Lensing in the Blue. III. Weak-lensing Shape Catalogs of 30 Merging Galaxy Clusters
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We present the weak gravitational lensing dataset from the Super-pressure Balloon-Borne Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT), which imaged 30 galaxy clusters during its 45 night flight in 2023 April–May. SuperBIT is a first-of-its-kind balloon-borne imaging telescope that achieved near-diffraction-limited observations in near-space conditions above 98% of the Earth’s atmosphere. We use the metacalibration algorithm to obtain calibrated galaxy shapes for our target clusters and several calibration fields, enabling unbiased reconstruction of the weak-lensing signal. We employ several diagnostics throughout the pipeline, including assessments of point-spread function (PSF) modeling residuals and their impact on weak-lensing measurements, as well as tests for correlations between galaxy shapes and measured galaxy and PSF properties. To assess the multiplicative shear bias of the pipeline, we analyze a parallel set of simulated images that incorporate the real observing conditions from the flight, including measured SuperBIT PSFs, observed sky backgrounds, and detector noise, yielding a bias of (1.54% ± 6.00%).
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
Authors: Sayan Saha, Jacqueline E. McCleary, Spencer W. Everett, Maya Amit, Georgios N. Vassilakis, Emaad Paracha, Leo W.H. Fung, Steven J. Benton, William C. Jones, Gavin Leroy, Eric M. Huff, Richard Massey, Thuy Vy T. Luu, Ajay S. Gill, Mohamed M. Shaaban, Philippe Voyer, Adam Field, Anthony M. Brown, Giulia Cerini, Paul Clark, Matthew Craigie, Christopher J. Damaren, Tim Eifler, David Harvey, Eric Habjan, John W. Hartley, Bradley Holder, Mathilde Jauzac, David Lagattuta, Jason S.-Y. Leung, Lun Li, Johanna M. Nagy, C. Barth Netterfield, Susan F. Redmond, Jason D. Rhodes, Andrew Robertson, L. Javier Romualdez, Jürgen Schmoll, Ellen Sirks, Sut Ieng Tam, André Z. Vitorelli, Alfredo Zenteno
Institutions: Northeastern University, California Institute of Technology, New York University, University of Cambridge, University of Toronto, Durham University, Princeton University, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council Canada, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of Arizona, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Imperial College London, Case Western Reserve University, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, NSF NOIRLab
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,499
Funders: National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, California Institute of Technology, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Johns Hopkins University, Space Telescope Science Institute, UK Research and Innovation, European Space Agency, Queen's University Belfast, Durham University, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, National Central University, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Science Mission Directorate, Canadian Space Agency, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Planetary Science Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Awards: G1813891348, PATT Linked Grant for the Durham Astrophysics Group 2021-23, G2676722403, G3123695474, G3398851854, G4464970685, G4474636675, G4775304518, G5907811558, G618131832, G653891685, A NEO SEARCH PROGRAM USING THE PAN-STARRS PS1 TELESCOPETHE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO USE T, G7187964967, Astronomy at Durham 2023-2026, Pan-STARRS1: Operations; Public Data Release; Education and Outreach, G805709497, Durham Astronomy Consolidated Grant 2017-2020, G830101876, G833430883, G8905436908
OpenAlex ID: W7139913235