Hui

Magnification Distortion of the Galaxy Correlation Function: Opportunities and Challenges
Lam Hui (Columbia University)

I will demonstrate how gravitational lensing makes the galaxy correlation function anisotropic, and discuss the opportunities and challenges that this effect offers. This anisotropy has a distinctive shape, making it possible to perform a lensing measurement simply by counting galaxies i.e. without the need to measure galaxy shapes. On the other hand, this anisotropy also complicates the interpretation of baryon acoustic oscillation measurements. It can shift the apparent position of the baryon wiggle along the line of sight by up to 3 %, implying a shift in the inferred dark energy equation of state by up to 15%.