arXiv subjects

O. Lahav

Publications and source records attributed to O. Lahav.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Clustering redshift distribution calibration of weak lensing surveys using the DESI-DR1 spectroscopic dataset

We estimate the source redshift distribution of current weak lensing surveys by applying the clustering-based redshift calibration technique, using the galaxy redshift sample provided by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Data Release 1 (DESI-DR1). We cross-correlate the Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS), Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) and Emission Line Galaxies (ELGs) from DESI, within the redshift range $0.1 < z < 1.6$, with overlapping tomographic source samples from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), and Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) survey. Using realistic mock catalogues, we test the stability of the clustering redshift signal to fitting scale, reference-sample choice, and the evolution of source galaxy bias. We calibrate a source galaxy bias correction from simulations with conservative (factor-of-two inflated) priors to account for modelling uncertainties, and we explicitly model and marginalise over magnification contributions, which become non-negligible at $z \gtrsim 1$ due to the depth of the DESI ELG sample. We then compare the resulting bias-weighted redshift distributions to \rossi{previously calibrated redshift distributions from the literature, based on self-organising map (SOM) techniques}, finding agreement within uncertainties for all surveys and tomographic bins. Our results demonstrate that clustering redshifts enabled by DESI's unprecedented spectroscopic sample provides a robust, complementary, and independent constraint capable of reducing one of the dominant systematic uncertainties in weak lensing cosmology.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

DESI DR2 Results III: The Mass of the Milky Way

We present measurements of the mass of the Milky Way using distant halo stars selected from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Data Release 2 (DR2). We apply four dynamical modeling methods to 10,036 RR Lyrae (RRL) and blue horizontal branch (BHB) stars with 6D phase space coordinates that span from $\sim$10 to 95 kpc from the Galactic center, the largest samples of their kind. All methods are applied to mock surveys based on cosmological simulations that include generating individual tracer stars, convolving their phase-space coordinates with DESI and Gaia DR3-like uncertainties, and tailored models of the survey selection functions. By comparing the performance on these mocks, we quantify how systematic biases from both methodology assumptions and galaxy disequilibrium impact each estimate. The mock-based systematics, which differ by method and tracer, are used to correct the individual estimates and to derive joint estimates using a rigorous formalism that accounts for per-method biases and residual correlations between methods. We obtain a joint estimate of the mass within 80 kpc to be $M(r < 80 \mathrm{\,kpc}) = 6.36^{+0.53}_{-0.48} \times 10^{11}$ M$_\odot$ and a virial mass estimate of $M_\mathrm{200c} = 1.19^{+0.14}_{-0.12} \times 10^{12}$ M$_\odot$, with similar results when combining only RRL-based or BHB-based measurements. These results provide a roadmap for future DESI efforts, as well as those in other spectroscopic surveys, to reliably constrain the mass of our Galaxy.

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arXiv2026

Constraining the Milky Way Mass profile with data driven distribution function using DESI DR2 halo stars

We employ a novel data-driven dynamical modeling method, the empirical distribution function (emPDF), to constrain the Milky Way mass profile using a large sample of halo stars from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Milky Way Survey (DESI MWS). The method does not assume any functional form of the tracer distribution. Deviations from the steady-state assumption and the effects of observational errors are further tested and calibrated using a number of realistic mock observations (AuriDESI). Applying the calibrated method to two classes of tracers in DESI, we derive a best-constrained virial mass and concentration of $\log M_\mathrm{200c}/M_{\odot}=12.05_{-0.12}^{+0.21}(_{-0.18}^{+0.26})$ and $\log c_\mathrm{200c}=1.20_{-0.16}^{+0.11}(_{-0.24}^{+0.20})$ for BHBs. For RR Lyrae stars we derive $\log M_\mathrm{200c}/M_{\odot}=12.15_{-0.14}^{+0.22}(_{-0.19}^{+0.26})$ and $\log c_\mathrm{200c}=1.16_{-0.12}^{+0.09}(_{-0.18}^{+0.16})$. The uncertainties quoted outside and within brackets are statistical and total errors including systematic errors calibrated from AuriDESI, respectively. The two tracer populations provide overall consistent measurements of the MW halo mass profile. Combining the halo star constraints with the independent constraint from satellite dynamics, we derive a robust and precise final measurement of the MW halo parameters of $\log M_\mathrm{200c}/M_{\odot}=12.12_{-0.05}^{+0.05}(_{-0.04}^{+0.06})$ and $\log c_\mathrm{200c}=1.16_{-0.03}^{+0.05}(_{-0.07}^{+0.05})$, with correlation coefficients of $ρ=-0.90(-0.54)$.

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arXiv2026

A distribution-function estimate of the Milky Way mass profile from outer halo stars in DESI DR2

We present measurements of the Milky Way mass using blue horizontal-branch (BHB) and RR Lyrae (RRL) stars from the second data release of DESI (DR2), covering its first three years of operations. We employ 279 BHBs and 213 RRLs at $\sim\!50$--$80$\,kpc from the Galactic center, selected from catalogs roughly twice as large as those of DESI DR1, used in our previous mass measurement. We apply the Galactic Mass Estimator (GME), a hierarchical Bayesian framework that assumes power-law forms for the potential and the tracer density, and accounts for distance and velocity uncertainties. Validating the method on 24 AuriDESI mock catalogs (six Auriga halos at four viewing angles), we find that it overestimates the enclosed mass by $\sim\!15\%$ at 80\,kpc, and correct our results accordingly. We obtain $M(<80\,{\rm kpc}) = 0.64^{+0.06}_{-0.06}$ and $0.53^{+0.05}_{-0.05} \times 10^{12}\,M_\odot$ for BHBs and RRLs, respectively, while including Sagittarius stream stars lowers these masses by $\sim\!10$\%. Extrapolating to 100\,kpc, we obtain $M(<100\,{\rm kpc}) = 0.74^{+0.07}_{-0.07}$ and $0.62^{+0.06}_{-0.07} \times 10^{12}\,M_\odot$, and anchoring an NFW halo to our GME constraints at 65\,kpc yields virial masses of $M_{200} = 1.12^{+0.14}_{-0.12}$ and $0.89^{+0.11}_{-0.10} \times 10^{12}\,M_\odot$. BHBs yield systematically higher masses than RRLs across the full radial range, reflecting the impact of tracer choice even within a single method. This work is part of a wider DESI DR2 Key Project effort to measure the Milky Way mass and constrain systematics arising from different samples and methodologies.

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arXiv2026

Measurement of the galaxy-velocity power spectrum of DESI tracers with the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect using DESI DR2 and ACT DR6

Joint analyses of high-resolution CMB temperature maps with galaxy surveys provide a unique way to reconstruct the radial velocity field of the underlying matter distribution via the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich (kSZ) effect. Using data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) DR6 and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) DR2, we present radial velocity reconstructions for luminous red galaxies (LRGs), emission-line galaxies (ELGs), and quasars (QSOs). Leveraging the spectroscopic data, we are able to reliably model the foreground contamination and report a negligible impact on our main observables. We detect the velocity-galaxy cross-correlation at $17.0σ$ for LRGs, and for the first time, at $8.3σ$ for ELGs and $6.8σ$ for QSOs. We further report the first detection of the velocity-velocity correlation using LRGs at $3.1σ$, as well as the highest cumulative detection of the kSZ effect to date at $20.8 σ$. Similarly to previous results, we find a lower amplitude of the kSZ signal compared to our fiducial halo model prediction and electron profile assuming a Battaglia profile. Combining these new observables, we obtain constraints on local-type primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG): $f_{\rm NL}^{\rm loc} = 15.9_{-34.4}^{+34.6}$ at 68\% confidence, which represents the tightest constraint to date derived from the velocity field. The measurements presented here already exhibit lower noise on a per-mode basis than the galaxy auto-correlation on the largest scales, $k<0.004~\rm{Mpc^{-1}}$, highlighting the key role these observables will play in the context of future CMB experiments such as the Simons Observatory.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

The scale of homogeneity in DESI Data Release 1

We present measurements of the scale of cosmic homogeneity using the first data release (DR1) of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), the largest publicly available spectroscopic extragalactic survey to date. Using a counts-in-spheres estimator applied to nearly 5 million galaxies and quasars across six independent redshift bins spanning $0.1 < z < 2.1$, we measure the correlation dimension $D_2(r)$ and define the homogeneity scale $R_H$ as the point at which the galaxy distribution reaches within 1\% of the homogeneous asymptotic value. We find that all tracers clearly transition to homogeneity, with the galaxy homogeneity scale ranging from $93.8^{+0.9}_{-0.7}$ to $142.6^{+1.4}_{-1.4}$ $h^{-1}$Mpc depending on the tracer redshift, galaxy bias, and modelling used to extract the scale. Using a cosmology-dependent model, we reconstruct the underlying matter homogeneity scale, finding it decreases monotonically with redshift in excellent agreement with $Λ$CDM predictions. We identify a systematic offset of up to $\sim 10\%$ between measurements in the North and South Galactic Caps, largely due to fiber assignment effects reproduced in our simulations. Accounting for this, and with a complementary demonstration using toy models that our methodology correctly identifies inhomogeneous universes in all but rather finely-tuned observer configurations, this hence provides strong evidence in favour of the cosmological principle across our full redshift range. Our matter homogeneity scale measurements are consistent with, and substantially more precise than, previous constraints from WiggleZ and SDSS, demonstrating the power of DESI data for precision tests of the cosmological principle.

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arXiv2026

Dark Energy Survey Year 6 Results: improved mitigation of spatially varying observational systematics with masking for the MagLim++ lens sample

As photometric surveys reach unprecedented statistical precision, systematic uncertainties increasingly dominate large-scale structure probes relying on galaxy number density. Defining the final survey footprint is critical, as it excludes regions affected by artefacts or suboptimal observing conditions. For galaxy clustering, spatially varying observational systematics, such as seeing, are a leading source of bias. Template maps of contaminants are used to derive spatially dependent corrections, but extreme values may fall outside the applicability range of mitigation methods, compromising correction reliability. The complexity and accuracy of systematics modelling depend on footprint conservativeness, with aggressive masking enabling simpler, robust mitigation. We present a unified approach to define the DES Y6 JOINT footprint, integrating observational systematics templates and artefact indicators that degrade mitigation performance. This removes extreme values from an initial SEED footprint, leading to the final JOINT footprint. By evaluating the DES Y6 lens sample MagLim++ on this footprint, we enhance the Iterative Systematics Decontamination (ISD) method, detecting non-linear systematic contamination and improving correction accuracy. While the mask's impact on clustering is less significant than systematics decontamination, it remains non-negligible, comparable to statistical uncertainties in certain w(theta) scales and redshift bins. Supporting coherent analyses of galaxy clustering and cosmic shear, the final footprint spans 4,031.04 deg2, setting the basis for DES Y6 1x2pt, 2x2pt, and 3x2pt analyses. This work highlights how targeted masking strategies optimise the balance between statistical power and systematic control in Stage-III and -IV surveys.

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arXiv2026

Cosmological constraints from the DESI DR1 Bispectrum Full-Shape and DR2 BAO

We present cosmological constraints from DESI DR1 full-shape measurements, including the LRG bispectrum, combined with DESI DR2 BAO data. The analysis accounts for cross-covariance using mocks, while ShapeFit compression mitigates prior volume effects in beyond-$Λ$CDM analyses. In $Λ$CDM, the DESI1.5 (P+B) analysis yields $σ_8=0.868\pm0.026$ and $S_8=0.880\pm0.028$, compared with $σ_8=0.822\pm0.034$ and $S_8=0.827\pm0.036$ in the previous power-spectrum-only analysis. The marginalized uncertainties are reduced by 24% and 22%, respectively. For $w_0w_a$CDM, DESI-only analyses with the bispectrum shift dark energy parameters toward $Λ$CDM, consistent with a cosmological constant within $1σ$ in the $w_0$--$w_a$ plane. Adding CMB creates a preference for evolving dark energy: DESI+CMB (P+B) shows a $2.8σ$ deviation from $Λ$CDM. Including DES-Dovekie supernovae alone reduces this to $1.6σ$, while the full combination gives $3.1σ$. The bispectrum weakens evidence for time-varying dark energy relative to power-spectrum-only analyses. It also enhances sensitivity to massive neutrinos: in DESI-only data, the power-spectrum-only posterior for $\sum m_ν$ is consistent with zero, whereas adding the bispectrum yields $0.26\pm0.18$ eV and a 95% upper limit of $0.59$ eV, shifting the peak into the positive region. For modified gravity, the bispectrum constrains $μ_0 = 0.12\pm0.51$ from DESI-only data, consistent with general relativity.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

A census of Dark Energy Survey Year 3 redMaPPer galaxy clusters in a high exposure eROSITA All Sky Survey region

We present the cross-match of galaxy clusters detected by redMaPPer using the first three years of Dark Energy Survey (DESY3RM) operations, and the first release of the eROSITA-All Sky Survey (eRASS1) taken by eROSITA on board the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma telescope. We define a sky region ($60^{\circ}<{\rm R.A.}<90^{\circ}$ and $-58^{\circ}<{\rm Dec}<-48^{\circ}$) whereby the mean eRASS1 exposure time of clusters falling within this footprint is $\sim$2.5 times longer than the mean exposure time of the full eRASS1--DESY3RM overlap. Limiting to a redshift range $0.2 < z < 0.65$ and redMaPPer estimated richnesses to $>$50, we obtain a sample of 57 clusters. We match these clusters to the cluster catalogue constructed for the eRASS1, finding 45 clusters with a match and 12 with no match in the catalogue. X-ray properties of the 12 unmatched clusters are estimated via a forced photometry analysis. We investigate the form of the luminosity-richness relation, finding the relation using the full 57 cluster sample is statistically consistent with using only the 45 matched clusters, and will require the deeper data of future eRASS releases (or dedicated X-ray follow-up) to explore further potential differences. Using external data from XMM, ACT and SPT, we find detections of 5 of the 12 unmatched clusters, indicating the presence of virialised gas. Finally, we found the 12 unmatched clusters occupy a higher redshift range and lower richness range (compared to the matched clusters), and find no evidence for an underlying physical reason for the lack of X-ray emission.

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arXiv2026

Optical Depths from the Thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect with ACT DR6 and DESI DR1 Spectroscopic Galaxies and Optically-Selected Clusters

We present stacked thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect measurements for three samples of galaxy groups and clusters: those traced by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Data Release 1 (DESI DR1) luminous red galaxies (LRG) and the DESI DR1 Bright Galaxy Sample (BGS), and an eROMaPPer optically-selected sample from the DESI Legacy Imaging Survey. We use the latest Atacama Cosmology Telescope DR6 (ACT)+Planck component-separated internal linear combination (ILC) Compton-$y$ maps and ACT+Planck coadded 90, 150, and 220 GHz temperature maps to extract the tSZ signal within a $\sim2'$ disk aperture for sources binned by luminosity, richness, or mass. We measure the average tSZ signal with high statistical significance, with signal-to-noise ratios surpassing 38 for LRG, 27 for BGS, and 39 for the eROMaPPer sample using the 90 GHz ACT DR6+Planck map. We conduct a detailed study of systematics and foregrounds such as dust and cosmic infrared background (CIB) contamination, which remain a core challenge for tSZ analysis. For the LRG and BGS samples, we find that dust and radio source emission dominate the tSZ signal at scales near and below the disk aperture radius. Large-scale ($R>4'$) contamination from the CIB is less significant. We mitigate these contaminants to isolate the tSZ signal and use a combination of simulated and real measurements to develop Compton-$y-$optical depth ($\bar y-\bar τ$) scaling relations to infer optical depths, which are found to be in agreement with values measured using the pairwise kinematic SZ effect for the same tracer samples. The $\bar y-\bar τ$ scaling relation for the eROMaPPer sample is the first such relationship to be derived directly from SZ measurements.

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arXiv2026

Euclid: Impact of halo mass-conversion model assumptions on galaxy cluster number-count analyses

The large catalogues of galaxy clusters expected from the Euclid survey will enable cosmological analyses of cluster number counts that require accurate cosmological model predictions. One possibility is to use parametric fits calibrated against $N$-body simulations, that capture the cosmological parameter dependence of the halo mass function. Several studies have shown that this can be obtained through a calibration against haloes with spherical masses defined at the virial overdensity. In contrast, if different mass definitions are used for the HMF and the scaling relation, a mapping between them is required. Here, we investigate the impact of such a mapping on the cosmological parameter constraints inferred from galaxy cluster number counts. Using synthetic data from $N$-body simulations, we show that the standard approach, which relies on assuming a concentration-mass relation, can introduce significant systematic bias. In particular, depending on the mass definition and the relation assumed, this can lead to biased constraints at more than 2$σ$ level. In contrast, we find that in all the cases we have considered, the mass conversion based on the halo sparsity statistics result in a systematic bias smaller than the statistical error.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Dark Energy Survey Year 6 Results: Galaxy-galaxy lensing

We present galaxy--galaxy lensing (GGL) measurements from the full six years of data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES Y6), covering $4031\,\mathrm{deg}^2$ and used in the DES Y6 $3\times2$pt cosmological analysis. We use the MagLim++ lens sample, containing $\sim 9$ million galaxies divided into six redshift bins, and the Metadetection source catalog, including $\sim 140$ million galaxies divided into four redshift bins. The mean tangential shear signal achieves a total signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of $173$, corresponding to a $17\%$ improvement over DES Y3. After applying the scale cuts used in the cosmological analysis, with $R_{\min}=6\,\mathrm{Mpc}/h$ ($4\,\mathrm{Mpc}/h$) for the linear (nonlinear) galaxy-bias model, the S/N is reduced to $75$ (90). A comprehensive suite of validation tests demonstrates that the measurement is robust against observational and astrophysical systematics at the statistical precision required for the DES Y6 analysis. Although not used in the main cosmological analysis, we extract high--signal-to-noise geometric shear-ratio measurements from the galaxy--galaxy lensing signal on small angular scales. These measurements provide an internal consistency check on the photometric redshift distributions and shear calibration used in the $3\times2$pt analysis.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Dark Energy Survey Year 6 Results: Redshift Calibration of the MagLim++ Lens Sample

In this work, we derive and calibrate the redshift distribution of the MagLim++ lens galaxy sample used in the Dark Energy Survey Year 6 (DES Y6) 3x2pt cosmology analysis. The 3x2pt analysis combines galaxy clustering from the lens galaxy sample and weak gravitational lensing. The redshift distributions are inferred using the SOMPZ method - a Self-Organizing Map framework that combines deep-field multi-band photometry, wide-field data, and a synthetic source injection (Balrog) catalog. Key improvements over the DES Year 3 (Y3) calibration include a noise-weighted SOM metric, an expanded Balrog catalogue, and an improved scheme for propagating systematic uncertainties, which allows us to generate O($10^8$) redshift realizations that collectively span the dominant sources of uncertainty. These realizations are then combined with independent clustering-redshift measurements via importance sampling. The resulting calibration achieves typical uncertainties on the mean redshift of 1-2%, corresponding to a 20-30% average reduction relative to DES Y3. We compress the $n(z)$ uncertainties into a small number of orthogonal modes for use in cosmological inference. Marginalizing over these modes leads to only a minor degradation in cosmological constraints. This analysis establishes the MagLim++ sample as a robust lens sample for precision cosmology with DES Y6 and provides a scalable framework for future surveys.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Euclid preparation CIX. Baryon acoustic oscillation analysis of photometric galaxy clustering in configuration space

With about 1.5 billion galaxies expected to be observed, the very large number of objects in the Euclid photometric survey will allow for precise studies of galaxy clustering from a single survey, over a large range of redshifts $0.2 < z < 2.5$. In this work, we use photometric redshifts to extract the baryon acoustic oscillation signal (BAO) from the Flagship galaxy mock catalogue with a tomographic approach to constrain the evolution of the Universe and infer its cosmological parameters. We measured the two-point angular correlation function in 13 redshift bins. A template-fitting approach was applied to the measurement to extract the shift of the BAO peak through the transverse Alcock-Paczynski parameter $α$. A joint analysis of all redshift bins was performed to constrain $α$ at the effective redshift $z_\mathrm{eff}=0.77$ with MCMC and profile likelihood techniques. We also extracted one $α_i$ parameter per redshift bin to quantify its evolution as a function of time. From these 13 $α_i$, which are directly proportional to the ratio $D_\mathrm{A}/r_\mathrm{d}$, we constrain the product $h\,r_\mathrm{d}$ and $Ω_\mathrm{m}$. From the joint analysis, we constrain $D_\mathrm{A}/r_\mathrm{d}=10.764^{+0.0839}_{-0.0849}$, a three-fold improvement over current constraints from the Dark Energy Survey. As expected, the constraining power in the analysis of each redshift bin is lower, with an uncertainty ranging from $\pm\,1.23$ to $\pm\,0.289$. From these results, we constrain $Ω_\mathrm{m}=0.296^{+0.074}_{-0.059}$ and $h\,r_\mathrm{d}=99.35^{+4.29}_{-4.55}\,\mathrm{Mpc}$. We quantify the influence of analysis choices such as the template, scale cuts, redshift bins, and systematic effects such as redshift-space distortions, over our constraints, both at the level of the extracted $α_i$ parameters and at the level of cosmological inference.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Probing Baryons with the Kinematic Sunyae Zel'dovich Effect and Machine Learning Derived Peculiar Velocities using DESI DR2 and ACT DR6

We present novel empirical constraints on average optical depths and gas density profiles from combining kinematic Sunyaev Zel'dovich effect (kSZ) measurements and nonlinear peculiar velocities, reconstructed using machine learning, for massive halos traced by DESI DR2 luminous red galaxies (LRG). The pairwise kSZ is measured using two ACT DR6 cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature maps (ILC and 150 GHz maps) for seven luminosity-selected LRG samples. We find consistent results between the two maps and significant detections across the samples. We reconstruct LRG line-of-sight peculiar velocities in two cosmic epochs, centered on $z=$ 0.55 and 0.8, using a simulation-trained Transformer machine learning model to extend beyond the linear approximation. Average optical depths are inferred by comparing the kSZ pairwise correlation to the measured pairwise velocity correlation from the reconstructed velocity field and, separately, from a theoretical prediction using the best fit Planck cosmology, with the highest significance reaching SNR = 14.2 and 15.1 respectively. We also obtain velocity-weighted AP-filtered kSZ-stacked cluster density profiles, which show evidence of extended ionized gas around massive LRG groups and no strong redshift evolution within current measurement uncertainties. These results demonstrate the power of combining spectroscopic galaxy and CMB data, and employing machine learning methods, to probe diffuse baryons and coherent large-scale velocity fields. They open up new avenues to leverage upcoming galaxy survey data from Euclid, Roman and Rubin LSST, in tandem with multi-frequency CMB/sub-mm data from CCAT and Simons Observatory.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Intrinsic Tidal Shear at the Largest Scales: Galaxy Multiplet Alignment in DESI DR2

We measure the intrinsic alignment (IA) of galaxy multiplets with the large-scale tidal field traced by galaxy positions in DESI Data Release 2. Using the BGS, LRG, and ELG samples spanning $0.01 < z < 1.6$, we optimize the scales which define multiplets in each sample to minimize measurement noise. We measure multiplet tidal alignment $\mathcal{E}_+$ on scales beyond 100 $h^{-1}$Mpc in all samples, and detect alignment over 200 $h^{-1}$Mpc, up to 4.5$σ$ in the highest LRG redshift bin. We additionally present the multiplet shape-shape autocorrelation, $\mathcal{E}_{++}$, which is independent of galaxy bias and provides a consistency check of our NLA (nonlinear alignment) model. We do not detect a baryon acoustic feature in the projected estimator. We also find the alignment strength of multiplets is correlated with redshift and galaxy morphology. Multiplet alignment offers direct access to the tidal shear field in all galaxy samples, even where individual galaxy alignment cannot, and extends IA detection to the largest scales yet probed.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Dark Energy Survey Year 6 Results: Weak Lensing and Galaxy Clustering Cosmological Analysis Framework

We present the methodology for the weak lensing and galaxy clustering analyses of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Year 6 data set. In this work, we design and validate the analysis pipeline for the cosmic shear, galaxy clustering plus galaxy$-$galaxy lensing ($2 \times 2$pt), and the joint analysis in the $3 \times 2$pt. Our framework accounts for key theoretical uncertainties, such as baryonic feedback and galaxy bias, incorporating both linear and non-linear models. We apply scale cuts in regimes where theoretical modeling becomes unreliable. The robustness of the pipeline is validated using mock data and simulations, confirming unbiased cosmological constraints and highlighting the importance of posterior projection effects in the validation process. As a result, we deliver robust and validated analysis pipelines for cosmic shear, $2 \times 2$pt, and $3 \times 2$pt in $Λ$CDM and $w$CDM scenarios, including a well-defined set of scales suitable for real data analysis, a robust prescription for theoretical systematics, and the theoretical covariance of the signal. This comprehensive methodology also lays the groundwork for future galaxy surveys such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

FOSSIL: A future mission for CMB spectral distortion measurements

We present FOSSIL, a proposed space mission which is designed to deliver unprecedented absolute spectroscopic measurements of the sky intensity over a broad frequency range (50GHz to 2THz) to accurately measure chemical-potential mu-type, Compton y-type, and Compton relativistic y-type CMB spectral distortions. FOSSIL will reach monopole sensitivities representing a gain of roughly three orders of magnitude over COBE/FIRAS. These capabilities will allow us to constrain primordial density fluctuations on scales k~(10 to 10^4)Mpc^-1, test inflationary models, probe dark matter annihilation/decay/interactions, constrain primordial black hole seed scenarios, and pin down feedback models in galaxy evolution and structure formation by measuring the cosmic thermal energy content. Furthermore, its 130 spectral channels will enable legacy astrophysics, including precise characterisation of the Cosmic Infrared Background, line intensity mapping during cosmic noon, and detailed Galactic dust mapping.

astro-ph.CO↗