The velocity--shape alignment of clusters and the kinetic Sunyaev--Zeldovich effect

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the alignment between cluster velocities and shapes affects the kinetic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect, revealing that such alignments can significantly enhance the kSZ signal in observations.

Contribution

It demonstrates the correlation between cluster velocities and shapes using simulations and highlights its impact on kSZ measurements, a factor often overlooked.

Findings

Clusters tend to be prolate and aligned with nearby halos.

Peculiar velocities are correlated with halo orientations.

Alignment enhances the kSZ signal along the line of sight.

Abstract

We use the Millennium simulation to probe the correlation between cluster velocities and their shapes and the consequences for measurements of the kinetic Sunyaev-Zeldovich (kSZ) effect. Halos are generally prolate ellipsoids with orientations that are correlated with those of nearby halos. We measure the mean streaming velocities of halos along the lines that separate them, demonstrating that the peculiar velocities and the long axes of halos tend to be somewhat aligned, especially for the most massive halos. Since the kSZ effect is proportional to the line-of-sight velocity and the optical depth of the cluster, the alignment results in a strong enhancement of the kSZ signature in clusters moving along the line of sight. This effect has not been taken into account in many analyses of kSZ signatures.