2004/04/30 by B. A. Benson, P. A. R. Ade, S. Church +7 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Cluster (spacecraft) #Cooling flow #Flux (metallurgy) #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Galaxy cluster #Intracluster medium #Physics #Redshift #Scaling #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/425677
published as Astrophys.J. 617 (2004) 829-846 · Accepted to Astrophysical Journal. 52 pages, 14 tables, 7 figures ;replaced to match ApJ accepted version
arxiv created 2004/09/06 · openalex publication_date 2004/12/18 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We present new measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect from clusters of galaxies using the second-generation Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Infrared Experiment (SuZIE II). We combine these new measurements with previous cluster observations with the SuZIE instrument to form a sample of 15 clusters of galaxies. For this sample we calculate the central Comptonization y 0 and the integrated SZ flux decrement S for each of our clusters. We find that the integrated SZ flux is a more robust observable derived from our measurements than the central Comptonization because of inadequacies in the spatial modeling of the intracluster gas with a standard β-model. This is highlighted by comparing our central Comptonization results with values calculated from measurements using the BIMA and OVRO interferometers. On average, the SuZIE-calculated central Comptonizations are ~60% higher in the cooling flow clusters than the interferometric values, compared to only ~12% higher in the non-cooling flow clusters. We believe this discrepancy to be in large part due to the spatial modeling of the intracluster gas. From our cluster sample we construct y 0 - T and S - T scaling relations. The y 0 - T scaling relation is inconsistent with what we would expect for self-similar clusters; however, this result is questionable because of the large systematic uncertainty in y 0 . The S - T scaling relation has a slope and redshift evolution consistent with what we expect for self-similar clusters, with a characteristic density that scales with the mean density of the universe. We rule out zero-redshift evolution of the S - T relation at ~90% confidence.