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Missing baryons recovered: A measurement of the gas fraction in galaxies and groups with the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect and CMB lensing

Boryana Hadzhiyska1,2,3,4,*, Simone Ferraro1,2, Gerrit S. Farren1,2, Noah Sailer2,1, and Rongpu Zhou1,2

  • *Contact author: boryanah@alumni.princeton.edu
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Phys. Rev. D 112, 123507 – Published 3 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/mdhz-fgj8

Abstract

We present new constraints on the halo masses and matter density profiles of DESI galaxy groups by cross-correlating samples of luminous red galaxies (LRGs) and bright galaxy survey (BGS) galaxies with the publicly available CMB lensing convergence map from ACT DR6. This provides an independent, lensing-based calibration of halo masses, complementary to methods relying on clustering or dynamics. We derive constraints on the mean halo mass for three DESI-selected samples, finding log(Mhalo/(M⊙/h))≈13.18, 13.03 and 13.02 for the main LRG, extended LRG, and BGS samples, respectively. Using a halo model approach, we also compare the projected galaxy-matter density profiles with previously reported gas profiles inferred from measurements of the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (kSZ) effect. This work addresses one of the key uncertainties in interpreting kSZ signals—the unknown host halo mass distribution—by providing an independent and consistent mass calibration. The agreement between the gas and total mass profiles at large aperture suggests that sufficiently far from the group center (2–3 virial radii), we recover all the baryons, offering a resolution to the missing baryon problem. We further study the cumulative gas fractions for all galaxies as well as for the most massive galaxy groups in the sample [log(Mhalo/(M⊙/h))≈13.5], finding values that are physically sensible and in agreement with previous findings using kSZ and x-ray data: compared to the TNG300 simulation, the observed gas fractions are systematically lower at fixed radius by ≳4σ, providing compelling, independent evidence for stronger baryonic feedback in the real Universe. These findings highlight the power of combining CMB lensing with galaxy surveys to probe the interplay between baryons and dark matter in group-sized halos.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 123507– Published 3 December, 2025
  • Received 26 August 2025
  • Accepted 7 November 2025
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