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The Hubble Frontier Fields program combines the capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) with the gravitational lensing of massive galaxy clusters to probe the distant universe to an unprecedented depth. Here, we present the results of the first combined HST and Spitzer observations of the cluster A-2744. We combine the full near-infrared data with ancillary optical images to search for gravitationally lensed high-redshift (z ≳ 6) galaxies. We report the detection of 15 I814 dropout candidates at z ∼ 6-7 and one Y105 dropout at z ∼ 8 in a total survey area of 1.43 arcmin2 in the source plane. The predictions of our lens model also allow us to identify five multiply imaged systems lying at redshifts between z ∼ 6 and z ∼ 8. Thanks to constraints from the mass distribution in the cluster, we were able to estimate the effective survey volume corrected for completeness and magnification effects. This was in turn used to estimate the rest-frame ultraviolet luminosity function (LF) at z ∼ 6-8. Our LF results are generally in agreement with the most recent blank field estimates, confirming the feasibility of surveys through lensing clusters. Although based on a shallower observations than what will be achieved in the final data set including the full Advanced Camera for Survey observations, the LF presented here goes down to MUV ∼–18.5, corresponding to 0.2L⋆ at z ∼ 7 with one identified object at MUV ∼–15 thanks to the highly magnified survey areas. This early study forecasts the power of using massive galaxy clusters as cosmic telescopes and its complementarity to blank fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploiting the power of gravitational lensing, the Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) program aims at observing six massive galaxy clusters to explore the distant universe far beyond the limits of blank field surveys. Using the complete Hubble Space Telescope observations of the first HFF cluster A2744, we report the detection of 50 galaxy candidates at z ∼ 7 and eight candidates at z ∼ 8 in a total survey area of 0.96 arcmin2 in the source plane. Three of these galaxies are multiply imaged by the lensing cluster. Using an updated model of the mass distribution in the cluster we were able to calculate the magnification factor and the effective survey volume for each galaxy in order to compute the ultraviolet galaxy luminosity function (LF) at both redshifts 7 and 8. Our new measurements reliably extend the z ∼ 7 UV LF down to an absolute magnitude of MUV ∼ –15.5. We find a characteristic magnitude of mag and a faint-end slope , close to previous determinations in blank fields. We show here for the first time that this slope remains steep down to very faint luminosities of 0.01 L⋆. Although prone to large uncertainties, our results at z ∼ 8 also seem to confirm a steep faint-end slope below 0.1 L⋆. The HFF program is therefore providing an extremely efficient way to study the faintest galaxy populations at z > 7 that would otherwise be inaccessible with current instrumentation. The full sample of six galaxy clusters will provide even better constraints on the buildup of galaxies at early epochs and their contribution to cosmic reionization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first weak gravitational lensing analysis of the completed Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS). We study the 64 deg2 W1 field, the largest of the CFHTLS-Wide survey fields, and present the largest contiguous weak lensing convergence “mass map” yet made. 2.66 million galaxy shapes are measured, using the Kaiser Squires and Broadhurst Method (KSB) pipeline verified against high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging that covers part of the CFHTLS. Our i′-band measurements are also consistent with an analysis of independent r′-band imaging. The reconstructed lensing convergence map contains 301 peaks with signal-to-noise ratio ν > 3.5, consistent with predictions of a ΛCDM model. Of these peaks, 126 lie within 3.′0 of a brightest central galaxy identified from multicolor optical imaging in an independent, red sequence survey. We also identify seven counterparts for massive clusters previously seen in X-ray emission within 6 deg2 XMM-LSS survey. With photometric redshift estimates for the source galaxies, we use a tomographic lensing method to fit the redshift and mass of each convergence peak. Matching these to the optical observations, we confirm 85 groups/clusters with χ2reduced < 3.0, at a mean redshift 〈 zc〉 = 0.36 and velocity dispersion 〈 σc〉 = 658.8 km s–1. Future surveys, such as DES, LSST, KDUST, and EUCLID, will be able to apply these techniques to map clusters in much larger volumes and thus tightly constrain cosmological models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]