No galaxy left behind: Accurate measurements with the faintest objects in the Dark Energy Survey

E. Suchyta; E. M. Huff; J. Aleksić; P. Melchior; S. Jouvel; N. MacCrann; A. J. Ross; M. Crocce; E. Gaztanaga; K. Honscheid; B. Leistedt; H. V. Peiris; E. S. Rykoff; E. Sheldon; T. Abbott; F. B. Abdalla; S. Allam; M. Banerji; A. Benoit-Lévy; E. Bertin; D. Brooks; D. L. Burke; A. Carnero Rosell; M. Carrasco Kind; J. Carretero; C. E. Cunha; C. B. D'Andrea; L. N. Da Costa; D. L. DePoy; S. Desai; H. T. Diehl; J. P. Dietrich; P. Doel; T. F. Eifler; J. Estrada; A. E. Evrard; B. Flaugher; P. Fosalba; J. Frieman; D. W. Gerdes; D. Gruen; R. A. Gruendl; D. J. James; M. Jarvis; K. Kuehn; N. Kuropatkin; O. Lahav; M. Lima; M. A.G. Maia; M. March; J. L. Marshall; C. J. Miller; R. Miquel; E. Neilsen; R. C. Nichol; B. Nord; R. Ogando; W. J. Percival; K. Reil; A. Roodman; M. Sako; E. Sanchez; V. Scarpine; I. Sevilla-Noarbe; R. C. Smith; M. Soares-Santos; F. Sobreira; M. E.C. Swanson; G. Tarle; J. Thaler; D. Thomas; V. Vikram; A. R. Walker; R. H. Wechsler; Y. Zhang

doi:10.1093/mnras/stv2953

No galaxy left behind: Accurate measurements with the faintest objects in the Dark Energy Survey

E. Suchyta, E. M. Huff, J. Aleksić, P. Melchior, S. Jouvel, N. MacCrann, A. J. Ross, M. Crocce, E. Gaztanaga, K. Honscheid, B. Leistedt, H. V. Peiris, E. S. Rykoff, E. Sheldon, T. Abbott, F. B. Abdalla, S. Allam, M. Banerji, A. Benoit-Lévy, E. BertinD. Brooks, D. L. Burke, A. Carnero Rosell, M. Carrasco Kind, J. Carretero, C. E. Cunha, C. B. D'Andrea, L. N. Da Costa, D. L. DePoy, S. Desai, H. T. Diehl, J. P. Dietrich, P. Doel, T. F. Eifler, J. Estrada, A. E. Evrard, B. Flaugher, P. Fosalba, J. Frieman, D. W. Gerdes, D. Gruen, R. A. Gruendl, D. J. James, M. Jarvis, K. Kuehn, N. Kuropatkin, O. Lahav, M. Lima, M. A.G. Maia, M. March, J. L. Marshall, C. J. Miller, R. Miquel, E. Neilsen, R. C. Nichol, B. Nord, R. Ogando, W. J. Percival, K. Reil, A. Roodman, M. Sako, E. Sanchez, V. Scarpine, I. Sevilla-Noarbe, R. C. Smith, M. Soares-Santos, F. Sobreira, M. E.C. Swanson, G. Tarle, J. Thaler, D. Thomas, V. Vikram, A. R. Walker, R. H. Wechsler, Y. Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

© 2016 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. Accurate statistical measurement with large imaging surveys has traditionally required throwing away a sizable fraction of the data. This is because most measurements have relied on selecting nearly complete samples, where variations in the composition of the galaxy population with seeing, depth, or other survey characteristics are small. We introduce a new measurement method that aims to minimize this wastage, allowing precision measurement for any class of detectable stars or galaxies. We have implemented our proposal in BALROG, software which embeds fake objects in real imaging to accurately characterize measurement biases. We demonstrate this technique with an angular clustering measurement using Dark Energy Survey (DES) data. We first show that recovery of our injected galaxies depends on a variety of survey characteristics in the same way as the real data. We then construct a fluxlimited sample of the faintest galaxies in DES, chosen specifically for their sensitivity to depth and seeing variations. Using the synthetic galaxies as randoms in the Landy-Szalay estimator suppresses the effects of variable survey selection by at least two orders of magnitude. With this correction, our measured angular clustering is found to be in excellent agreement with that of a matched sample from much deeper, higher resolution space-based Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS) imaging; over angular scales of 0.°004 < θ < 0.°2, we find a best-fitting scaling amplitude between the DES and COSMOS measurements of 1.00 ± 0.09. We expect this methodology to be broadly useful for extending measurements' statistical reach in a variety of upcoming imaging surveys.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	786-808
Journal	Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume	457
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv2953
Publication status	Published - 11 Jan 2016

Keywords

Galaxies: statistics
Methods: data analysis
Methods: miscellaneous
Techniques: image processing

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Suchyta, E., Huff, E. M., Aleksić, J., Melchior, P., Jouvel, S., MacCrann, N., Ross, A. J., Crocce, M., Gaztanaga, E., Honscheid, K., Leistedt, B., Peiris, H. V., Rykoff, E. S., Sheldon, E., Abbott, T., Abdalla, F. B., Allam, S., Banerji, M., Benoit-Lévy, A., ... Zhang, Y. (2016). No galaxy left behind: Accurate measurements with the faintest objects in the Dark Energy Survey. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 457(1), 786-808. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv2953

Suchyta, E. ; Huff, E. M. ; Aleksić, J. ; Melchior, P. ; Jouvel, S. ; MacCrann, N. ; Ross, A. J. ; Crocce, M. ; Gaztanaga, E. ; Honscheid, K. ; Leistedt, B. ; Peiris, H. V. ; Rykoff, E. S. ; Sheldon, E. ; Abbott, T. ; Abdalla, F. B. ; Allam, S. ; Banerji, M. ; Benoit-Lévy, A. ; Bertin, E. ; Brooks, D. ; Burke, D. L. ; Carnero Rosell, A. ; Carrasco Kind, M. ; Carretero, J. ; Cunha, C. E. ; D'Andrea, C. B. ; Da Costa, L. N. ; DePoy, D. L. ; Desai, S. ; Diehl, H. T. ; Dietrich, J. P. ; Doel, P. ; Eifler, T. F. ; Estrada, J. ; Evrard, A. E. ; Flaugher, B. ; Fosalba, P. ; Frieman, J. ; Gerdes, D. W. ; Gruen, D. ; Gruendl, R. A. ; James, D. J. ; Jarvis, M. ; Kuehn, K. ; Kuropatkin, N. ; Lahav, O. ; Lima, M. ; Maia, M. A.G. ; March, M. ; Marshall, J. L. ; Miller, C. J. ; Miquel, R. ; Neilsen, E. ; Nichol, R. C. ; Nord, B. ; Ogando, R. ; Percival, W. J. ; Reil, K. ; Roodman, A. ; Sako, M. ; Sanchez, E. ; Scarpine, V. ; Sevilla-Noarbe, I. ; Smith, R. C. ; Soares-Santos, M. ; Sobreira, F. ; Swanson, M. E.C. ; Tarle, G. ; Thaler, J. ; Thomas, D. ; Vikram, V. ; Walker, A. R. ; Wechsler, R. H. ; Zhang, Y. / No galaxy left behind: Accurate measurements with the faintest objects in the Dark Energy Survey. In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 2016 ; Vol. 457, No. 1. pp. 786-808.

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abstract = "{\textcopyright} 2016 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. Accurate statistical measurement with large imaging surveys has traditionally required throwing away a sizable fraction of the data. This is because most measurements have relied on selecting nearly complete samples, where variations in the composition of the galaxy population with seeing, depth, or other survey characteristics are small. We introduce a new measurement method that aims to minimize this wastage, allowing precision measurement for any class of detectable stars or galaxies. We have implemented our proposal in BALROG, software which embeds fake objects in real imaging to accurately characterize measurement biases. We demonstrate this technique with an angular clustering measurement using Dark Energy Survey (DES) data. We first show that recovery of our injected galaxies depends on a variety of survey characteristics in the same way as the real data. We then construct a fluxlimited sample of the faintest galaxies in DES, chosen specifically for their sensitivity to depth and seeing variations. Using the synthetic galaxies as randoms in the Landy-Szalay estimator suppresses the effects of variable survey selection by at least two orders of magnitude. With this correction, our measured angular clustering is found to be in excellent agreement with that of a matched sample from much deeper, higher resolution space-based Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS) imaging; over angular scales of 0.°004 < θ < 0.°2, we find a best-fitting scaling amplitude between the DES and COSMOS measurements of 1.00 ± 0.09. We expect this methodology to be broadly useful for extending measurements' statistical reach in a variety of upcoming imaging surveys.",

keywords = "Galaxies: statistics, Methods: data analysis, Methods: miscellaneous, Techniques: image processing",

author = "E. Suchyta and Huff, {E. M.} and J. Aleksi{\'c} and P. Melchior and S. Jouvel and N. MacCrann and Ross, {A. J.} and M. Crocce and E. Gaztanaga and K. Honscheid and B. Leistedt and Peiris, {H. V.} and Rykoff, {E. S.} and E. Sheldon and T. Abbott and Abdalla, {F. B.} and S. Allam and M. Banerji and A. Benoit-L{\'e}vy and E. Bertin and D. Brooks and Burke, {D. L.} and {Carnero Rosell}, A. and {Carrasco Kind}, M. and J. Carretero and Cunha, {C. E.} and D'Andrea, {C. B.} and {Da Costa}, {L. N.} and DePoy, {D. L.} and S. Desai and Diehl, {H. T.} and Dietrich, {J. P.} and P. Doel and Eifler, {T. F.} and J. Estrada and Evrard, {A. E.} and B. Flaugher and P. Fosalba and J. Frieman and Gerdes, {D. W.} and D. Gruen and Gruendl, {R. A.} and James, {D. J.} and M. Jarvis and K. Kuehn and N. Kuropatkin and O. Lahav and M. Lima and Maia, {M. A.G.} and M. March and Marshall, {J. L.} and Miller, {C. J.} and R. Miquel and E. Neilsen and Nichol, {R. C.} and B. Nord and R. Ogando and Percival, {W. J.} and K. Reil and A. Roodman and M. Sako and E. Sanchez and V. Scarpine and I. Sevilla-Noarbe and Smith, {R. C.} and M. Soares-Santos and F. Sobreira and Swanson, {M. E.C.} and G. Tarle and J. Thaler and D. Thomas and V. Vikram and Walker, {A. R.} and Wechsler, {R. H.} and Y. Zhang",

year = "2016",

month = jan,

day = "11",

doi = "10.1093/mnras/stv2953",

language = "English",

volume = "457",

pages = "786--808",

journal = "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society",

issn = "0035-8711",

number = "1",

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Suchyta, E, Huff, EM, Aleksić, J, Melchior, P, Jouvel, S, MacCrann, N, Ross, AJ, Crocce, M, Gaztanaga, E, Honscheid, K, Leistedt, B, Peiris, HV, Rykoff, ES, Sheldon, E, Abbott, T, Abdalla, FB, Allam, S, Banerji, M, Benoit-Lévy, A, Bertin, E, Brooks, D, Burke, DL, Carnero Rosell, A, Carrasco Kind, M, Carretero, J, Cunha, CE, D'Andrea, CB, Da Costa, LN, DePoy, DL, Desai, S, Diehl, HT, Dietrich, JP, Doel, P, Eifler, TF, Estrada, J, Evrard, AE, Flaugher, B, Fosalba, P, Frieman, J, Gerdes, DW, Gruen, D, Gruendl, RA, James, DJ, Jarvis, M, Kuehn, K, Kuropatkin, N, Lahav, O, Lima, M, Maia, MAG, March, M, Marshall, JL, Miller, CJ, Miquel, R, Neilsen, E, Nichol, RC, Nord, B, Ogando, R, Percival, WJ, Reil, K, Roodman, A, Sako, M, Sanchez, E, Scarpine, V, Sevilla-Noarbe, I, Smith, RC, Soares-Santos, M, Sobreira, F, Swanson, MEC, Tarle, G, Thaler, J, Thomas, D, Vikram, V, Walker, AR, Wechsler, RH & Zhang, Y 2016, 'No galaxy left behind: Accurate measurements with the faintest objects in the Dark Energy Survey', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 457, no. 1, pp. 786-808. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv2953

No galaxy left behind: Accurate measurements with the faintest objects in the Dark Energy Survey. / Suchyta, E.; Huff, E. M.; Aleksić, J.; Melchior, P.; Jouvel, S.; MacCrann, N.; Ross, A. J.; Crocce, M.; Gaztanaga, E.; Honscheid, K.; Leistedt, B.; Peiris, H. V.; Rykoff, E. S.; Sheldon, E.; Abbott, T.; Abdalla, F. B.; Allam, S.; Banerji, M.; Benoit-Lévy, A.; Bertin, E.; Brooks, D.; Burke, D. L.; Carnero Rosell, A.; Carrasco Kind, M.; Carretero, J.; Cunha, C. E.; D'Andrea, C. B.; Da Costa, L. N.; DePoy, D. L.; Desai, S.; Diehl, H. T.; Dietrich, J. P.; Doel, P.; Eifler, T. F.; Estrada, J.; Evrard, A. E.; Flaugher, B.; Fosalba, P.; Frieman, J.; Gerdes, D. W.; Gruen, D.; Gruendl, R. A.; James, D. J.; Jarvis, M.; Kuehn, K.; Kuropatkin, N.; Lahav, O.; Lima, M.; Maia, M. A.G.; March, M.; Marshall, J. L.; Miller, C. J.; Miquel, R.; Neilsen, E.; Nichol, R. C.; Nord, B.; Ogando, R.; Percival, W. J.; Reil, K.; Roodman, A.; Sako, M.; Sanchez, E.; Scarpine, V.; Sevilla-Noarbe, I.; Smith, R. C.; Soares-Santos, M.; Sobreira, F.; Swanson, M. E.C.; Tarle, G.; Thaler, J.; Thomas, D.; Vikram, V.; Walker, A. R.; Wechsler, R. H.; Zhang, Y.

In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 457, No. 1, 11.01.2016, p. 786-808.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - No galaxy left behind: Accurate measurements with the faintest objects in the Dark Energy Survey

AU - Suchyta, E.

AU - Huff, E. M.

AU - Aleksić, J.

AU - Melchior, P.

AU - Jouvel, S.

AU - MacCrann, N.

AU - Ross, A. J.

AU - Crocce, M.

AU - Gaztanaga, E.

AU - Honscheid, K.

AU - Leistedt, B.

AU - Peiris, H. V.

AU - Rykoff, E. S.

AU - Sheldon, E.

AU - Abbott, T.

AU - Abdalla, F. B.

AU - Allam, S.

AU - Banerji, M.

AU - Benoit-Lévy, A.

AU - Bertin, E.

AU - Brooks, D.

AU - Burke, D. L.

AU - Carnero Rosell, A.

AU - Carrasco Kind, M.

AU - Carretero, J.

AU - Cunha, C. E.

AU - D'Andrea, C. B.

AU - Da Costa, L. N.

AU - DePoy, D. L.

AU - Desai, S.

AU - Diehl, H. T.

AU - Dietrich, J. P.

AU - Doel, P.

AU - Eifler, T. F.

AU - Estrada, J.

AU - Evrard, A. E.

AU - Flaugher, B.

AU - Fosalba, P.

AU - Frieman, J.

AU - Gerdes, D. W.

AU - Gruen, D.

AU - Gruendl, R. A.

AU - James, D. J.

AU - Jarvis, M.

AU - Kuehn, K.

AU - Kuropatkin, N.

AU - Lahav, O.

AU - Lima, M.

AU - Maia, M. A.G.

AU - March, M.

AU - Marshall, J. L.

AU - Miller, C. J.

AU - Miquel, R.

AU - Neilsen, E.

AU - Nichol, R. C.

AU - Nord, B.

AU - Ogando, R.

AU - Percival, W. J.

AU - Reil, K.

AU - Roodman, A.

AU - Sako, M.

AU - Sanchez, E.

AU - Scarpine, V.

AU - Sevilla-Noarbe, I.

AU - Smith, R. C.

AU - Soares-Santos, M.

AU - Sobreira, F.

AU - Swanson, M. E.C.

AU - Tarle, G.

AU - Thaler, J.

AU - Thomas, D.

AU - Vikram, V.

AU - Walker, A. R.

AU - Wechsler, R. H.

AU - Zhang, Y.

PY - 2016/1/11

Y1 - 2016/1/11

N2 - © 2016 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. Accurate statistical measurement with large imaging surveys has traditionally required throwing away a sizable fraction of the data. This is because most measurements have relied on selecting nearly complete samples, where variations in the composition of the galaxy population with seeing, depth, or other survey characteristics are small. We introduce a new measurement method that aims to minimize this wastage, allowing precision measurement for any class of detectable stars or galaxies. We have implemented our proposal in BALROG, software which embeds fake objects in real imaging to accurately characterize measurement biases. We demonstrate this technique with an angular clustering measurement using Dark Energy Survey (DES) data. We first show that recovery of our injected galaxies depends on a variety of survey characteristics in the same way as the real data. We then construct a fluxlimited sample of the faintest galaxies in DES, chosen specifically for their sensitivity to depth and seeing variations. Using the synthetic galaxies as randoms in the Landy-Szalay estimator suppresses the effects of variable survey selection by at least two orders of magnitude. With this correction, our measured angular clustering is found to be in excellent agreement with that of a matched sample from much deeper, higher resolution space-based Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS) imaging; over angular scales of 0.°004 < θ < 0.°2, we find a best-fitting scaling amplitude between the DES and COSMOS measurements of 1.00 ± 0.09. We expect this methodology to be broadly useful for extending measurements' statistical reach in a variety of upcoming imaging surveys.

AB - © 2016 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. Accurate statistical measurement with large imaging surveys has traditionally required throwing away a sizable fraction of the data. This is because most measurements have relied on selecting nearly complete samples, where variations in the composition of the galaxy population with seeing, depth, or other survey characteristics are small. We introduce a new measurement method that aims to minimize this wastage, allowing precision measurement for any class of detectable stars or galaxies. We have implemented our proposal in BALROG, software which embeds fake objects in real imaging to accurately characterize measurement biases. We demonstrate this technique with an angular clustering measurement using Dark Energy Survey (DES) data. We first show that recovery of our injected galaxies depends on a variety of survey characteristics in the same way as the real data. We then construct a fluxlimited sample of the faintest galaxies in DES, chosen specifically for their sensitivity to depth and seeing variations. Using the synthetic galaxies as randoms in the Landy-Szalay estimator suppresses the effects of variable survey selection by at least two orders of magnitude. With this correction, our measured angular clustering is found to be in excellent agreement with that of a matched sample from much deeper, higher resolution space-based Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS) imaging; over angular scales of 0.°004 < θ < 0.°2, we find a best-fitting scaling amplitude between the DES and COSMOS measurements of 1.00 ± 0.09. We expect this methodology to be broadly useful for extending measurements' statistical reach in a variety of upcoming imaging surveys.

KW - Galaxies: statistics

KW - Methods: data analysis

KW - Methods: miscellaneous

KW - Techniques: image processing

U2 - 10.1093/mnras/stv2953

DO - 10.1093/mnras/stv2953

M3 - Article

VL - 457

SP - 786

EP - 808

JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

SN - 0035-8711

IS - 1

ER -