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Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Edgington, Samantha Faye
URN	etd-09272003-154928
Persistent URL	http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-09272003-154928
Title	A galaxy cluster survey using the Sunyaev Zel'dovich effect
Degree	PhD
Option	Physics
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Andrew Lange Committee Chair Fiona Harrison Committee Member Marc Kamionkowski Committee Member Nick Scoville Committee Member
Keywords	Sunyaev Zel'dovich Effect galaxy cluster bolometers
Date of Defense	2003-08-28
Availability	restricted
Abstract This thesis describes the design and observations with the Bolocam instrument. Bolocam is a 144-element bolometer array designed to detect the Sunyaev Zel'dovich effect, used at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. Bolocam can be configured to observe at 1.1, 1.4, and 2.1 mm. We conducted a galaxy cluster survey at 2.1 mm, where clusters are detected as decrements against the Cosmic Microwave Background. The survey consisted of two blank fields, for a total of one square degree of coverage. We took advantage of the array configuration of the Bolocam focal plane to remove the atmospheric noise from the time stream before mapping the data. The sky noise removal left residual 1/f noise from the atmosphere in the data, and the resulting map sensitivity is limited by this noise. After filtering the maps to detect clusters with a FWHM of 2 arc minutes the RMS of the first map is 148.5 micro-Kelvin, and the second is 77.8 micro-Kelvin. The difference is due to a difference in integration time on the two maps. Bolocam detected 2 4-sigma decrements in the two filtered 1/2 x 1 degree maps. Bolocam also places an upper limit on the CMB angular power spectrum at l = 6000 of delta T < 49 micro-Kelvin.
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