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S. Bhargava

Publications and source records attributed to S. Bhargava.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Dark Energy Survey internal consistency tests of the joint cosmological probes analysis with posterior predictive distributions

Beyond-$Λ$CDM physics or systematic errors may cause subsets of a cosmological data set to appear inconsistent when analyzed assuming $Λ$CDM. We present an application of internal consistency tests to measurements from the Dark Energy Survey Year 1 (DES Y1) joint probes analysis. Our analysis relies on computing the posterior predictive distribution (PPD) for these data under the assumption of $Λ$CDM. We find that the DES Y1 data have an acceptable goodness of fit to $Λ$CDM, with a probability of finding a worse fit by random chance of ${p = 0.046}$. Using numerical PPD tests, supplemented by graphical checks, we show that most of the data vector appears completely consistent with expectations, although we observe a small tension between large- and small-scale measurements. A small part (roughly 1.5%) of the data vector shows an unusually large departure from expectations; excluding this part of the data has negligible impact on cosmological constraints, but does significantly improve the $p$-value to 0.10. The methodology developed here will be applied to test the consistency of DES Year 3 joint probes data sets.

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Understanding the extreme luminosity of DES14X2fna

We present DES14X2fna, a high-luminosity, fast-declining type IIb supernova (SN IIb) at redshift $z=0.0453$, detected by the Dark Energy Survey (DES). DES14X2fna is an unusual member of its class, with a light curve showing a broad, luminous peak reaching $M_r\simeq-19.3$ mag 20 days after explosion. This object does not show a linear decline tail in the light curve until $\simeq$60 days after explosion, after which it declines very rapidly (4.38$\pm$0.10 mag 100 d$^{-1}$ in $r$-band). By fitting semi-analytic models to the photometry of DES14X2fna, we find that its light curve cannot be explained by a standard $^{56}$Ni decay model as this is unable to fit the peak and fast tail decline observed. Inclusion of either interaction with surrounding circumstellar material or a rapidly-rotating neutron star (magnetar) significantly increases the quality of the model fit. We also investigate the possibility for an object similar to DES14X2fna to act as a contaminant in photometric samples of SNe Ia for cosmology, finding that a similar simulated object is misclassified by a recurrent neural network (RNN)-based photometric classifier as a SN Ia in $\sim$1.1-2.4 per cent of cases in DES, depending on the probability threshold used for a positive classification.

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The WaZP galaxy cluster sample of the Dark Energy Survey Year 1

We present a new (2+1)D galaxy cluster finder based on photometric redshifts called Wavelet Z Photometric (WaZP) applied to DES first year (Y1A1) data. The results are compared to clusters detected by the South Pole Telescope (SPT) survey and the redMaPPer cluster finder, the latter based on the same photometric data. WaZP searches for clusters in wavelet-based density maps of galaxies selected in photometric redshift space without any assumption on the cluster galaxy populations. The comparison to other cluster samples was performed with a matching algorithm based on angular proximity and redshift difference of the clusters. It led to the development of a new approach to match two optical cluster samples, following an iterative approach to minimize incorrect associations. The WaZP cluster finder applied to DES Y1A1 galaxy survey (1,511 deg2 up to i=23 mag) led to the detection of 60,547 galaxy clusters with redshifts 0.05 5. Considering the overlapping regions and redshift ranges between the DES Y1A1 and SPT cluster surveys, all SZ based SPT clusters are recovered by the WaZP sample.The comparison between WaZP and redMaPPer cluster samples showed an excellent overall agreement for clusters with richness Ngals (λ for redMaPPer) greater than 25 (20), with 95% recovery on both directions. Based on the cluster cross-match we explorethe relative fragmentation of the two cluster samples and investigate the possible signatures of unmatched clusters.

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A machine learning approach to galaxy properties: joint redshift-stellar mass probability distributions with Random Forest

We demonstrate that highly accurate joint redshift-stellar mass probability distribution functions (PDFs) can be obtained using the Random Forest (RF) machine learning (ML) algorithm, even with few photometric bands available. As an example, we use the Dark Energy Survey (DES), combined with the COSMOS2015 catalogue for redshifts and stellar masses. We build two ML models: one containing deep photometry in the $griz$ bands, and the second reflecting the photometric scatter present in the main DES survey, with carefully constructed representative training data in each case. We validate our joint PDFs for $10,699$ test galaxies by utilizing the copula probability integral transform and the Kendall distribution function, and their univariate counterparts to validate the marginals. Benchmarked against a basic set-up of the template-fitting code BAGPIPES, our ML-based method outperforms template fitting on all of our predefined performance metrics. In addition to accuracy, the RF is extremely fast, able to compute joint PDFs for a million galaxies in just under $6$ min with consumer computer hardware. Such speed enables PDFs to be derived in real time within analysis codes, solving potential storage issues. As part of this work we have developed GALPRO, a highly intuitive and efficient Python package to rapidly generate multivariate PDFs on-the-fly. GALPRO is documented and available for researchers to use in their cosmology and galaxy evolution studies.

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Dark Energy Survey Year 3 Results: Optimizing the Lens Sample in Combined Galaxy Clustering and Galaxy-Galaxy Lensing Analysis

We investigate potential gains in cosmological constraints from the combination of galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing by optimizing the lens galaxy sample selection using information from Dark Energy Survey (DES) Year 3 data and assuming the DES Year 1 Metacalibration sample for the sources. We explore easily reproducible selections based on magnitude cuts in $i$-band as a function of (photometric) redshift, $z_{\rm phot}$, and benchmark the potential gains against those using the well established redMaGiC sample. We focus on the balance between density and photometric redshift accuracy, while marginalizing over a realistic set of cosmological and systematic parameters. Our optimal selection, the MagLim sample, satisfies $i < 4 \, z_{\rm phot} + 18$ and has $\sim 30\%$ wider redshift distributions but $\sim 3.5$ times more galaxies than redMaGiC. Assuming a wCDM model and equivalent scale cuts to mitigate nonlinear effects, this leads to $40\%$ increase in the figure of merit for the pair combinations of $Ω_m$, $w$, and $σ_8$, and gains of $16\%$ in $σ_8$, $10\%$ in $Ω_m$, and $12\%$ in $w$. Similarly, in LCDM we find an improvement of $19\%$ and $27\%$ on $σ_8$ and $Ω_m$, respectively. We also explore flux-limited samples with a flat magnitude cut finding that the optimal selection, $i < 22.2$, has $\sim 7$ times more galaxies and $\sim 20\%$ wider redshift distributions compared to MagLim, but slightly worse constraints. We show that our results are robust with respect to the assumed galaxy bias and photometric redshift uncertainties with only moderate further gains from increased number of tomographic bins or the inclusion of bin cross-correlations, except in the case of the flux-limited sample, for which these gains are more significant.

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DES Y1 results: Splitting growth and geometry to test $Λ$CDM

We analyze Dark Energy Survey (DES) data to constrain a cosmological model where a subset of parameters -- focusing on $Ω_m$ -- are split into versions associated with structure growth (e.g. $Ω_m^{\rm grow}$) and expansion history (e.g. $Ω_m^{\rm geo}$). Once the parameters have been specified for the $Λ$CDM cosmological model, which includes general relativity as a theory of gravity, it uniquely predicts the evolution of both geometry (distances) and the growth of structure over cosmic time. Any inconsistency between measurements of geometry and growth could therefore indicate a breakdown of that model. Our growth-geometry split approach therefore serves as both a (largely) model-independent test for beyond-$Λ$CDM physics, and as a means to characterize how DES observables provide cosmological information. We analyze the same multi-probe DES data as arXiv:1811.02375 : DES Year 1 (Y1) galaxy clustering and weak lensing, which are sensitive to both growth and geometry, as well as Y1 BAO and Y3 supernovae, which probe geometry. We additionally include external geometric information from BOSS DR12 BAO and a compressed Planck 2015 likelihood, and external growth information from BOSS DR12 RSD. We find no significant disagreement with $Ω_m^{\rm grow}=Ω_m^{\rm geo}$. When DES and external data are analyzed separately, degeneracies with neutrino mass and intrinsic alignments limit our ability to measure $Ω_m^{\rm grow}$, but combining DES with external data allows us to constrain both growth and geometric quantities. We also consider a parameterization where we split both $Ω_m$ and $w$, but find that even our most constraining data combination is unable to separately constrain $Ω_m^{\rm grow}$ and $w^{\rm grow}$. Relative to $Λ$CDM, splitting growth and geometry weakens bounds on $σ_8$ but does not alter constraints on $h$.

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A statistical standard siren measurement of the Hubble constant from the LIGO/Virgo gravitational wave compact object merger GW190814 and Dark Energy Survey galaxies

We present a measurement of the Hubble constant $H_0$ using the gravitational wave (GW) event GW190814, which resulted from the coalescence of a 23 $M_\odot$ black hole with a 2.6 $M_\odot$ compact object, as a standard siren. No compelling electromagnetic counterpart has been identified for this event, thus our analysis accounts for thousands of potential host galaxies within a statistical framework. The redshift information is obtained from the photometric redshift (photo-$z$) catalog from the Dark Energy Survey. The luminosity distance is provided by the LIGO/Virgo gravitational wave sky map. Since this GW event has the second-smallest localization volume after GW170817, GW190814 is likely to provide the best constraint on cosmology from a single standard siren without identifying an electromagnetic counterpart. Our analysis uses photo-$z$ probability distribution functions and corrects for photo-$z$ biases. We also reanalyze the binary-black hole GW170814 within this updated framework. We explore how our findings impact the $H_0$ constraints from GW170817, the only GW merger associated with a unique host galaxy. From a combination of GW190814, GW170814 and GW170817, our analysis yields $H_0 = 72.0^{+ 12}_{- 8.2 }~{\rm km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$ (68\% Highest Density Interval, HDI) for a prior in $H_0$ uniform between $[20,140]~{\rm km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$. The addition of GW190814 and GW170814 to GW170817 improves the 68\% HDI from GW170817 alone by $\sim 18\%$, showing how well-localized mergers without counterparts can provide a significant contribution to standard siren measurements, provided that a complete galaxy catalog is available at the location of the event.

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Shadows in the Dark: Low-Surface-Brightness Galaxies Discovered in the Dark Energy Survey

We present a catalog of 23,790 extended low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBGs) identified in $\sim 5000 °^2$ from the first three years of imaging data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). Based on a single-component Sérsic model fit, we define extended LSBGs as galaxies with $g$-band effective radii $R_{eff}(g) > 2.5''$ and mean surface brightness $\barμ_{eff}(g) > 24.2 \,mag ȧrcsec^{-2}$. We find that the distribution of LSBGs is strongly bimodal in $(g-r)$ vs.\ $(g-i$) color space. We divide our sample into red ($g-i \geq 0.60$) and blue ($g-i<0.60$) galaxies and study the properties of the two populations. Redder LSBGs are more clustered than their blue counterparts and are correlated with the distribution of nearby ($z < 0.10$) bright galaxies. Red LSBGs constitute $\sim 33\%$ of our LSBG sample, and $\sim 30\%$ of these are located within 1 deg of low-redshift galaxy groups and clusters (compared to $\sim 8\%$ of the blue LSBGs). For nine of the most prominent galaxy groups and clusters, we calculate the physical properties of associated LSBGs assuming a redshift derived from the host system. In these systems, we identify 41 objects that can be classified as ultra-diffuse galaxies, defined as LSBGs with projected physical effective radii $R_{eff} > 1.5 \,kpc$ and central surface brighthness $μ_0(g) > 24.0\, mag \,arcsec^{-2}$. The wide-area sample of LSBGs in DES can be used to test the role of environment on models of LSBG formation and evolution.

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The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: A Catalog of > 4000 Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Galaxy Clusters

We present a catalog of 4195 optically confirmed Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) selected galaxy clusters detected with signal-to-noise > 4 in 13,211 deg$^2$ of sky surveyed by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). Cluster candidates were selected by applying a multi-frequency matched filter to 98 and 150 GHz maps constructed from ACT observations obtained from 2008-2018, and confirmed using deep, wide-area optical surveys. The clusters span the redshift range 0.04 < z < 1.91 (median z = 0.52). The catalog contains 222 z > 1 clusters, and a total of 868 systems are new discoveries. Assuming an SZ-signal vs. mass scaling relation calibrated from X-ray observations, the sample has a 90% completeness mass limit of M500c > 3.8 x 10$^{14}$ MSun, evaluated at z = 0.5, for clusters detected at signal-to-noise ratio > 5 in maps filtered at an angular scale of 2.4'. The survey has a large overlap with deep optical weak-lensing surveys that are being used to calibrate the SZ-signal mass-scaling relation, such as the Dark Energy Survey (4566 deg$^2$), the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (469 deg$^2$), and the Kilo Degree Survey (825 deg$^2$). We highlight some noteworthy objects in the sample, including potentially projected systems; clusters with strong lensing features; clusters with active central galaxies or star formation; and systems of multiple clusters that may be physically associated. The cluster catalog will be a useful resource for future cosmological analyses, and studying the evolution of the intracluster medium and galaxies in massive clusters over the past 10 Gyr.

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

We present the discovery of 255 binary and six multiple system candidates with wide > 5" separation composed by ultracool dwarfs companions to stars, plus nine double ultracool dwarf systems. These systems were selected based on common distance criteria. About 90% of the total sample has proper motions available and 73% 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 < 5%. Only nine candidate systems composed of two ultracool dwarfs were identified. The sample of candidate multiple systems is made up of five triple systems and one quadruple system. The majority of the ultracool dwarfs found in binaries and multiples are of early L type and the typical wide binary fraction over the L spectral types is 2-4%. Our sample of candidate wide binaries with ultracool dwarfs as secondaries constitutes a substantial increase over the known number of such systems, which are very useful to constrain the formation and evolution of ultracool dwarfs.

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Reducing ground-based astrometric errors with Gaia and Gaussian processes

Stochastic field distortions caused by atmospheric turbulence are a fundamental limitation to the astrometric accuracy of ground-based imaging. This distortion field is measurable at the locations of stars with accurate positions provided by the Gaia DR2 catalog; we develop the use of Gaussian process regression (GPR) to interpolate the distortion field to arbitrary locations in each exposure. We introduce an extension to standard GPR techniques that exploits the knowledge that the 2-dimensional distortion field is curl-free. Applied to several hundred 90-second exposures from the Dark Energy Survey as a testbed, we find that the GPR correction reduces the variance of the turbulent distortions $\approx12\times$, on average, with better performance in denser regions of the Gaia catalog. The RMS per-coordinate distortion in the $riz$ bands is typically $\approx7$ mas before any correction, and $\approx2$ mas after application of the GPR model. The GPR astrometric corrections are validated by the observation that their use reduces, from 10 to 5 mas RMS, the residuals to an orbit fit to $riz$-band observations over 5 years of the $r=18.5$ trans-Neptunian object Eris. We also propose a GPR method, not yet implemented, for simultaneously estimating the turbulence fields and the 5-dimensional stellar solutions in a stack of overlapping exposures, which should yield further turbulence reductions in future deep surveys.

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Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: Cosmological Constraints from Cluster Abundances, Weak Lensing, and Galaxy Correlations

Combining multiple observational probes is a powerful technique to provide robust and precise constraints on cosmological parameters. In this letter, we present the first joint analysis of cluster abundances and auto/cross correlations of three cosmic tracer fields measured from the first year data of the Dark Energy Survey: galaxy density, weak gravitational lensing shear, and cluster density split by optical richness. From a joint analysis of cluster abundances, three cluster cross-correlations, and auto correlations of galaxy density, we obtain $Ω_{\rm{m}}=0.305^{+0.055}_{-0.038}$ and $σ_8=0.783^{+0.064}_{-0.054}$. This result is consistent with constraints from the DES-Y1 galaxy clustering and weak lensing two-point correlation functions for the flat $νΛ$CDM model. We thus combine cluster abundances and all two-point correlations from three cosmic tracer fields and find improved constraints on cosmological parameters as well as on the cluster observable--mass scaling relation. This analysis is an important advance in both optical cluster cosmology and multi-probe analyses of upcoming wide imaging surveys.

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Weak Lensing of Type Ia Supernovae from the Dark Energy Survey

We consider the effects of weak gravitational lensing on observations of 196 spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) from years 1 to 3 of the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We simultaneously measure both the angular correlation function and the non-Gaussian skewness caused by weak lensing. This approach has the advantage of being insensitive to the intrinsic dispersion of SNe Ia magnitudes. We model the amplitude of both effects as a function of $σ_8$, and find $σ_8 = 1.2^{+0.9}_{-0.8}$. We also apply our method to a subsample of 488 SNe from the Joint Light-curve Analysis (JLA) (chosen to match the redshift range we use for this work), and find $σ_8 = 0.8^{+1.1}_{-0.7}$. The comparable uncertainty in $σ_8$ between DES-SN and the larger number of SNe from JLA highlights the benefits of homogeneity of the DES-SN sample, and improvements in the calibration and data analysis.

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The XMM Cluster Survey: new evidence for the 3.5 keV feature in clusters is inconsistent with a dark matter origin

There have been several reports of a detection of an unexplained excess of X-ray emission at $\simeq$ 3.5 keV in astrophysical systems. One interpretation of this excess is the decay of sterile neutrino dark matter. The most influential study to date analysed 73 clusters observed by the XMM-Newton satellite. We explore evidence for a $\simeq$ 3.5 keV excess in the XMM-PN spectra of 117 redMaPPer galaxy clusters ($0.1 < z < 0.6$). In our analysis of individual spectra, we identify three systems with an excess of flux at $\simeq$ 3.5 keV. In one case (XCS J0003.3+0204) this excess may result from a discrete emission line. None of these systems are the most dark matter dominated in our sample. We group the remaining 114 clusters into four temperature ($T_{\rm X}$) bins to search for an increase in $\simeq$ 3.5 keV flux excess with $T_{\rm X}$ - a reliable tracer of halo mass. However, we do not find evidence of a significant excess in flux at $\simeq$ 3.5 keV in any $T_{\rm X}$ bins. To maximise sensitivity to a potentially weak dark matter decay feature at $\simeq$ 3.5 keV, we jointly fit 114 clusters. Again, no significant excess is found at $\simeq$ 3.5 keV. We estimate the upper limit of an undetected emission line at $\simeq$ 3.5 keV to be $2.41 \times 10^{-6}$ photons cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, corresponding to a mixing angle of $\sin^2(2θ)=4.4 \times 10^{-11}$, lower than previous estimates from cluster studies. We conclude that a flux excess at $\simeq$ 3.5 keV is not a ubiquitous feature in clusters and therefore unlikely to originate from sterile neutrino dark matter decay.

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A DESGW Search for the Electromagnetic Counterpart to the LIGO/Virgo Gravitational Wave Binary Neutron Star Merger Candidate S190510g

We present the results from a search for the electromagnetic counterpart of the LIGO/Virgo event S190510g using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam). S190510g is a binary neutron star (BNS) merger candidate of moderate significance detected at a distance of 227$\pm$92 Mpc and localized within an area of 31 (1166) square degrees at 50\% (90\%) confidence. While this event was later classified as likely non-astrophysical in nature within 30 hours of the event, our short latency search and discovery pipeline identified 11 counterpart candidates, all of which appear consistent with supernovae following offline analysis and spectroscopy by other instruments. Later reprocessing of the images enabled the recovery of 6 more candidates. Additionally, we implement our candidate selection procedure on simulated kilonovae and supernovae under DECam observing conditions (e.g., seeing, exposure time) with the intent of quantifying our search efficiency and making informed decisions on observing strategy for future similar events. This is the first BNS counterpart search to employ a comprehensive simulation-based efficiency study. We find that using the current follow-up strategy, there would need to be 19 events similar to S190510g for us to have a 99\% chance of detecting an optical counterpart, assuming a GW170817-like kilonova. We further conclude that optimization of observing plans, which should include preference for deeper images over multiple color information, could result in up to a factor of 1.5 reduction in the total number of followups needed for discovery.

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$μ_{\star}$ Masses: Weak Lensing Calibration of the Dark Energy Survey Year 1 redMaPPer Clusters using Stellar Masses

We present the weak lensing mass calibration of the stellar mass based $μ_{\star}$ mass proxy for redMaPPer galaxy clusters in the Dark Energy Survey Year 1. For the first time we are able to perform a calibration of $μ_{\star}$ at high redshifts, $z>0.33$. In a blinded analysis, we use $\sim 6,000$ clusters split into 12 subsets spanning the ranges $0.1 \leqslant z<0.65$ and $μ_{\star}$ up to $\sim 5.5 \times 10^{13} M_{\odot}$, and infer the average masses of these subsets through modelling of their stacked weak lensing signal. In our model we account for the following sources of systematic uncertainty: shear measurement and photometric redshift errors, miscentring, cluster-member contamination of the source sample, deviations from the NFW halo profile, halo triaxiality and projection effects. We use the inferred masses to estimate the joint mass--$μ_{\star}$--$z$ scaling relation given by $\langle M_{200c} | μ_{\star},z \rangle = M_0 (μ_{\star}/5.16\times 10^{12} \mathrm{M_{\odot}})^{F_{μ_{\star}}} ((1+z)/1.35)^{G_z}$. We find $M_0= (1.14 \pm 0.07) \times 10^{14} \mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ with $F_{μ_{\star}}= 0.76 \pm 0.06$ and $G_z= -1.14 \pm 0.37$. We discuss the use of $μ_{\star}$ as a complementary mass proxy to the well-studied richness $λ$ for: $i)$ exploring the regimes of low $z$, $λ<20$ and high $λ$, $z \sim 1$; $ii)$ testing systematics such as projection effects for applications in cluster cosmology.

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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 summarise the results from its six years of operations. Using the 2dF fibre positioner and AAOmega spectrograph on the 3.9-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope, OzDES has monitored 771 AGN, 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 $r_{\mathrm AB}=24$ 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 $z\sim1.2$ and the masses of hundreds of black holes out to $z\sim4$. OzDES is a template for future surveys that combine simultaneous monitoring of targets with wide-field imaging cameras and wide-field multi-object spectrographs.

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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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