kSZ Effect Illustration (IMAGE)

Princeton University

kSZ Effect Illustration

Caption

A large research team from two major astronomy surveys reports the first detection of the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect, which has a unique ability to pinpoint velocity and could be useful in understanding the expansion of the universe. As cosmic microwave background radiation left over from the Big Bang (top) moves through the universe, it becomes slightly redder and cooler if it passes through a galaxy cluster moving away from Earth (left). The radiation becomes bluer and hotter if it passes through a cluster moving toward Earth (right). The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) in Chile (bottom) detected the radiation background. The researchers combined data from the ACT project with data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), which revealed galaxy cluster locations and changes in light due to movement. The study was initiated at Princeton and included 58 co-authors from ACT and BOSS.

Credit

Sudeep Das, University of California-Berkeley

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