S–Z constraints on the dependence of the CMB temperature on redshift

Precise measurements of the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (S–Z) effect on clusters of galaxies can be used to constrain anomalous scalings of the CMB temperature as a function of redshift, providing an unbiased test of the current cosmological paradigms. This is possible through a precise characterization of the S–Z spectrum as a function of frequency and all the higher order effects which determine small corrections to the amplitude of the effect. Combined with excellent systematic modeling and high quality, routine observations of the S–Z effect on a moderate-to-high redshift sample of galaxy clusters at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, this method can constrain deviations from standard scalings of the CMB temperature based on zero-redshift precisions comparable with that of COBE/FIRAS. We describe here the analysis procedure and a pioneering approach to the problem using existing multifrequency S–Z observations.