Cosmological Parameters from Cosmic Shear

Abstract

We present simulations of a cosmic shear survey and show how the survey geometry influences the accuracy of determination of cosmological parameters. We numerically calculate the full covariance matrices of the two-point statistics ξ_+, ξ_- and <Map^2> and use maximum likelihood and Fisher matrix analyses in order to derive expected constraints on the cosmological parameters Ω_m, σ_8, Γ, n_s and Ω_Λ.

5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Proc. of "Marseille 2003 - Where Cosmology and Fundamental Physics meet", 23-26 June 2003, Marseille (France)