Chandra Cluster Cosmology Project III: Cosmological Parameter Constraints

Chandra observations of large samples of galaxy clusters detected in X-rays by ROSAT provide a new, robust determination of the cluster mass functions at low and high redshifts. Statistical and systematic errors are now sufficiently small, and the redshift leverage sufficiently large for the mass function evolution to be used as a useful growth of a structure-based dark energy probe.

In this paper, we present cosmological parameter constraints obtained from Chandra observations of 37 clusters with langzrang = 0.55 derived from 400 deg2 ROSAT serendipitous survey and 49 brightest z ≈ 0.05 clusters detected in the All-Sky Survey. Evolution of the mass function between these redshifts requires ΩΛ > 0 with a ~5σ significance, and constrains the dark energy equation-of-state parameter to w 0 = –1.14 ± 0.21, assuming a constant w and a flat universe.

Cluster information also significantly improves constraints when combined with other methods. Fitting our cluster data jointly with the latest supernovae, Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, and baryonic acoustic oscillation measurements, we obtain w 0 = –0.991 ± 0.045 (stat) ±0.039 (sys), a factor of 1.5 reduction in statistical uncertainties, and nearly a factor of 2 improvement in systematics compared with constraints that can be obtained without clusters.

The joint analysis of these four data sets puts a conservative upper limit on the masses of light neutrinos ∑m ν <0.33 eV at 95% CL. We also present updated measurements of ΩM h and σ8 from the low-redshift cluster mass function.