New Method Enhances Mass Inference of Galaxy Clusters

A new method has been developed to infer the masses of galaxy clusters using weak gravitational lensing observations. This approach, introduced by researchers Tobias Mistele and Amel Durakovic, relies on a non-parametric technique that assumes spherical symmetry and a small convergence, specifically for radii larger than the radius at which the mass is inferred. This allows the method to function effectively even in cases where the inner region of the cluster is not symmetric.

The researchers demonstrated their method using data from the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) to analyze two galaxy clusters, Abell 1835 and Abell 2744. The results obtained were consistent with existing literature, indicating that the new technique is a viable alternative to traditional methods that often require more stringent assumptions about the symmetry of the clusters.

An efficient implementation of this method has been made available in Julia code, which reportedly runs in just a few milliseconds per galaxy cluster. This advancement could significantly enhance the accuracy and efficiency of mass profile inference in cosmological studies, potentially impacting our understanding of dark matter and the formation of large-scale structures in the universe.

For further details, the full paper titled "A new non-parametric method to infer galaxy cluster masses from weak lensing" can be accessed on arXiv at arXiv:2408.07026.