The third-order correlation functions of galaxy-galaxy lensing

• Antragsteller: Dr. Patrick Simon
• Fachliche Zuordnung: Astrophysik und Astronomie
• Förderung: Förderung von 2012 bis 2017
• Projektkennung: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 212738597

Third-order galaxy-galaxy lensing (G3L) promises to be the next generation tool in gravitational lensing for investigating the dark matter/galaxy connection. As the proposers demonstrated with their collaborators, G3L is readily measured with high significance from existing and upcoming data such as the CFHTLS. We still lack, however, a deeper understanding of what exactly is reflected in the new correlation functions of G3L. Preliminary work on one of the G3L correlation functions G – involving the stacked shear signal about pairs of lenses – implies that it provides a tool for probing the common (dark) matter environment of galaxy pairs. The project proposed here aims at advancing our theoretical understanding about G3L, in particular G, and, moreover, at testing existing models for galaxy formation and evolution within the dark matter density field against the available and upcoming observational data. To achieve better theoretical understanding, two doctoral thesis projects on G3L are proposed. First, a project on the theoretical modelling of G3L on two different complexity levels (a simplified and a sophisticated halo model) is proposed. The models will eventually be used to interpret observational data. A second project confronts forecasts from dark matter and galaxy models with the observational data. It is the goal of this step to provide input for improvements of existing galaxy models. Moreover, this project improves the amount of statistical information extracted from G by including radial distance information of the galaxies involved. Finally, both students will consider a hitherto unexplored variant of G, rendering it a cross-correlation function between different galaxy types.

• DFG-Verfahren: Sachbeihilfen
• Beteiligte Person: Professor Dr. Peter Schneider