Importance of intracluster scattering and relativistic corrections from tSZ effect with cosmic infrared background

The Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect towards clusters of galaxies has become a standard probe of cosmology. It is caused by the scattering of photons from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) by the hot cluster electron gas. In a similar manner, other photon backgrounds can be scattered when passing through the cluster medium. This problem has been recently considered for the radio and the cosmic infrared background. Here, we revisit the discussion of the cosmic infrared background (CIB) including several additional effects that were omitted before. We discuss the intracluster scattering of the CIB and the role of relativistic temperature corrections to the individual cluster and all-sky averaged signals. We show that the all-sky CIB distortion introduced by the scattering of the photon field was underestimated by a factor of similar or equal to 1.5 due to neglecting the intracluster scattering contribution. The CIB photons can scatter with the thermal electrons of both the parent halo or another halo, meaning that there are two ways to gain energy. Therefore, energy is essentially transferred twice from the thermal electrons to the CIB. We carefully clarify the origin of various effects in the calculation of the average CIB and also scattered signals. The single-cluster CIB scattering signal also exhibits a clear redshift dependence, which can be used in cosmological analyses, as we describe both analytically and numerically. This may open a new way for cosmological studies with future CMB experiments.

Automated summary

The Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect is a widely used probe for studying cosmology through the scattering of photons from the cosmic microwave background by hot cluster electron gas. This study investigates the scattering of other photon backgrounds, specifically the cosmic infrared background (CIB), in cluster medium. The analysis reveals an underestimation of the all-sky CIB distortion due to neglecting the intracluster scattering contribution, and suggests a redshift dependence in the single-cluster CIB scattering signal, which can be utilized in future cosmological studies with CMB experiments.