Sunyaev Zeldovich cluster surveys can be used to constrain cosmological parameters. Extracting clusters from the primary anisotropies and the unresolved background from very faint clusters is simple when the telescope beam size is small (1 arcmin), but could be difficult if the beam is larger (8 arcmin). By reference to examples, we show that this is possible by carefully designing the depth of the survey.
We discuss how future cluster surveys can constrain cosmological parameters with particular reference to the properties of the dark energy component responsible for the observed acceleration of the universe by probing the evolution of the surface density of clusters as a function of redshift. We explain how the abundance of clusters selected using their Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect can be computed as a function of the observed flux and redshift taking into account observational effects due to a finite beam-size. By constructing an idealized set of simulated observations for a fiducial model, we forecast the likely constraints that might be possible for a variety of proposed surveys which are assumed to be flux limited. We find that Sunyaev-Zeldovich cluster surveys can provide vital complementary information to those expected from surveys for supernovae. We analyse the impact of statistical and systematic uncertainties and find that they only slightly limit our ability to constrain the equation of state of the dark energy component.
We discuss the prospects of constraining the properties of a dark energy component, with particular reference to a time varying equation of state, using future cluster surveys selected by their Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. We compute the number of clusters expected for a given set of cosmological parameters and propogate the errors expected from a variety of surveys. In the short term they will constrain dark energy in conjunction with future observations of type Ia supernovae, but may in time do so in their own right.
We consider the optimum depth of a cluster survey selected using the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. By using simple models for the evolution of the cluster mass function and detailed modeling for a variety of observational techniques, we show that the optimum survey yield is achieved when the average size of the clusters selected is close to the size of the telescope beam. For a total power measurement, we compute the optimum noise threshold per beam as a function of the beam size and then discuss how our results can be used in more general situations. As a by-product we gain some insight into what is the most advantageous instrumental set-up. In the case of beam switching observations one is not severely limited if one manages to set the noise threshold close to the point which corresponds to the optimum yield. By defining a particular reference configuration, we show how our results can be applied to interferometer observations. Considering a variety of alternative scenarios, we discuss how robust our conclusions are to modifications in the cluster model and cosmological parameters. The precise optimum is particularly sensitive to the amplitude of fluctuations and the profile of the gas in the cluster.
X-ray observations of an entropy floor in nearby groups and clusters of galaxies offer evidence that important non-gravitational processes, such as radiative cooling and/or preheating, have strongly influenced the evolution of the intracluster medium (ICM). We examine how the presence of an entropy floor modifies the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect. A detailed analysis of scaling relations between X-ray and SZ effect observables and also between the two primary SZ effect observables is presented. We find that relationships between the central Compton parameter and the temperature or mass of a cluster are extremely sensitive to the presence of an entropy floor. The same is true for correlations between the integrated Compton parameter and the X-ray luminosity or the central Compton parameter. In fact, if the entropy floor is as high as inferred in recent analyses of X-ray data, a comparison of these correlations with both current and future SZ effect observations should show a clear signature of this excess entropy. Moreover, because the SZ effect is redshift-independent, the relations can potentially be used to track the evolution of the cluster gas and possibly discriminate between the possible sources of the excess entropy. To facilitate comparisons with observations, we provide analytic fits to these scaling relations.
Using $sim$140 deg$^2$ Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) survey data, we stack the weak lensing (WL) signal around five Planck clusters found within the footprint. This yields a 15$sigma$ detection of the mean Planck cluster mass density profile. The five Planck clusters span a relatively wide mass range, $M_{rm WL,500c} = (2-30)times10^{14},M_odot/h$ with a mean mass of $M_{rm WL,500c} = (4.15pm0.61)times10^{14},M_odot/h$. The ratio of the stacked Planck Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) mass to the stacked WL mass is $ langle M_{rm SZ}rangle/langle M_{rm WL}rangle = 1-b = 0.80pm0.14$. This mass bias is consistent with previous WL mass calibrations of Planck clusters within the errors. We discuss the implications of our findings for the calibration of SZ cluster counts and the much discussed tension between Planck SZ cluster counts and Planck $Lambda$CDM cosmology.