High Resolution Observations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect in Clusters of Galaxies and High-z Galaxies at 90 GHz Using the GBT

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to observe clusters of galaxies using the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect, which is the diminution of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation as it passes through hot cluster gas. The project will use the MUSTANG bolometer camera on the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to make high sensitivity cluster maps at 90 GHz with 9 arcsecond resolution, the highest ever for SZ measurements. It will exploit this high resolution and sensitivity to search for shocks, for evidence of helium sedimentation, and to compare mass estimates from SZ scaling relations to those based on weak lensing data. It will also carry out a finder survey for the high-redshift tail of millimeter-wave galaxies for ALMA follow-up. Broader impacts of the work include training of undergraduate and graduate students, developing high frequency capability for the GBT, and providing continued access to MUSTANG for the general astronomical community.