We present a velocity dispersion-based mass calibration of the South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect survey (SPT-SZ) galaxy cluster sample. Using a homogeneously selected sample of 100 cluster candidates from 720 deg2 of the survey along with 63 velocity dispersion ($sigma_v$) and 16 X-ray Yx measurements of sample clusters, we simultaneously calibrate the mass-observable relation and constrain cosmological parameters. The calibrations using $sigma_v$ and Yx are consistent at the $0.6sigma$ level, with the $sigma_v$ calibration preferring ~16% higher masses. We use the full cluster dataset to measure $sigma_8(Omega_ m/0.27)^{0.3}=0.809pm0.036$. The SPT cluster abundance is lower than preferred by either the WMAP9 or Planck+WMAP9 polarization (WP) data, but assuming the sum of the neutrino masses is $sum m_ u=0.06$ eV, we find the datasets to be consistent at the 1.0$sigma$ level for WMAP9 and 1.5$sigma$ for Planck+WP. Allowing for larger $sum m_ u$ further reconciles the results. When we combine the cluster and Planck+WP datasets with BAO and SNIa, the preferred cluster masses are $1.9sigma$ higher than the Yx calibration and $0.8sigma$ higher than the $sigma_v$ calibration. Given the scale of these shifts (~44% and ~23% in mass, respectively), we execute a goodness of fit test; it reveals no tension, indicating that the best-fit model provides an adequate description of the data. Using the multi-probe dataset, we measure $Omega_ m=0.299pm0.009$ and $sigma_8=0.829pm0.011$. Within a $ u$CDM model we find $sum m_ u = 0.148pm0.081$ eV. We present a consistency test of the cosmic growth rate. Allowing both the growth index $gamma$ and the dark energy equation of state parameter $w$ to vary, we find $gamma=0.73pm0.28$ and $w=-1.007pm0.065$, demonstrating that the expansion and the growth histories are consistent with a LCDM model ($gamma=0.55; ,w=-1$).
The Blanco Cosmology Survey (BCS) is a 60 night imaging survey of $sim$80 deg$^2$ of the southern sky located in two fields: ($alpha$,$delta$)= (5 hr, $-55^{circ}$) and (23 hr, $-55^{circ}$). The survey was carried out between 2005 and 2008 in $griz$ bands with the Mosaic2 imager on the Blanco 4m telescope. The primary aim of the BCS survey is to provide the data required to optically confirm and measure photometric redshifts for Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect selected galaxy clusters from the South Pole Telescope and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. We process and calibrate the BCS data, carrying out PSF corrected model fitting photometry for all detected objects. The median 10$sigma$ galaxy (point source) depths over the survey in $griz$ are approximately 23.3 (23.9), 23.4 (24.0), 23.0 (23.6) and 21.3 (22.1), respectively. The astrometric accuracy relative to the USNO-B survey is $sim45$ milli-arcsec. We calibrate our absolute photometry using the stellar locus in $grizJ$ bands, and thus our absolute photometric scale derives from 2MASS which has $sim2$% accuracy. The scatter of stars about the stellar locus indicates a systematics floor in the relative stellar photometric scatter in $griz$ that is $sim$1.9%, $sim$2.2%, $sim$2.7% and$sim$2.7%, respectively. A simple cut in the AstrOmatic star-galaxy classifier {tt spread_model} produces a star sample with good spatial uniformity. We use the resulting photometric catalogs to calibrate photometric redshifts for the survey and demonstrate scatter $delta z/(1+z)=0.054$ with an outlier fraction $eta<5$% to $zsim1$. We highlight some selected science results to date and provide a full description of the released data products.
