| NSF Org: |
AST Division Of Astronomical Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 12, 2016 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 14, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1615604 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Richard Barvainis
AST Division Of Astronomical Sciences MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2016 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $555,205.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $608,458.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2019 = $53,253.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
3451 WALNUT ST STE 440A PHILADELPHIA PA US 19104-6205 (215)898-7293 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
209 South 33rd St Philadelphia PA US 19104-6396 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | EXTRAGALACTIC ASTRON & COSMOLO |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001920DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
The goal of this program is to measure the physics of distant clusters of galaxies with MUSTANG2, a 215-pixel bolometer camera observing at 3mm wavelength on the Green Bank Telescope. This will help in understanding of the evolution of structure in the early universe. Broader impacts include training of undergraduate graduate students in astronomical instrumentation, especially those from underrepresented groups. In addition, members of the team are actively involved in public outreach in the Philadelphia area including star parties, the Philadelphia science festival, and mentoring in low-performing schools.
The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, a diminution in the Microwave Background as it passes through clusters, will be observed at 9 arc-second angular resolution. Other telescopes making such measurements do not have this level of resolution. The authors plan to examine various aspects of cluster physics, including scaling relations, pressure profiles to large radii, and pressure differences in radio bubbles.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Clusters of galaxies -- the largest gravitationally-bound objects in the Universe -- serve as cosmological probes and rich astrophysical laboratories for events such as mergers and AGN outbursts, the two most energetic classes of events to happen since the Big Bang. As tracers of the evolution of structure, galaxy clusters are being exploited for cosmology by a host of current and future projects which are now producing large samples of clusters. However, the uncertainty in scaling relations between cluster mass and observables such as their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) or X-ray signatures is the dominant systematic limiting cluster cosmology, not the sample sizes. Cross-correlation of these new large samples from the X-ray, optical, and millimeter-wave show dramatic discrepancies attributed to cluster astrophysics and provide tantalizing target lists for high-resolution follow-up. For example, some clusters strongly detected in the optical have no SZE signal in millimeter-wave surveys due to in-filling from radio sources. Pairs of clusters detected in surveys have emission which could be associated with filamentary structure from the cosmic web. MUSTANG2 SZE observations, combined with X-ray images, have allowed us to determine the dynamical state and thermal properties of intracluster gas in even the highest redshift clusters.
MUSTANG2 is a 215-pixel bolometer array of superconducting transition edge detectors providing background-limited performance at 90 GHz. Operating on the GBT, the 4.3 arcmin field of view enables high-precision resolved cluster observations. MUSTANG2 has measured the SZE effect in moderate redshift clusters with an integrated signal to noise of over 100 sigma, far beyond the capabilities of cluster survey instruments such as ACT and SPT. This has ushered in a new era of precision SZE measurements.
MUSTANG2 has produced high-resolution, 15 micro-K RMS images of the SZE in galaxy clusters. To date, MUSTANG2 has imaged over 40 clusters and has been able to measure cluster pressure profiles out to a radius of 3 arcmin. This statistically useful sample of clusters is essential to characterize the scatter in cluster-mass/SZE observable scaling relations due to mergers, evolution, and AGN feedback. Much of our major results come from cross-correlating MUSTANG2 clusters with other surveys like those from MaDCoWs and ACT. We have found that the richness measure (number of galaxies in a cluster) of cluster mass by MaDCoWs does not appear to be a good proxy for the cluster mass. When we combine our work with the ACT cluster catalog, this is even more apparent. Our high-resolution measurements show that in-filling of the SZ signal from unresolved radio sources may be biasing the ACT cluster catalog. The high-resolution MUSTANG2 images are able to directly detect the point sources and independently fit for the SZ signal. This ongoing work may provide a path to using cluster more effectively to extract cosmology.
Our team has 11 referred publications as part of this program. In addition to the cluster work described above, we have supported work on dust and star formation in our galaxy, observed the time evolution of a stellar flare, and even looked at the Moon to understand the mineral properties just beneath the surface.
Last Modified: 12/09/2020
Modified by: Mark J Devlin
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