Impact of a non-Gaussian density field on Sunyaev-Zeldovich observables

Abstract

The main statistical properties of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (S-Z) effect - the power spectrum, cluster number counts, and angular correlation function - are calculated and compared within the framework of two density fields which differ in their predictions of the cluster mass function at high redshifts. We do so for the usual Press and Schechter mass function, which is derived on the basis of a Gaussian density fluctuation field, and for a mass function based on a chi^2 distributed density field. These three S-Z observables are found to be very significantly dependent on the choice of the mass function. The different predictions of the Gaussian and non-Gaussian density fields are probed in detail by investigating the behaviour of the three S-Z observables in terms of cluster mass and redshift. The formation time distribution of clusters is also demonstrated to be sensitive to the underlying mass function. A semi-quantitative assessment is given of its impact on the concentration parameter and the temperature of intracluster gas.