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M. James Jee

Yonsei University · Physics and Astronomy

About the Lab

Professor M. James Jee's research lab specializes in observational cosmology and strong/weak gravitational lensing using high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope data, with a focus on mapping dark matter distributions in galaxy clusters. The lab develops advanced image analysis techniques—particularly point spread function (PSF) modeling and principal component analysis—to correct for instrumental and optical distortions in ACS/WFC data, enabling precise weak-lensing measurements. Key research directions include studying the mass structure of high-redshift clusters, probing the nature of dark matter through anomalies like 'dark cores,' and constructing accurate PSF libraries for improved photometric and morphological analysis. The lab also contributes to digital scholarly infrastructure, such as virtual libraries for Latin American studies, reflecting a broader commitment to open science and data accessibility.

gravitational lensingdark matterHubble Space TelescopePSF modelinggalaxy clusters

Research Overview

Papers
187
Total Citations
6,534
Papers (5y)
62
Primary Field
Physics and Astronomy

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
62total
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Citations per year (5y)
504total
20222023202420252026

Selected Papers

15
1
Article|132 citations·2007
Principal Component Analysis of the Time- and Position-dependent Point-Spread Function of the Advanced Camera for Surveys
M. James Jee, John P. Blakeslee, M. Sirianni, A. R. Martel, R. L. White, H. C. Ford
SJR Q1Publications of the Astronomical Society of the PacificOA

We describe the time-and position-dependent point spread function (PSF) variation of the Wide Field Channel (WFC) of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) with the principal component analysis (PCA) technique. The timedependent change is caused by the temporal variation of the HST focus whereas the position-dependent PSF variation in ACS/WFC at a given focus is mainly the result of changes in aberrations and charge diffusion across the detector, which appear as position-dependent changes in elon

Aerospace EngineeringEngineering
2
Article|128 citations·2011
SCALING RELATIONS AND OVERABUNDANCE OF MASSIVE CLUSTERS ATz≳ 1 FROM WEAK-LENSING STUDIES WITH THEHUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
M. James Jee, Kyle Dawson, Henk Hoekstra, S. Perlmutter, P. Rosati, M. Brodwin, N. Suzuki, Benjamin P. Koester, Marc Postman, L. M. Lubin, J. Meyers, S. A. Stanford
SJR Q1The Astrophysical JournalOA

Americanae nace como un proyecto conjunto que surge dentro de la Red Europea de Información y Documentación sobre América Latina (REDIAL), y que ha afrontado la Biblioteca de la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID). Esta nueva biblioteca virtual hace más accesibles los libros digitales de tema americanista a los investigadores y usuarios interesados de cualquier parte del mundo.

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
3
Article|115 citations·2009
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPEWEAK-LENSING STUDY OF THE GALAXY CLUSTER XMMU J2235.3 – 2557 ATz∼ 1.4: A SURPRISINGLY MASSIVE GALAXY CLUSTER WHEN THE UNIVERSE IS ONE-THIRD OF ITS CURRENT AGE
M. James Jee, P. Rosati, H. C. Ford, Kyle Dawson, C. Lidman, S. Perlmutter, R. Demarco, V. Strazzullo, C. R. Mullis, H. Böhringer, R. Fassbender
SJR Q1The Astrophysical JournalOA

We present a weak-lensing analysis of the z similar or equal to 1.4 galaxy cluster XMMU J2235.3-2557, based on deep Advanced Camera for Surveys images. Despite the observational challenge set by the high redshift of the lens, we detect a substantial lensing signal at the greater than or similar to 8 sigma level. This clear detection is enabled in part by the high mass of the cluster, which is verified by our both parametric and non-parametric estimation of the cluster mass. Assuming that the clu

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
4
Article|110 citations·2004
Weak‐Lensing Analysis of thez ≃ 0.8 Cluster CL 0152−1357 with the Advanced Camera for Surveys
M. James Jee, R. L. White, N. Benı́tez, H. C. Ford, John P. Blakeslee, P. Rosati, R. Demarco, G. D. Illingworth
SJR Q1The Astrophysical JournalOA

We present a weak lensing analysis of the X-ray luminous cluster CL 0152-1357 at z~0.84 using HST/ACS observations. The unparalleled resolution and sensitivity of ACS enable us to measure weakly distorted, faint background galaxies to the extent that the number density reaches ~175 arcmin^-2. The PSF of ACS has a complicated shape that also varies across the field. We construct a PSF model for ACS from an extensive investigation of 47 Tuc stars in a modestly crowded region. We show that this mod

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
5
Article|108 citations·2014
WEIGHING “EL GORDO” WITH A PRECISION SCALE:HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPEWEAK-LENSING ANALYSIS OF THE MERGING GALAXY CLUSTER ACT-CL J0102–4915 ATz= 0.87
M. James Jee, John P. Hughes, F. Menanteau, Cristobál Sifón, Rachel Mandelbaum, L. Felipe Barrientos, L. Infante, Karen Ng
SJR Q1The Astrophysical JournalOA

Americanae nace como un proyecto conjunto que surge dentro de la Red Europea de Información y Documentación sobre América Latina (REDIAL), y que ha afrontado la Biblioteca de la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID). Esta nueva biblioteca virtual hace más accesibles los libros digitales de tema americanista a los investigadores y usuarios interesados de cualquier parte del mundo.

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
6
Article|99 citations·2012
A STUDY OF THE DARK CORE IN A520 WITH THEHUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE: THE MYSTERY DEEPENS
M. James Jee, Andisheh Mahdavi, Henk Hoekstra, Arif Babul, Julianne J. Dalcanton, P. Carroll, P. Capak
SJR Q1The Astrophysical JournalOA

We present a Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 weak-lensing study of A520, where a previous analysis of ground-based data suggested the presence of a dark mass concentration. We map the complex mass structure in much greater detail, leveraging more than a factor of three increase in the number density of source galaxies available for lensing analysis. The "dark core" that is coincident with the X-ray gas peak, but not with any stellar luminosity peak, is now detected with more

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
7
Article|73 citations·2015
MC2: CONSTRAINING THE DARK MATTER DISTRIBUTION OF THE VIOLENT MERGING GALAXY CLUSTER CIZA J2242.8+5301 BY PIERCING THROUGH THE MILKY WAY
M. James Jee, Andra Stroe, William A. Dawson, David Wittman, Henk Hoekstra, M. Brüggen, H. J. A. Röttgering, David Sobral, R. J. van Weeren
SJR Q1The Astrophysical JournalOA

The galaxy cluster CIZA J2242.8+5301 at z = 0.19 is a merging system with a prominent (2 Mpc long) radio relic, which together with the morphology of the X-ray emission provides strong evidence for a violent collision along the north-south axis. We present our constraints on the dark matter distribution of this unusual system using Subaru and Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope imaging data. Measuring a high signal-to-noise ratio lensing signal from this cluster is potentially a challenging task beca

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
8
Article|70 citations·2023
How to use GP: effects of the mean function and hyperparameter selection on Gaussian process regression
Seung-gyu Hwang, Benjamin L’Huillier, Ryan E. Keeley, M. James Jee, Arman Shafieloo
SJR Q2Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle PhysicsOA

Abstract Gaussian processes have been widely used in cosmology to reconstruct cosmological quantities in a model-independent way. However, the validity of the adopted mean function and hyperparameters, and the dependence of the results on the choice have not been well explored. In this paper, we study the effects of the underlying mean function and the hyperparameter selection on the reconstruction of the distance moduli from type Ia supernovae. We show that the choice of an arbitrary mean funct

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
9
Article|69 citations·2005
Hubble Space TelescopeAdvanced Camera for Surveys Weak‐Lensing andChandraX‐Ray Studies of the High‐Redshift Cluster MS 1054−0321
M. James Jee, R. L. White, H. C. Ford, John P. Blakeslee, G. D. Illingworth, Dan Coe, Kim‐Vy Tran
SJR Q1The Astrophysical JournalOA

We present Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) weak-lensing and Chandra X-ray analyses of MS 1054-0321 at z=0.83, the most distant and X-ray luminous cluster in the Einstein Extended Medium-Sensitivity Survey (EMSS). The high-resolution mass reconstruction through ACS weak-lensing reveals the complicated dark matter substructure in unprecedented detail, characterized by the three dominant mass clumps with the four or more minor satellite groups within the current ACS field.

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
10
Article|41 citations·2009
DARK MATTER IN THE GALAXY CLUSTER CL J1226+3332 ATz= 0.89
M. James Jee, J. A. Tyson
SJR Q1The Astrophysical JournalOA

We present a weak-lensing analysis of the galaxy cluster CL J1226+3332 at z=0.89 using Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys images. The cluster is the hottest (>10 keV), most X-ray luminous system at z>0.6 known to date. The relaxed X-ray morphology, as well as its high temperature, is unusual at such a high redshift. Our mass reconstruction shows that on a large scale the dark matter distribution is consistent with a relaxed system with no significant substructures. However,

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
11
Article|39 citations·2023
Intracluster light is already abundant at redshift beyond unity
Hyungjin Joo, M. James Jee
SJR Q1NatureOA
Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
12
Article|36 citations·2021
Head-to-Toe Measurement of El Gordo: Improved Analysis of the Galaxy Cluster ACT-CL J0102–4915 with New Wide-field Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Data
Jinhyub Kim, M. James Jee, John P. Hughes, Mijin Yoon, Kim HyeongHan, F. Menanteau, Cristobál Sifón, Luke Hovey, Prasiddha Arunachalam
SJR Q1The Astrophysical JournalOA

Abstract We present an improved weak-lensing (WL) study of the high- z ( z = 0.87) merging galaxy cluster ACT-CL J0102–4915 (“El Gordo”) based on new wide-field Hubble Space Telescope imaging data. The new imaging data cover the ∼3.5 × ∼3.5 Mpc region centered on the cluster and enable us to detect WL signals beyond the virial radius, which was not possible in previous studies. We confirm the binary mass structure consisting of the northwestern (NW) and southeastern (SE) subclusters and the ∼2 σ

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
13
Article|29 citations·2020
Discovery of a Radio Relic in the Massive Merging Cluster SPT-CL J2023-5535 from the ASKAP-EMU Pilot Survey
Kim HyeongHan, M. James Jee, L. Rudnick, David Parkinson, Kyle Finner, Mijin Yoon, Wonki Lee, G. Brunetti, M. Brüggen, J. D. Collier, Andrew Hopkins, M. J. Michałowski
SJR Q1The Astrophysical JournalOA

Abstract The ASKAP-EMU survey is a deep wide-field radio continuum survey designed to cover the entire southern sky and a significant fraction of the northern sky up to +30°. Here, we report a discovery of a radio relic in the merging cluster SPT-CL J2023-5535 at z = 0.23 from the ASKAP-EMU pilot 300 square degree survey (800–1088 MHz). The deep high-resolution data reveal a ∼2 Mpc scale radio halo elongated in the east–west direction, coincident with the intracluster gas. The radio relic is loc

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
14
Article|29 citations·2021
Exemplary Merging Clusters: Weak-lensing and X-Ray Analysis of the Double Radio Relic, Merging Galaxy Clusters MACS J1752.0+4440 and ZWCL 1856.8+6616
Kyle Finner, Kim HyeongHan, M. James Jee, David Wittman, W. Forman, R. J. van Weeren, Nathan Golovich, William A. Dawson, A. Jones, F. de Gasperin, C. Jones
SJR Q1The Astrophysical JournalOA

Abstract The investigation of merging galaxy clusters that exhibit radio relics is strengthening our understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxy clusters, the nature of dark matter, the intracluster medium, and astrophysical particle acceleration. Each merging cluster provides only a single view of the cluster formation process, and the variety of merging clusters is vast. Clusters hosting double radio relics are rare and extremely important because they allow tight constraints on the

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy
15
Article|24 citations·2024
Precision MARS Mass Reconstruction of A2744: Synergizing the Largest Strong-lensing and Densest Weak-lensing Data Sets from JWST
Sangjun Cha, Kim HyeongHan, Zachary P. Scofield, Hyungjin Joo, M. James Jee
SJR Q1The Astrophysical JournalOA

Abstract We present a new high-resolution free-form mass model of A2744 that combines both weak-lensing (WL) and strong-lensing (SL) data sets from JWST. The SL data set comprises 286 multiple images, presenting the most extensive SL constraint to date for a single cluster. The WL data set, employing photo- z selection, yields a source density of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mo>∼</mml:mo> <mml:mn>350</mml:mn> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:m

Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy

Research Areas

Astronomy and AstrophysicsInstrumentationNuclear and High Energy PhysicsAtomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsComputational MechanicsAerospace Engineering

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