Weak lensing measurement of the mass-richness relation using the SDSS database

TL;DR

This paper investigates the relationship between galaxy cluster mass and richness using SDSS data, employing weak lensing and background subtraction methods to derive and validate the mass-richness relation.

Contribution

It introduces two independent methods for measuring the mass-richness relation and validates their consistency using SDSS galaxy catalogues.

Findings

Lensing mass estimates agree with probability distribution results.

The mass-richness relation is consistent across different galaxy catalogues.

Methodology effectively calibrates the mass-richness relation using SDSS data.

Abstract

We study the mass-richness relation using galaxy catalogues and images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We use two independent methods, in the first one, we calibrate the scaling relation with weak-lensing mass estimates. In the second procedure we apply a background subtraction technique to derive the probability distribution, $P(M \mid N)$, that groups with $N$-members have a virialized halo mass $M$. Lensing masses are derived in different richness bins for two galaxy systems sets: the maxBCG catalogue and a catalogue based on a group finder algorithm developed by Yang et al. MaxBCG results are used to test the lensing methodology. The lensing mass-richness relation for the Yang et al. group sample shows a good agreement with $P(M \mid N)$ obtained independently with a straightforward procedure.