Testing gravity on large scales by combining weak lensing with galaxy clustering using CFHTLenS and BOSS CMASS

Abstract

We measure a combination of gravitational lensing, galaxy clustering and redshift-space distortions (RSDs) called EG. The quantity EG probes both parts of metric potential and is insensitive to galaxy bias and σ8. These properties make it an attractive statistic to test lambda cold dark matter, general relativity and its alternate theories. We have combined CMASS Data Release 11 with CFHTLenS and recent measurements of β from RSD analysis, and find EG(z = 0.57) = 0.42 ± 0.056, a 13 per cent measurement in agreement with the prediction of general relativity EG(z = 0.57) = 0.396 ± 0.011 using the Planck 2015 cosmological parameters. We have corrected our measurement for various observational and theoretical systematics. Our measurement is consistent with the first measurement of EG using cosmic microwave background lensing in place of galaxy lensing at small scales, but shows 2.8s tension when compared with their final results including large scales. This analysis with future surveys will provide improved statistical error and better control over systematics to test general relativity and its alternate theories.