Previous abstract Next abstract Session 62 - Workshop on the
Future of Antarctic Astrophysics - II. Topical, Oral session,
Wednesday, June 10 The peculiar velocity field of galaxy
clusters offers, in principle, a direct probe of the matter
distribution in the universe. The precision with which the
peculiar velocity of clusters can be determined using
conventional astronomical techniques decreases with the distance
of the cluster. In contrast, mm-wave observations of the
Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) distortion to the spectrum of the Cosmic
Microwave Background (CMB) along the line of sight through the
cluster provide a direct measure of the velocity of the cluster
relative to the CMB rest frame with a precision that is
independent of redshift, and thus promise to sample the peculiar
velocity field over a large volume of the universe. Measurements
made to date at the CSO on Mauna Kea have been limited by
atmospheric noise to a precision of approximately 700 km/sec.
The South Pole offers a far superior site for this w