NIKA: a mm camera for Sunyaev-Zel'dovich science in clusters of galaxies

TL;DR

NIKA is a specialized millimeter-wave camera designed for detailed Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect observations in galaxy clusters, enabling precise measurements of cluster properties and advancing cosmological research.

Contribution

The paper introduces NIKA, a novel dual-band KID-based camera optimized for SZ effect studies, and demonstrates its effectiveness through detailed cluster observations.

Findings

Reconstructed cluster radial pressure profiles.

Measured cluster masses, temperatures, and velocities.

Validated NIKA's capability for high-resolution SZ mapping.

Abstract

Clusters of galaxies, the largest bound objects in the Universe, constitute a cosmological probe of choice, which is sensitive to both dark matter and dark energy. Within this framework, the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect has opened a new window for the detection of clusters of galaxies and for the characterization of their physical properties such as mass, pressure and temperature. NIKA, a KID-based dual band camera installed at the IRAM 30-m telescope, was particularly well adapted in terms of frequency, angular resolution, field-of-view and sensitivity, for the mapping of the thermal and kinetic SZ effect in high-redshift clusters. In this paper, we present the NIKA cluster sample and a review of the main results obtained via the measurement of the SZ effect on those clusters: reconstruction of the cluster radial pressure profile, mass, temperature and velocity.