Modeling Integrated Properties and the Polarization of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect

Abstract

Two little explored aspects of Compton scattering of the CMB in clusters are discussed: The statistical properties of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (S-Z) effect in the context of a non-Gaussian density fluctuation field, and the polarization patterns in a hydrodynamcially-simulated cluster. We have calculated and compared the power spectrum and cluster number counts predicted within the framework of two density fields that yield different cluster mass functions at high redshifts. This is done for the usual Press & Schechter mass function, which is based on a Gaussian density fluctuation field, and for a mass function based on a chi^2-distributed density field. We quantify the significant differences in the respective integrated S-Z observables in these two models. S-Z polarization levels and patterns strongly depend on the non-uniform distributions of intracluster gas and on peculiar and internal velocities. We have therefore calculated the patterns of two polarization components that are produced when the CMB is doubly scattered in a simulated cluster. These are found to be very different than the patterns calculated based on spherical clusters with uniform structure and simplified gas distribution.

arXiv comment22 pages, 25 figures, Proceedings of the Francesco Melchiorri memorial conference, New Astronomy Reviews, in press

References in corpus (20)

• Cosmology with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect
• HOP: A New Group-Finding Algorithm for N-body Simulations
• The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich angular power spectrum as a probe of cosmological parameters
• High Resolution Observations of the CMB Power Spectrum with ACBAR
• The Anisotropy of the Microwave Background to l = 3500: Deep Field Observations with the Cosmic Background Imager
• Hydrodynamic Simulations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect(s)
• The 160 Square Degree ROSAT Survey: the Revised Catalog of 201 Clusters with Spectroscopic Redshifts
• Microwave polarization in the direction of galaxy clusters induced by the CMB quadrupole anisotropy
• An Isocurvature CDM Cosmogony. I. A Worked Example of Evolution Through Inflation
• Constraints on a non-gaussian (${\chi }_m^2$) CDM model
• Evolution of Cluster X-Ray Luminosities and Radii: Results from the 160 Square Degree ROSAT Survey
• Contributions to the Power Spectrum of Cosmic Microwave Background from Fluctuations Caused by Clusters of Galaxies
• MITO measurements of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect in the Coma cluster of galaxies
• The case for non-gaussianity on cluster scales
• Scientific optimization of a ground-based CMB polarization experiment
• Intracluster Comptonization of the CMB: Mean Spectral Distrortion and Cluster Number Counts
• Quantitative Description of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect: Analytic Approximations
• SZ polarisation as a probe of the intracluster medium
• Impact of a non-Gaussian density field on Sunyaev-Zeldovich observables
• CMB Comptonization in Clusters: Spectral and Angular Power from Evolving Polytropic Gas