Article

CFHTLenS: the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey

Catherine HeymansScottish Universities Physics Alliance, Institute for Astronomy; University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory; Blackford Hill; Edinburgh; EH9 3HJLudovic Van WaerbekeDepartment of Physics and Astronomy; University of British Columbia; 6224 Agricultural Road; Vancouver; BC; V6T 1Z1; CanadaLance MillerThomas ErbenArgelander Institute for Astronomy; University of Bonn; Auf dem Hügel 71; 53121; Bonn; GermanyHendrik HildebrandtArgelander Institute for Astronomy, University of Bonn, Auf dem Hgel 71, 53121 Bonn, GermanyHenk HoekstraDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, CanadaThomas D. KitchingScottish Universities Physics Alliance, Institute for Astronomy; University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory; Blackford Hill; Edinburgh; EH9 3HJYannick MellierInstitut d’Astrophysique de Paris; Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6; 98 bis Boulevard Arago; F-75014; Paris; FrancePatrick SimonArgelander Institute for Astronomy; University of Bonn; Auf dem Hügel 71; 53121; Bonn; GermanyChristopher BonnettInstitut de Ciencies de l’Espai; CSIC/IEEC; F. de Ciencies, Torre C5 par-2; Barcelona; 08193; SpainJean CouponInstitute of Astronomy and Astrophysics; Academia Sinica; PO Box 23-141; Taipei 10617; TaiwanLiping FuKey Lab for Astrophysics; Shanghai Normal University; 100 Guilin Road; 200234; Shanghai; ChinaJoachim Harnois-DérapsMichael J. HudsonDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, CanadaMartin KilbingerKoenraad KuijkenLeiden Observatory; Leiden University; Niels Bohrweg 2; 2333; CA Leiden; the NetherlandsBarnaby RoweTim SchrabbackElisabetta SemboloniLeiden Observatory; Leiden University; Niels Bohrweg 2; 2333; CA Leiden; the NetherlandsEdo van UitertArgelander Institute for Astronomy, University of Bonn, Auf dem Hgel 71, 53121 Bonn, GermanySanaz VafaeiDepartment of Physics and Astronomy; University of British Columbia; 6224 Agricultural Road; Vancouver; BC; V6T 1Z1; CanadaMalin VelanderDepartment of Physics, Oxford University, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH

2012en

ABI

Abstract

We present the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLenS) that accurately determines a weak gravitational lensing signal from the full 154 deg 2 of deep multicolour data obtained by the CFHT Legacy Survey. Weak gravitational lensing by large-scale structure is widely recognized as one of the most powerful but technically challenging probes of cosmology. We outline the CFHTLenS analysis pipeline, describing how and why every step of the chain from the raw pixel data to the lensing shear and photometric redshift measurement has been revised and improved compared to previous analyses of a subset of the same data. We present a novel method to identify data which contributes a non-negligible contamination to our sample and quantify the required level of calibration for the survey. Through a series of cosmology-insensitive tests we demonstrate the robustness of the resulting cosmic shear signal, presenting a science-ready shear and photometric redshift catalogue for future exploitation.

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21952.x

Citations and references

Cited by 40 references

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