2:30 pm Monday, 3 March 2003
Galaxy clusters are the next best thing for precision cosmology probes after the Cosmic Microwave Background. With the recent dramatic increase in sensitivity and resolution of sub-mm wavelength observations, we will soon begin to measure galaxy cluster peculiar velocities via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. However, detailed modeling of point sources, CMB contamination and velocity/temperature substructure within the cluster itself is required to acquire useful measurements with sufficient precision for cosmology. I will discuss what cosmology can be accomplished with cluster velocities and separately, how we can model observations to optimize velocity measurements. This is work in progress supported in part by a NASA Graduate Student Research fellowship.