The detection of galaxy cluster motions using data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and BOSS

Nick Hand
UCB



Abstract:

Using microwave sky maps from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), the motions of galaxy clusters and groups were recently detected for the first time using CMB temperature distortions due to the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect.The positions of galaxy clusters in the ACT data were identified by their constituent luminous galaxies observed by the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. The mean pairwise momentum of clusters was measured at high statistical significance. I will discuss the methodology and results of this analysis in the context of the standard cosmological model and will comment on possible continuations of this analysis in the future.