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GALAXY CLUSTERS DISCOVERED VIA THE SUNYAEV-ZEL'DOVICH EFFECT IN THE 2500-SQUARE-DEGREE SPT-SZ SURVEY

Journal Article · · The Astrophysical Journal. Supplement Series (Online)

We present a catalog of galaxy clusters selected via their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect signature from 2500 deg(2) of South Pole Telescope (SPT) data. This work represents the complete sample of clusters detected at high significance in the 2500 deg(2) SPT-SZ survey, which was completed in 2011. A total of 677 (409) cluster candidates are identified above a signal-to-noise threshold of ξ = 4.5 (5.0). Ground- and space-based optical and near-infrared (NIR) imaging confirms overdensities of similarly colored galaxies in the direction of 516 (or 76%) of the ξ > 4.5 candidates and 387 (or 95%) of the ξ > 5 candidates, the measured purity is consistent with expectations from simulations. Of these confirmed clusters, 415 were first identified in SPT data, including 251 new discoveries reported in this work. We estimate photometric redshifts for all candidates with identified optical and/or NIR counterparts, we additionally report redshifts derived from spectroscopic observations for 141 of these systems. The mass threshold of the catalog is roughly independent of redshift above z ~ 0.25 leading to a sample of massive clusters that extends to high redshift. The median mass of the sample is M (500c)(ρ(crit)) $$\sim 3.5\times 10^{14}\,M_\odot \,h_{70}^{-1}$$, the median redshift is z (med) = 0.55, and the highest-redshift systems are at z > 1.4. The combination of large redshift extent, clean selection, and high typical mass makes this cluster sample of particular interest for cosmological analyses and studies of cluster formation and evolution.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP) (SC-25)
Contributing Organization:
SPT
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-07CH11359
OSTI ID:
1296906
Report Number(s):
FERMILAB-PUB-14-548-AE; arXiv:1409.0850; 1313583
Journal Information:
The Astrophysical Journal. Supplement Series (Online), Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal. Supplement Series (Online) Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 216; ISSN 1538-4365
Publisher:
American Astronomical Society/IOP
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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