Constraints on dark energy from Chandra observations of the largest relaxed galaxy clusters

By S. Allen, R. Schmidt, H. Ebeling, A. C. Fabian, L. Speybroeck. 2004

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We present constraints on the mean matter density, {Omega}{sub m}, dark energy density, {Omega}{sub DE}, and the dark energy equation of state parameter, w, using Chandra measurements of the X-ray gas mass fraction (fgas) in 42 hot (kT > 5keV), X-ray luminous, dynamically relaxed galaxy clusters spanning the redshift range 0.05 < z < 1.1. Using only the fgas data for the 6 lowest redshift clusters at z < 0.15, for which dark energy has a negligible effect on the measurements, we measure {Omega}{sub m}=0.28{+-}0.06 (68% confidence, using standard priors on the Hubble Constant, H{sub 0}, and mean baryon density, {Omega}{sub b}h{sup 2}). Analyzing the data for all 42 clusters, employing only weak priors on H{sub 0} and {Omega}{sub b}h{sup 2}, we obtain a similar result on {Omega}{sub m} and detect the effects of dark energy on the distances to the clusters at {approx}99.99% confidence, with {Omega}{sub DE}=0.86{+-}0.21 for a non-flat LCDM model. The detection of dark energy is comparable in significance to recent SNIa studies and represents strong, independent evidence for cosmic acceleration. Systematic scatter remains undetected in the f{sub gas} data, despite a weighted mean statistical scatter in the distance measurements of only {approx}5%. For a flat cosmology with constant w, we measure {Omega}{sub m}=0.28{+-}0.06 and w=-1.14{+-}0.31. Combining the fgas data with independent constraints from CMB and SNIa studies removes the need for priors on {Omega}{sub b}h{sup 2} and H{sub 0} and leads to tighter constraints: {Omega}{sub m}=0.253{+-}0.021 and w=-0.98{+-}0.07 for the same constant-w model. More general analyses in which we relax the assumption of flatness and/or allow evolution in w remain consistent with the cosmological constant paradigm. Our analysis includes conservative allowances for systematic uncertainties. The small systematic scatter and tight constraints bode well for future dark energy studies using the f{sub gas} method.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Instrumentation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a5ac17913d6fd6d9e5934ef2a7ee8db236be6bf4

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Citations in the corpus

New Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries of Type Ia Supernovae at z ≥ 1: Narrowing Constraints on the Early Behavior of Dark Energy (2006, background): “Additional, albeit more tentative, evidence is provided by observations of X-ray clusters (Allen et al. 2004) and baryon oscillations (e.g., Eisenstein et al. 2005).”
STELLAR AND TOTAL BARYON MASS FRACTIONS IN GROUPS AND CLUSTERS SINCE REDSHIFT 1 (2009, background): “Observational constraints on the evolution of the average gas mass fraction also suggest zero evolution in the cluster regime (Allen et al. 2004).”
X-ray–optical classification of cluster mergers and the evolution of the cluster merger fraction (2011, background): “…https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article-abstract/420/3/2120/978455 by guest on 29 July 2018 Cluster classification and evolution 2121 measurements of the baryon fraction in clusters that rely explicitly on the assumptions of spherical symmetry and hydrostatic equilibrium (Allen et al. 2004, 2008).”
Cosmology and astrophysics from relaxed galaxy clusters - II. Cosmological constraints (2014, methodology): “The matter budget of massive clusters of galaxies, and specifically the ratio of gas mass to total mass, provides a powerful probe of cosmology (White et al. 1993; Sasaki 1996; Pen 1997; Allen et al. 2002, 2004, 2008; Allen, Evrard, & Mantz 2011, and references therein).”
Scrutinizing Exotic Cosmological Models Using ESSENCE Supernova Data Combined with Other Cosmological Probes (2007, methodology): “We have also not used the constraints from X-ray data on relaxed galaxy clusters (Allen et al. 2004), althoug http://braeburn.pha.jhu.edu/∼ariess/R06 and http://www.ctio.noao.edu/essence.”
THE CARNEGIE SUPERNOVA PROJECT: ANALYSIS OF THE FIRST SAMPLE OF LOW-REDSHIFT TYPE-Ia SUPERNOVAE (2009, background): “Baryon acoustic oscillations (Eisenstein et al. 2005) and measurements of the ratio of X-ray-emitting gas to total mass in galaxy clusters (Allen et al. 2004, 2007) have also provided convincing confirmation of this picture.”
Robust weak-lensing mass calibration of Planck galaxy clusters (2014, background): “…X-ray measurements can provide precise, low-scatter mass proxies for clusters, exhibiting minimal (<10–15 per cent) intrinsic scatter with respect to true mass (e.g. Allen et al. 2004, 2008; Kravtsov et al. 2006), weaklensing data can provide an accurate absolute mass calibration of these proxies.”
Determination of the Cosmic Distance Scale from Sunyaev-Zel’dovich Effect and Chandra X-Ray Measurements of High-Redshift Galaxy Clusters (2005, methodology): “…(Riess et al. 2004; Knop et al. 2003; Tonry et al. 2003) and mass measurements of galaxy clusters (e.g.,Grego et al. 2001; Vikhlinin et al. 2003; Allen et al. 2004) indicate a flat, dark energydominated universe with ΩM ≃ 0.3 and ΩΛ ≃ 0.7, and these values are adopted in all subsequent analyses…”
Approaches to understanding cosmic acceleration (2009, neutral): “of about 15% [45, 46], after estimated corrections.”
A semi-analytic model for the co-evolution of galaxies, black holes and active galactic nuclei (2008, background): “2006), the small-scale power spectrum as probed by the Lyman α forest (Desjacques & Nusser 2005; Jena et al. 2005), and the number densities of (Borgani et al. 2001), and baryon fractions within, galaxy clusters (White et al. 1993; Allen et al. 2004).”
The X-ray brightest clusters of galaxies from the Massive Cluster Survey (2010, background): “…the sample presented here allows cosmological and astrophysical studies of the properties and evolution of the most massive galaxy clusters over a contiguous redshift range from z ∼ 0 to z = 0.7 (Allen et al. 2003, 2004, 2008; Ebeling et al. 2009; Mantz et al. 2008, 2010a,b, Rapetti et al. 2009).”