Accurate Analytic Model for the Weak Lensing Convergence One-Point Probability Distribution Function and its Auto-Covariance

Understand

The one-point probability distribution function (PDF) is a powerful summary statistic for non-Gaussian cosmological fields, such as the weak lensing (WL) convergence reconstructed from galaxy shapes or cosmic microwave background (CMB) maps.

• Thus far, no analytic model has been developed that successfully describes the high-convergence tail of the WL convergence PDF for small smoothing scales from first principles.
• Here, we present a halo-model formalism to compute the WL convergence PDF, building upon our previous results for the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich field.
• Furthermore, we extend our formalism to analytically compute the covariance matrix of the convergence PDF.