Mapping Dark Matter from the Stratosphere: A First-of-Its-Kind Weak-Lensing Mission (SuperBIT)

by Dr Sayan Saha (Northeastern University)

Thursday 24 Sept 2026, 15:00 → 16:00 US/Eastern

Small Seminar Room (Building 510)

Merging galaxy clusters provide a unique laboratory to study the interplay between baryonic and dark matter. X-ray emission, SZ signal and galaxy richness trace the baryonic component, while weak gravitational lensing offers the most direct probe of the total, predominantly dark matter distribution, requiring highly precise galaxy-shape measurements.
I will present results from the Super Pressure Balloon-borne Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT), a first-of-its-kind stratospheric weak-lensing mission targeting ~30 merging galaxy clusters. SuperBIT paves the way for space-quality imaging at orders of magnitude lower cost than traditional space telescopes, offering a promising model for future surveys. I will briefly describe the galaxy-shape measurement pipeline we developed (arXiv:2603.18376), highlight key systematics, and show preliminary convergence maps of several clusters - the first weak-lensing mass reconstructions from the stratosphere.

 

Zoom link:  https://bnl.zoomgov.com/j/16001410126?pwd=LO1VgLQipgjIfQpOlKB6szuFxr7L7g.1