Speaker
Mark Voit
Description
Cluster of galaxies have an excellent track record as probes
of cosmology. However, if they are to remain competitive
with other methods for constraining cosmological parameters,
we will need to calibrate the relationships between cluster
masses and the observable quantities used to trace mass to
better than a few percent accuracy. If we are to succeed in
that effort, we will need standard definitions for cluster
observables and cluster masses, so that our efforts at
percent-level calibration and comparisons with simulations
do not become bogged down in sorting out subtle differences
among those definitions. One of the outcomes of the recent
KITP workshop in Santa Barbara was a set of wiki pages that
will allow the cluster community to propose and discuss
various standard definitions of cluster quantites. I will
summarize the rationale for the project and its current status.
