The effect of selection -- a tale of cluster mass measurement bias induced by correlation and projection

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that selection effects in galaxy cluster mass estimates arise from projection and correlation between observables, leading to biases in weak lensing mass measurements, as shown using the Illustris-TNG simulation.

Contribution

It reveals how selection on galaxy counts induces a mass bias due to projection effects and correlations, supported by simulation analysis.

Findings

Projection causes correlated observable-mass measurement deviations.

Clusters with higher subhalo counts are overestimated in mass.

Bias can be predicted using a forward model of observable-mass correlation.

Abstract

Cosmology analyses using galaxy clusters by the Dark Energy Survey have recently uncovered an issue of previously unknown selection effect affecting weak lensing mass estimates. In this letter, we use the Illustris-TNG simulation to demonstrate that selecting on galaxy counts induces a selection effect because of projection and correlation between different observables. We compute the weak-lensing-like projected mass estimations of dark matter halos and examine their projected subhalo counts. In the 2-D projected space, halos that are measured as more massive than truth have higher subhalo counts. Thus, projection along the line of sight creates cluster observables that are correlated with cluster mass measurement deviations, which in turn creates a mass measurement bias when the clusters are selected by this correlated observable. We demonstrate that the bias is predicted in a forward model using the observable-mass measurement correlation.