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We extend current models of the halo occupation distribution (HOD) to include a flexible, empirical framework for the forward modeling of the intrinsic alignment (IA) of galaxies. A primary goal of this work is to produce mock galaxy catalogs for the purpose of validating existing models and methods for the mitigation of IA in weak lensing measurements. This technique can also be used to produce new, simulation-based predictions for IA and galaxy clustering. Our model is probabilistically formulated, and rests upon the assumption that the orientations of galaxies exhibit a correlation with their host dark matter (sub)halo orientation or with their position within the halo. We examine the necessary components and phenomenology of such a model by considering the alignments between (sub)halos in a cosmological dark matter only simulation. We then validate this model for a realistic galaxy population in a set of simulations in the Illustris-TNG suite. We create an HOD mock with Illustris-like correlations using our method, constraining the associated IA model parameters, with the between our model’s correlations and those of Illustris matching as closely as 1.4 and 1.1 for orientation–position and orientation–orientation correlation functions, respectively. By modeling the misalignment between galaxies and their host halo, we show that the 3-dimensional two-point position and orientation correlation functions of simulated (sub)halos and galaxies can be accurately reproduced from quasi-linear scales down to . We also find evidence for environmental influence on IA within a halo. Our publicly-available software provides a key component enabling efficient determination of Bayesian posteriors on IA model parameters using observational measurements of galaxy-orientation correlation functions in the highly nonlinear regime. 

ABSTRACT We present posterior sample redshift distributions for the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program Weak Lensing three-year (HSC Y3) analysis. Using the galaxies’ photometry and spatial cross-correlations, we conduct a combined Bayesian Hierarchical Inference of the sample redshift distributions. The spatial cross-correlations are derived using a subsample of Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) with accurate redshift information available up to a photometric redshift of z < 1.2. We derive the photometry-based constraints using a combination of two empirical techniques calibrated on spectroscopic and multiband photometric data that cover a spatial subset of the shear catalogue. The limited spatial coverage induces a cosmic variance error budget that we include in the inference. Our cross-correlation analysis models the photometric redshift error of the LRGs to correct for systematic biases and statistical uncertainties. We demonstrate consistency between the sample redshift distributions derived using the spatial cross-correlations, the photometry, and the posterior of the combined analysis. Based on this assessment, we recommend conservative priors for sample redshift distributions of tomographic bins used in the three-year cosmological Weak Lensing analyses. 

ABSTRACT Recovering credible cosmological parameter constraints in a weak lensing shear analysis requires an accurate model that can be used to marginalize over nuisance parameters describing potential sources of systematic uncertainty, such as the uncertainties on the sample redshift distribution n(z). Due to the challenge of running Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) in the high-dimensional parameter spaces in which the n(z) uncertainties may be parametrized, it is common practice to simplify the n(z) parametrization or combine MCMC chains that each have a fixed n(z) resampled from the n(z) uncertainties. In this work, we propose a statistically principled Bayesian resampling approach for marginalizing over the n(z) uncertainty using multiple MCMC chains. We self-consistently compare the new method to existing ones from the literature in the context of a forecasted cosmic shear analysis for the HSC three-year shape catalogue, and find that these methods recover statistically consistent error bars for the cosmological parameter constraints for predicted HSC three-year analysis, implying that using the most computationally efficient of the approaches is appropriate. However, we find that for data sets with the constraining power of the full HSC survey data set (and, by implication, those upcoming surveys with even tighter constraints), the choice of method for marginalizing over n(z) uncertainty among the several methods from the literature may modify the 1σ uncertainties on Ωm–S8 constraints by ∼4 per cent, and a careful model selection is needed to ensure credible parameter intervals. 

ABSTRACT In order to prepare for the upcoming wide-field cosmological surveys, large simulations of the Universe with realistic galaxy populations are required. In particular, the tendency of galaxies to naturally align towards overdensities, an effect called intrinsic alignments (IA), can be a major source of systematics in the weak lensing analysis. As the details of galaxy formation and evolution relevant to IA cannot be simulated in practice on such volumes, we propose as an alternative a Deep Generative Model. This model is trained on the IllustrisTNG-100 simulation and is capable of sampling the orientations of a population of galaxies so as to recover the correct alignments. In our approach, we model the cosmic web as a set of graphs, where the graphs are constructed for each halo, and galaxy orientations as a signal on those graphs. The generative model is implemented on a Generative Adversarial Network architecture and uses specifically designed Graph-Convolutional Networks sensitive to the relative 3D positions of the vertices. Given (sub)halo masses and tidal fields, the model is able to learn and predict scalar features such as galaxy and dark matter subhalo shapes; and more importantly, vector features such as the 3D orientation of the major axis of the ellipsoid and the complex 2D ellipticities. For correlations of 3D orientations the model is in good quantitative agreement with the measured values from the simulation, except for at very small and transition scales. For correlations of 2D ellipticities, the model is in good quantitative agreement with the measured values from the simulation on all scales. Additionally, the model is able to capture the dependence of IA on mass, morphological type, and central/satellite type. 

ABSTRACT In the era of precision cosmology and ever-improving cosmological simulations, a better understanding of different galaxy components such as bulges and discs will give us new insight into galactic formation and evolution. Based on the fact that the stellar populations of the constituent components of galaxies differ by their dynamical properties, we develop two simple models for galaxy decomposition using the TNG100 cosmological hydrodynamical simulation from the IllustrisTNG project. The first model uses a single dynamical parameter and can distinguish four components: thin disc, thick disc, counter-rotating disc, and bulge. The second model uses one more dynamical parameter, was defined in a probabilistic manner, and distinguishes two components: bulge and disc. We demonstrate the improved robustness of these models compared to a widely used method in literature involving cuts on the circularity parameter. The number fraction of disc-dominated galaxies at a given stellar mass obtained by our models agrees well with observations for masses exceeding log10(M*/M⊙) = 10. The galaxies classified as bulge-dominated by the second model are mostly red; however, the population classified as disc-dominated contains significant number of red galaxies alongside the blue population. The contributions of the different galaxy components to the total stellar mass budget exhibits similar trends with stellar mass compared to the observational data, although there is a quantitative disagreement at high and low masses. The Sérsic indices and half-mass radii for the bulge and disc components agree well with those of real galaxies. 

ABSTRACT Image simulations are essential tools for preparing and validating the analysis of current and future wide-field optical surveys. However, the galaxy models used as the basis for these simulations are typically limited to simple parametric light profiles, or use a fairly limited amount of available space-based data. In this work, we propose a methodology based on deep generative models to create complex models of galaxy morphologies that may meet the image simulation needs of upcoming surveys. We address the technical challenges associated with learning this morphology model from noisy and point spread function (PSF)-convolved images by building a hybrid Deep Learning/physical Bayesian hierarchical model for observed images, explicitly accounting for the PSF and noise properties. The generative model is further made conditional on physical galaxy parameters, to allow for sampling new light profiles from specific galaxy populations. We demonstrate our ability to train and sample from such a model on galaxy postage stamps from the HST/ACS COSMOS survey, and validate the quality of the model using a range of second- and higher order morphology statistics. Using this set of statistics, we demonstrate significantly more realistic morphologies using these deep generative models compared to conventional parametric models. To help make these generative models practical tools for the community, we introduce galsim-hub, a community-driven repository of generative models, and a framework for incorporating generative models within the galsim image simulation software.