Weak Lensing and Supernovae: Complementary Probes of Dark Energy

Abstract

Weak lensing observations and supernova observations, combined with CMB observations, can both provide powerful constraints on dark energy properties. Considering statistical errors only, we find luminosity distances inferred from 2000 supernovae and large-scale (l < 1000) angular power spectra inferred from redshift-binned cosmic shear maps place complementary constraints on w_0 and w_a where w(z) = w_0 + w_a(a-1). Further, each set of observations can constrain higher-dimensional parameterizations of w(z); we consider eigenmodes of the w(z) error covariance matrix and find such datasets can each constrain the amplitude of about 5 w(z) eigenmodes. We also consider another parameterization of the dark energy.

8 pages, to appear in Observing Dark Energy (NOAO/Tucson proceedings)