Abstract

Most statistical analyses currently performed on weak lensing cosmic shear data are focused on the evaluation of 2-point correlation functions (2PCFs). Several challenges (e.g. computationally expensive estimation, severe lack of theoretical models etc.) have kept the analysis of higher-order (beyond 2-point) statistics on data rather few. To overcome these challenges, we have introduced a practical and efficient to estimate higher-order cosmic shear statistic called the integrated 3-point correlation function (i3PCF). In this talk I will present the framework for measuring the i3PCF, modelling and speeding up their analytical predictions using neural network emulators, and show how compared to a 2PCF-only analysis, a combined 2PCF & i3PCF analysis can lead to significant improvements in the constraints of cosmological parameters as analysed on Dark Energy Survey Year 3 data. I will end the talk by discussing potential applications of the i3PCF within a simulation-based inference (SBI) framework.