Schedule Mar 18, 2011
Simulating the Thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Power Spectrum and Intracluster Medium
Nick Battaglia (Univ. Toronto)

Thanks to the high resolution observations of the cosmic microwave background by ACT and SPT the ability to use the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) angular power spectrum as a probe of cosmological parameters is now limited by its theoretical uncertainties. The dominate uncertainty is a accurate model for the intracluster medium from the cluster core to beyond the virial radius. We have explored how radiative cooling, supernova feedback, cosmic rays and a new model of the energetic feedback from AGN affect this intracluster gas using a large set of hydrodynamical TreePM-SPH simulations of the cosmic web in big periodic boxes. I will discuss the average thermodynamic properties of the intracluster medium and summarize the state of the theoretical SZ power spectra templates.

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