No Arabic abstract
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 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.
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 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.
In this work we calculate the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect due to the $e^+e^-$ from dark matter (DM) annihilation in galaxy clusters. Two candidates of DM particle, (1) the weakly-interacting massive particle (WIMP) and (2) the light dark matter (LDM) are investigated. For each case, we also consider several DM profiles with and without central cusp. We generally find smaller signals than previously reported. Moreover, the diffusion of electrons and positrons in the galaxy clusters, which was generally thought to be negligible, is considered and found to have significant effect on the central electron/positron distribution for DM profile with large spatial gradient. We find that the SZ effect from WIMP is almost always non-observable, even for the highly cuspy DM profile, and using the next generation SZ interferometer such as ALMA. Although the signal of the LDM is much larger than that of the WIMP, the final SZ effect is still very small due to the smoothing effect of diffusion. Only for the configuration with large central cusp and extremely small diffusion effect, the LDM induced SZ effect might have a bit chance of being detected.
Galaxy cluster surveys provide a powerful means of studying the density and nature of the dark energy. The redshift distribution of detected clusters in a deep, large solid angle SZE or X-ray survey is highly sensitive to the dark energy equation of state. Accurate constraints at the 5% level on the dark energy equation of state require that systematic biases in the mass estimators must be controlled at better than the ~10% level. Observed regularity in the cluster population and the availability of multiple, independent mass estimators suggests these precise measurements are possible. Using hydrodynamical simulations that include preheating, we show that the level of preheating required to explain local galaxy cluster structure has a dramatic effect on X-ray cluster surveys, but only a mild effect on SZE surveys. This suggests that SZE surveys may be optimal for cosmology while X-ray surveys are well suited for studies of the thermal history of the intracluster medium.