Blinding multiprobe cosmological experiments
J. MuirDepartment of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAG. M. BernsteinDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADragan HutererDepartment of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAF. ElsnerDepartment of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UKE. KrauseDepartment of Astronomy/Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USAA. RoodmanKavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics & Cosmology, PO Box 2450, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USAS. AllamFermi National Accelerator Laboratory, PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USAJ. AnnisFermi National Accelerator Laboratory, PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USAS. ÀvilaInstituto de Fisica Teorica UAM/CSIC, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, SpainK. BechtolLSST, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USAE. BertinCNRS, UMR 7095, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, F-75014 Paris, FranceDavid BrooksDepartment of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UKE. Buckley‐GeerFermi National Accelerator Laboratory, PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USAD. L. BurkeKavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics & Cosmology, PO Box 2450, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USAA. Carnero RosellCentro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), E-28040 Madrid, SpainM. Carrasco KindDepartment of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1002 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USAJ. CarreteroInstitut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), SpainR. CawthonPhysics Department, 2320 Chamberlin Hall, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1150 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706-1390, USAM. CostanziINAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, via G. B. Tiepolo 11, I-34143 Trieste, ItalyL. N. da CostaLaboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia – LIneA, Rua Gal. José Cristino 77, Rio de Janeiro, RJ-20921-400, BrazilJ. De VicenteCentro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), E-28040 Madrid, SpainS. DesaiDepartment of Physics, IIT Hyderabad, Kandi, Telangana 502285, IndiaJ. P. DietrichExcellence Cluster Origins, Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748 Garching, GermanyP. DoelDepartment of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UKT. F. EiflerDepartment of Astronomy/Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USAS. EverettP. FosalbaInstitut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), E-08034 Barcelona, SpainJ. FriemanFermi National Accelerator Laboratory, PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USAJ. García-BellidoInstituto de Fisica Teorica UAM/CSIC, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, SpainD. W. GerdesDepartment of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAD. GruenDepartment of Physics, Stanford University, 382 Via Pueblo Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USAR. A. GruendlDepartment of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1002 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USAJ. GschwendLaboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia – LIneA, Rua Gal. José Cristino 77, Rio de Janeiro, RJ-20921-400, BrazilW G HartleyDepartment of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UKD L HollowoodD. J. JamesCenter for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAMike JarvisDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USAK. KuehnAustralian Astronomical Optics, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2113, AustraliaN. KuropatkinFermi National Accelerator Laboratory, PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USAO. LahavDepartment of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UKM. MarchDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USAJ. L. MarshallGeorge P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USAP. MelchiorDepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USAF. MenanteauDepartment of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1002 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USAR. MiquelInstitució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, E-08010 Barcelona, SpainR. L. C. OgandoLaboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia – LIneA, Rua Gal. José Cristino 77, Rio de Janeiro, RJ-20921-400, BrazilA. PalmeseFermi National Accelerator Laboratory, PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USAF. Paz-ChinchónDepartment of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1002 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USAA A PlazasDepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USAA. K. RomerDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Pevensey Building, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UKE. SánchezCentro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), E-28040 Madrid, SpainV. ScarpineFermi National Accelerator Laboratory, PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USAM. SchubnellDepartment of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAS. SerranoInstitut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), E-08034 Barcelona, SpainI. Sevilla-NoarbeCentro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), E-28040 Madrid, SpainM. SmithSchool of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UKE. SuchytaComputer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USAG. TarléDepartment of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAD. ThomasInstitute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3FX, UKM. A. TroxelDepartment of Physics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USAA. R. WalkerCerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Casilla 603, La Serena, ChileJ. WellerExcellence Cluster Origins, Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748 Garching, GermanyW. C. WesterFermi National Accelerator Laboratory, PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USAJ. ZuntzInstitute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
2020en
ABI
Abstract
ABSTRACT The goal of blinding is to hide an experiment’s critical results – here the inferred cosmological parameters – until all decisions affecting its analysis have been finalized. This is especially important in the current era of precision cosmology, when the results of any new experiment are closely scrutinized for consistency or tension with previous results. In analyses that combine multiple observational probes, like the combination of galaxy clustering and weak lensing in the Dark Energy Survey (DES), it is challenging to blind the results while retaining the ability to check for (in)consistency between different parts of the data. We propose a simple new blinding transformation, which works by modifying the summary statistics that are input to parameter estimation, such as two-point correlation functions. The transformation shifts the measured statistics to new values that are consistent with (blindly) shifted cosmological parameters while preserving internal (in)consistency. We apply the blinding transformation to simulated data for the projected DES Year 3 galaxy clustering and weak lensing analysis, demonstrating that practical blinding is achieved without significant perturbation of internal-consistency checks, as measured here by degradation of the χ2 between the data and best-fitting model. Our blinding method’s performance is expected to improve as experiments evolve to higher precision and accuracy.
Identifiers
Citations and references
Cited by 20 references