The Selection Function of SZ Cluster Surveys

Abstract

We study the nature of cluster selection in Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) surveys, focusing on single frequency observations and using Monte Carlo simulations incorporating instrumental effects, primary cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies and extragalactic point sources. Clusters are extracted from simulated maps with an optimal, multi-scale matched filter. We introduce a general definition for the survey selection function that provides a useful link between an observational catalog and theoretical predictions. The selection function defined over the observed quantities of flux and angular size is independent of cluster physics and cosmology, and thus provides a useful characterization of a survey. Selection expressed in terms of cluster mass and redshift, on the other hand, depends on both cosmology and cluster physics. We demonstrate that SZ catalogs are not simply flux limited, and illustrate how incorrect modeling of the selection function leads to biased estimates of cosmological parameters. The fact that SZ catalogs are not flux limited complicates survey ``calibration'' by requiring more detailed information on the relation between cluster observables and cluster mass.

Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 11 pages, 7 figures

References in corpus (28)

• First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Determination of Cosmological Parameters
• Final Results from the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project to Measure the Hubble Constant
• A Line of Sight Approach to Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies
• Mass function of dark matter halos
• An analytic model for the spatial clustering of dark matter haloes
• The Cosmic Triangle: Revealing the State of the Universe
• First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Foreground Emission
• Cosmology with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect
• Cluster Abundance Constraints on Quintessence Models
• Properties of the Intracluster Medium in an Ensemble of Nearby Galaxy Clusters
• The Evolution of X-ray Clusters of Galaxies
• Constraints on Cosmological Parameters from Future Galaxy Cluster Surveys
• Foregrounds and Forecasts for the Cosmic Microwave Background
• The HDF-North SCUBA Super-map I: Submillimetre maps, sources and number counts
• Multi-Detector Multi-Component spectral matching and applications for CMB data analysis
• Using the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect to determine the peculiar velocities of clusters of galaxies
• Power spectrum normalization from the local abundance of rich clusters of galaxies
• Foregrounds and CMB Experiments: I. Semi-analytical estimates of contamination
• Filtering techniques for the detection of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich clusters in multifrequency CMB maps
• Self-Consistency and Calibration of Cluster Number Count Surveys for Dark Energy
• Expectations For an Interferometric Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Survey for Galaxy Clusters
• ACBAR: The Arcminute Cosmology Bolometer Array Receiver
• Surveying the Sky with the Arcminute MicroKelvin Imager: Expected Constraints on Galaxy Cluster Evolution and Cosmology
• The Selection Function of SZ Cluster Surveys
• The Bright SHARC Survey: The Selection Function and its Impact on the Cluster X-ray Luminosity Function
• Surveys of Galaxy Clusters with the Sunyaev Zel'dovich Effect
• Studying clusters with Planck
• Lensing Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Clusters

Cited by in corpus (30)

• Galaxy clusters discovered with a Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect survey
• The pre-launch Planck Sky Model: a model of sky emission at submillimetre to centimetre wavelengths
• Catalog Extraction in SZ Cluster Surveys: a matched filter approach
• The XMM-LSS survey: the Class 1 cluster sample over the initial 5 square degrees and its cosmological modelling
• Radio Sources in Galaxy Clusters: Radial Distribution, and 1.4 GHz and K-band Bivariate Luminosity Function
• The XMM Cluster Survey: X-ray analysis methodology
• Cosmology from the Thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Power Spectrum: Primordial non-Gaussianity and Massive Neutrinos
• Matched filter optimization of kSZ measurements with a reconstructed cosmological flow field
• Spherical collapse in modified gravity with the Birkhoff-theorem
• Microwave-Sky Simulations and Projections for Galaxy Cluster Detection with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope
• A Comparison of Algorithms for the Construction of SZ Cluster Catalogues
• Gas contents of galaxy groups from thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects
• The Selection Function of SZ Cluster Surveys
• Exploring the contamination of the DES-Y1 Cluster Sample with SPT-SZ selected clusters
• Reconstructing Sunyaev-Zeldovich clusters in future CMB experiments
• Understanding the relation between thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich decrement and halo mass using the SIMBA and TNG simulations
• Impact of Systematic Errors in Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Surveys of Galaxy Clusters
• Exploring the thermal energy contents of the intergalactic medium with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect
• Effect of component separation on the temperature distribution of the CMB
• Uncertainties in the S-Z selected cluster angular power spectrum
• The Planck SZ Cluster Catalog: Expected X-ray Properties
• The Impact of Non-Equipartition on Cosmological Parameter Estimation from Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Surveys
• Scaling relations of clusters and groups, and their evolution
• A Search for Neutron Star Precession and Interstellar Magnetic Field Variations via Multiepoch Pulsar Polarimetry
• Point Source Confusion in SZ Cluster Surveys
• Characterising galaxy clusters' completeness function in Planck with hydrodynamical simulations
• Sunyaev-Zel'dovich galaxy clusters number counts : consequences of cluster scaling laws evolution
• Validating Planck SZ2 Clusters with Optical Counterparts
• The SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey: The morphologies of clusters of galaxies: II. The intrinsic distributions of morphological parameters
• AutoEnRichness: A hybrid empirical and analytical approach for estimating the richness of galaxy clusters