described as an apparent dark matter density) in terms of the baryonic mass distribution and the Hubble parameter. In this work we present the first test of EG using weak gravitational lensing, within the regime of validity of the current model. Although there is no direct description of lensing and cosmology in EG yet, we can make a reasonable estimate of the expected lensing signal of low redshift galaxies by assuming a background LambdaCDM cosmology. We measure the (apparent) average surface mass density profiles of 33,613 isolated central galaxies, and compare them to those predicted by EG based on the galaxies' baryonic masses. To this end we employ the ~180 square degrees overlap of the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) with the spectroscopic Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. We find that the prediction from EG, despite requiring no free parameters, is in good agreement with the observed galaxy-galaxy lensing profiles in four different stellar mass bins. Although this performance is remarkable, this study is only a first step. Further advancements on both the theoretical framework and observational tests of EG are needed before it can be considered a fully developed and solidly tested theory.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

Dependence of GAMA galaxy halo masses on the cosmic web environment from 100 square degrees of KiDS weak lensing data

Galaxies and their dark matter haloes are part of a complex network of mass structures, collectively called the cosmic web. Using the tidal tensor prescription these structures can be classified into four cosmic environments: voids, sheets, filaments and knots. As the cosmic web may influence the formation and evolution of dark matter haloes and the galaxies they host, we aim to study the effect of these cosmic environments on the average mass of galactic haloes. To this end we measure the galaxy-galaxy lensing profile of 91,195 galaxies, within 0.039 < z < 0.263, from the spectroscopic Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey, using ~100 square degrees of overlapping data from the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS). In each of the four cosmic environments we model the contributions from group centrals, satellites and neighbouring groups to the stacked galaxy-galaxy lensing profiles. After correcting the lens samples for differences in the stellar mass distribution, we find no dependence of the average halo mass of central galaxies on their cosmic environment. We do find a significant increase in the average contribution of neighbouring groups to the lensing profile in increasingly dense cosmic environments. We show, however, that the observed effect can be entirely attributed to the galaxy density at much smaller scales (within 4 Mpc/h), which is correlated with the density of the cosmic environments. Within our current uncertainties we find no direct dependence of galaxy halo mass on their cosmic environment.

astro-ph.GA↗