How Future Space-Based Weak-Lensing Surveys Might Obtain Photometric Redshifts Independently
Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: We study how the addition of onboard optical photometric bands to future space-based weak-lensing instruments could affect the photometric redshift estimation of galaxies and hence improve estimations of the dark energy parameters through weak lensing. Basing our study on the current proposed Euclid configuration and using a mock catalog of galaxy observations, various onboard options are tested and compared with the use of ground-based observations from the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and Pan-STARRS. Comparisons are made through the use of the dark energy figure of merit, which provides a quantifiable measure of the change in the quality of the scientific results that can be obtained in each scenario. Effects of systematic offsets between LSST and Euclid photometric calibration are also studied. We find that adding two optical bandpasses ( U and G ) or even solely the U bandpass to the space-based infrared instrument greatly improves its photometric redshift performance, bringing it close to the level that would be achieved by combining observations from both space-based and ground-based surveys while freeing the space mission from reliance on external data sets.
DOI: 10.1086/660843
Authors: R. Sorba, M. Sawicki
Institution: Saint Mary's University
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2010817441