GBT21B-298

Measuring the 3mm Source Population in an SZ-selected Galaxy Cluster Sample

Abstract

We propose 3mm GBT continuum imaging of 300 galaxy clusters selected from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) survey. We aim to use the tremendous point source survey speed of the GBT to more accurately characterize the thermal and non-thermal discrete sources-- mostly star forming galaxies or Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), which can be cluster members, foreground sources, or background sources-- and their evolution with redshift. From the point of view of Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect (SZE or SZ) cluster surveys, these sources represent a source of noise-- or worse, of bias-- which according to our existing MUSTANG-2 measurements in several dozen clusters may be more significant than generally appreciated.

Our survey will yield the most precise characterization to date of the extent to which these sources contaminate current and next generation SZ cluster surveys. The statistical constraints from our survey will be broadly applicable to current and next generation SZE surveys such as ACT, SPT, Simons Observatory, and CMB S4. In conjunction with radio (NVSS, FIRST, VLASS), infra-red (WISE), and deep optical data, they will also advance our understanding of the underlying astrophysical populations in the millimeter wavelength regime, yielding important, new constraints on their evolution.

Investigators

Name	Institution
Brian Mason *	National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Luca Di Mascolo	Kapteyn Astronomical Institute; Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik; Trieste, Università degli Studi di
Simon Dicker	Pennsylvania, University of
Tony Mroczkowski	European Southern Observatory; Institut de Ciències de l'Espai
Emily Moravec	Green Bank Observatory; Akademie ved Ceske republiky
Tanay Bhandarkar	Pennsylvania, University of
Charles Romero	Pennsylvania, University of; Virginia, University of; Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
John Orlowski-Scherer	Pennsylvania, University of; McGill University
Saianeesh Haridas	Pennsylvania, University of
Karen Perez	Columbia University
Megan Gralla	Arizona, University of; Johns Hopkins University
Matt Hilton	KwaZulu-Natal, University of; Witwatersrand, University of the
Craig Sarazin	Virginia, University of
Jonathan Sievers	Toronto, University of; McGill University; Princeton University; KwaZulu-Natal, University of
Mark Devlin	Pennsylvania, University of
Nicholas Battaglia	Cornell University; Toronto, University of

* indicates the PI