  Using local morphological measures on the sphere defined through a steerable
wavelet analysis, we examine the three-year WMAP and the NVSS data for
correlation induced by the integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect. The steerable
wavelet constructed from the second derivative of a Gaussian allows one to
define three local morphological measures, namely the signed-intensity,
orientation and elongation of local features. Detections of correlation between
the WMAP and NVSS data are made with each of these morphological measures. The
most significant detection is obtained in the correlation of the
signed-intensity of local features at a significance of 99.9%. By inspecting
signed-intensity sky maps, it is possible for the first time to see the
correlation between the WMAP and NVSS data by eye. Foreground contamination and
instrumental systematics in the WMAP data are ruled out as the source of all
significant detections of correlation. Our results provide new insight on the
ISW effect by probing the morphological nature of the correlation induced
between the cosmic microwave background and large scale structure of the
Universe. Given the current constraints on the flatness of the Universe, our
detection of the ISW effect again provides direct and independent evidence for
dark energy. Moreover, this new morphological analysis may be used in future to
help us to better understand the nature of dark energy.
