438 research outputs found

    Frequency-Dependent Streaming Potential of Porous Media—Part 2: Experimental Measurement of Unconsolidated Materials

    Get PDF
    Frequency-dependent streaming potential coefficient measurements have been made upon Ottawa sand and glass bead packs using a new apparatus that is based on an electromagnetic drive. The apparatus operates in the range 1 Hz to 1 kHz with samples of 25.4 mm diameter up to 150 mm long. The results have been analysed using theoretical models that are either (i) based upon vibrational mechanics, (ii) treat the geological material as a bundle of capillary tubes, or (iii) treat the material as a porous medium. The best fit was provided by the Pride model and its simplification, which is satisfying as this model was conceived for porous media rather than capillary tube bundles. Values for the transition frequency were derived from each of the models for each sample and were found to be in good agreement with those expected from the independently measured effective pore radius of each material. The fit to the Pride model for all four samples was also found to be consistent with the independently measured steady-state permeability, while the value of the streaming potential coefficient in the low-frequency limit was found to be in good agreement with other steady-state streaming potential coefficient data

    Velocity Segregation and Systematic Biases In Velocity Dispersion Estimates With the SPT-GMOS Spectroscopic Survey

    Get PDF
    The velocity distribution of galaxies in clusters is not universal; rather, galaxies are segregated according to their spectral type and relative luminosity. We examine the velocity distributions of different populations of galaxies within 89 Sunyaev Zel'dovich (SZ) selected galaxy clusters spanning 0.28<z<1.08 0.28 < z < 1.08. Our sample is primarily draw from the SPT-GMOS spectroscopic survey, supplemented by additional published spectroscopy, resulting in a final spectroscopic sample of 4148 galaxy spectra---2868 cluster members. The velocity dispersion of star-forming cluster galaxies is 17±417\pm4% greater than that of passive cluster galaxies, and the velocity dispersion of bright (m<m0.5m < m^{*}-0.5) cluster galaxies is 11±411\pm4% lower than the velocity dispersion of our total member population. We find good agreement with simulations regarding the shape of the relationship between the measured velocity dispersion and the fraction of passive vs. star-forming galaxies used to measure it, but we find a small offset between this relationship as measured in data and simulations in which suggests that our dispersions are systematically low by as much as 3\% relative to simulations. We argue that this offset could be interpreted as a measurement of the effective velocity bias that describes the ratio of our observed velocity dispersions and the intrinsic velocity dispersion of dark matter particles in a published simulation result. Measuring velocity bias in this way suggests that large spectroscopic surveys can improve dispersion-based mass-observable scaling relations for cosmology even in the face of velocity biases, by quantifying and ultimately calibrating them out.Comment: Accepted to ApJ; 21 pages, 11 figures, 5 table

    South Pole Telescope Detections of the Previously Unconfirmed Planck Early SZ Clusters in the Southern Hemisphere

    Get PDF
    We present South Pole Telescope (SPT) observations of the five galaxy cluster candidates in the southern hemisphere which were reported as unconfirmed in the Planck Early Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (ESZ) sample. One cluster candidate, PLCKESZ G255.62-46.16, is located in the 2500-square-degree SPT SZ survey region and was reported previously as SPT-CL J0411-4819. For the remaining four candidates, which are located outside of the SPT SZ survey region, we performed short, dedicated SPT observations. Each of these four candidates was strongly detected in maps made from these observations, with signal-to-noise ratios ranging from 6.3 to 13.8. We have observed these four candidates on the Magellan-Baade telescope and used these data to estimate cluster redshifts from the red sequence. Resulting redshifts range from 0.24 to 0.46. We report measurements of Y_0.75', the integrated Comptonization within a 0.75' radius, for all five candidates. We also report X-ray luminosities calculated from ROSAT All-Sky Survey catalog counts, as well as optical and improved SZ coordinates for each candidate. The combination of SPT SZ measurements, optical red-sequence measurements, and X-ray luminosity estimates demonstrates that these five Planck ESZ cluster candidates do indeed correspond to real galaxy clusters with redshifts and observable properties consistent with the rest of the ESZ sample.Comment: 7 emulateapj pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Revised to match published versio

    Optical followup of galaxy clusters detected by the South Pole Telescope

    Full text link
    The South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a 10 meter telescope operating at mm wavelengths. It has recently completed a three-band survey covering 2500 sq. degrees. One of the survey's main goals is to detect galaxy clusters using Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect and use these clusters for a variety of cosmological and astrophysical studies such as the dark energy equation of state, the primordial non-gaussianity and the evolution of galaxy populations. Since 2005, we have been engaged in a comprehensive optical and near-infrared followup program (at wavelengths between 0.4 and 5 {\mu}m) to image high-significance SPT clusters, to measure their photometric redshifts, and to estimate the contamination rate of the candidate lists. These clusters are then used for various cosmological and astrophysical studies.Comment: For TAUP 2011 proceeding

    The Growth of Cool Cores and Evolution of Cooling Properties in a Sample of 83 Galaxy Clusters at 0.3 < z < 1.2 Selected from the SPT-SZ Survey

    Full text link
    We present first results on the cooling properties derived from Chandra X-ray observations of 83 high-redshift (0.3 < z < 1.2) massive galaxy clusters selected by their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich signature in the South Pole Telescope data. We measure each cluster's central cooling time, central entropy, and mass deposition rate, and compare to local cluster samples. We find no significant evolution from z~0 to z~1 in the distribution of these properties, suggesting that cooling in cluster cores is stable over long periods of time. We also find that the average cool core entropy profile in the inner ~100 kpc has not changed dramatically since z ~ 1, implying that feedback must be providing nearly constant energy injection to maintain the observed "entropy floor" at ~10 keV cm^2. While the cooling properties appear roughly constant over long periods of time, we observe strong evolution in the gas density profile, with the normalized central density (rho_0/rho_crit) increasing by an order of magnitude from z ~ 1 to z ~ 0. When using metrics defined by the inner surface brightness profile of clusters, we find an apparent lack of classical, cuspy, cool-core clusters at z > 0.75, consistent with earlier reports for clusters at z > 0.5 using similar definitions. Our measurements indicate that cool cores have been steadily growing over the 8 Gyr spanned by our sample, consistent with a constant, ~150 Msun/yr cooling flow that is unable to cool below entropies of 10 keV cm^2 and, instead, accumulates in the cluster center. We estimate that cool cores began to assemble in these massive systems at z ~ 1, which represents the first constraints on the onset of cooling in galaxy cluster cores. We investigate several potential biases which could conspire to mimic this cool core evolution and are unable to find a bias that has a similar redshift dependence and a substantial amplitude.Comment: 17 pages with 15 figures, plus appendix. Published in Ap

    Mass Calibration and Cosmological Analysis of the SPT-SZ Galaxy Cluster Sample Using Velocity Dispersion σv\sigma_v and X-ray YXY_\textrm{X} Measurements

    Full text link
    We present a velocity dispersion-based mass calibration of the South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect survey (SPT-SZ) galaxy cluster sample. Using a homogeneously selected sample of 100 cluster candidates from 720 deg2 of the survey along with 63 velocity dispersion (σv\sigma_v) and 16 X-ray Yx measurements of sample clusters, we simultaneously calibrate the mass-observable relation and constrain cosmological parameters. The calibrations using σv\sigma_v and Yx are consistent at the 0.6σ0.6\sigma level, with the σv\sigma_v calibration preferring ~16% higher masses. We use the full cluster dataset to measure σ8(Ωm/0.27)0.3=0.809±0.036\sigma_8(\Omega_ m/0.27)^{0.3}=0.809\pm0.036. The SPT cluster abundance is lower than preferred by either the WMAP9 or Planck+WMAP9 polarization (WP) data, but assuming the sum of the neutrino masses is mν=0.06\sum m_\nu=0.06 eV, we find the datasets to be consistent at the 1.0σ\sigma level for WMAP9 and 1.5σ\sigma for Planck+WP. Allowing for larger mν\sum m_\nu further reconciles the results. When we combine the cluster and Planck+WP datasets with BAO and SNIa, the preferred cluster masses are 1.9σ1.9\sigma higher than the Yx calibration and 0.8σ0.8\sigma higher than the σv\sigma_v calibration. Given the scale of these shifts (~44% and ~23% in mass, respectively), we execute a goodness of fit test; it reveals no tension, indicating that the best-fit model provides an adequate description of the data. Using the multi-probe dataset, we measure Ωm=0.299±0.009\Omega_ m=0.299\pm0.009 and σ8=0.829±0.011\sigma_8=0.829\pm0.011. Within a ν\nuCDM model we find mν=0.148±0.081\sum m_\nu = 0.148\pm0.081 eV. We present a consistency test of the cosmic growth rate. Allowing both the growth index γ\gamma and the dark energy equation of state parameter ww to vary, we find γ=0.73±0.28\gamma=0.73\pm0.28 and w=1.007±0.065w=-1.007\pm0.065, demonstrating that the expansion and the growth histories are consistent with a LCDM model (γ=0.55;w=1\gamma=0.55; \,w=-1).Comment: Accepted by ApJ (v2 is accepted version); 17 pages, 6 figure

    SPT-CLJ2040-4451: An SZ-Selected Galaxy Cluster at z = 1.478 With Significant Ongoing Star Formation

    Full text link
    SPT-CLJ2040-4451 -- spectroscopically confirmed at z = 1.478 -- is the highest redshift galaxy cluster yet discovered via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. SPT-CLJ2040-4451 was a candidate galaxy cluster identified in the first 720 deg^2 of the South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SPT-SZ) survey, and confirmed in follow-up imaging and spectroscopy. From multi-object spectroscopy with Magellan-I/Baade+IMACS we measure spectroscopic redshifts for 15 cluster member galaxies, all of which have strong [O II] 3727 emission. SPT-CLJ2040-4451 has an SZ-measured mass of M_500,SZ = 3.2 +/- 0.8 X 10^14 M_Sun/h_70, corresponding to M_200,SZ = 5.8 +/- 1.4 X 10^14 M_Sun/h_70. The velocity dispersion measured entirely from blue star forming members is sigma_v = 1500 +/- 520 km/s. The prevalence of star forming cluster members (galaxies with > 1.5 M_Sun/yr) implies that this massive, high-redshift cluster is experiencing a phase of active star formation, and supports recent results showing a marked increase in star formation occurring in galaxy clusters at z >1.4. We also compute the probability of finding a cluster as rare as this in the SPT-SZ survey to be >99%, indicating that its discovery is not in tension with the concordance Lambda-CDM cosmological model.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables, Accepted to Ap
    corecore