Sunyaev‐Zel'dovich Effect Signals in Cluster Models

2006/01/31 by Beth Reid, Beth A. Reid, David N. Spergel · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Complex Network Analysis Techniques #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #astro-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/507862

published as Astrophys.J.651:643-657,2006 · 40 pages, 9 figures, accepted by ApJ; minor changes to original sections, addition of section "Constraining ICM mass fraction" with discussion of the use of the kinetic SZ effect

arxiv created 2006/07/23 · openalex publication_date 2006/11/02 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

The upcoming generation of SZE surveys will shed fresh light onto the study of clusters. What will this new observational window reveal about cluster properties? What can we learn from combining X-ray, SZE, and optical observations? How do variations in the gas entropy profile, dark matter concentration, accretion pressure, and intracluster medium (ICM) mass fraction affect SZE observables? We investigate the signature of these important cluster parameters with an analytic model of the ICM. Given the current uncertainties in ICM physics, our approach is to span the range of plausible models motivated by observations and a small set of assumptions. We find a tight relation between the central Compton parameter and the X-ray luminosity outside the cluster core, suggesting that these observables carry the same information about the ICM. The total SZE luminosity is proportional to the thermal energy of the gas, and is a surprisingly robust indicator of cluster mass: L_SZ ∝ f_ICM M^5/3. We show that a combination of L_SZ and the half-luminosity radius r_SZ provides a measure of the potential energy of the cluster gas, and thus we can deduce the total energy content of the ICM. We caution that any systematic variation of the ICM mass fraction will distort the expected L_SZ - M calibration to be used to study the evolution of cluster number density, and propose a technique using kSZ to constrain f_ICM(M,z).

Citations

• Cosmological constraints from the local X-ray luminosity function of the most X-ray-luminous galaxy clusters
• Impact of systematic errors in Sunyaev–Zel’dovich surveys of galaxy clusters
• K‐band Properties of Galaxy Clusters and Groups: Brightest Cluster Galaxies and Intracluster Light
• The Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect
• Constraining dark energy with X-ray galaxy clusters, supernovae and the cosmic microwave background

Cited by

• Correlation of CMB with large-scale structure. II. Weak lensing
• The Impact of Galaxy Cluster Mergers on Cosmological Parameter Estimation from Surveys of the Sunyaev‐Zel’dovich Effect
• Three‐YearWilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe(WMAP) Observations: Implications for Cosmology