Probing Dark Energy with Constellation-X

Abstract

Constellation-X (Con-X) will carry out two powerful and independent sets of tests of dark energy based on X-ray observations of galaxy clusters, providing comparable accuracy to other leading dark energy probes. The first group of tests will measure the absolute distances to clusters, primarily using measurements of the X-ray gas mass fraction in the largest, dynamically relaxed clusters, but with additional constraining power provided by follow-up observations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect. As with supernovae studies, such data determine the transformation between redshift and true distance, d(z), allowing cosmic acceleration to be measured directly. The second, independent group of tests will use the exquisite spectroscopic capabilities of Con-X to determine scaling relations between X-ray observables and mass. Together with forthcoming X-ray and SZ cluster surveys, these data will help to constrain the growth of structure, which is also a strong function of cosmological parameters.