Herschel*-ATLAS/GAMA: SDSS cross-correlation induced by weak lensing

Abstract

We report a highly significant (>10σ) spatial correlation between galaxies with S350μm ≥ 30 mJy detected in the equatorial fields of the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) with estimated redshifts ≳1.5, and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) or Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) galaxies at 0.2 ≤ z ≤ 0.6. The significance of the cross-correlation is much higher than those reported so far for samples with non-overlapping redshift distributions selected in other wavebands. Extensive, realistic simulations of clustered sub-mm galaxies amplified by foreground structures confirm that the cross-correlation can be explained by weak gravitational lensing (μ<2). The simulations also show that the measured amplitude and range of angular scales of the signal are larger than can be accounted for by galaxy-galaxy weak lensing. However, for scales ≲2 arcmin, the signal can be reproduced if SDSS/GAMA galaxies act as signposts of galaxy groups/clusters with halo masses in the range 1013.2-1014.5 M⊙. The signal detected on larger scales appears to reflect the clustering of such haloes. © 2014 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.