We present the Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey (MaDCoWS), a search for galaxy clusters at 0.7 z 1.5 based upon data from the W ide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE ) mission. MaDCoWS is the first cluster survey capable of discovering massive clusters at these redshifts over the full extragalactic sky. The search is divided into two regions -the region of the extragalactic sky covered by Pan-STARRS (δ > −30 • ) and the remainder of the southern extragalactic sky at δ < −30 • for which shallower optical data from SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey are available. In this paper we describe the search algorithm, characterize the sample, and present the first MaDCoWS data release -catalogs of the 2433 highest amplitude detections in the WISE -Pan-STARRS region and the 250 highest amplitude detections in the WISE -SuperCOSMOS region. A total of 1723 of the detections from the WISE -Pan-STARRS sample have also been observed with the Spitzer S pace Telescope, providing photometric redshifts and richnesses, and an additional 64 detections within the WISE -SuperCOSMOS region also have photometric redshifts and richnesses. Spectroscopic redshifts for 38 MaDCoWS clusters with IRAC photometry demonstrate that the photometric redshifts have an uncertainty of σ z /(1 + z) 0.036. Combining the richness measurements with Sunyaev-Zel'dovich observations of MaDCoWS clusters, we also present a preliminary mass-richness relation that can be used to infer the approximate mass distribution of the full sample. The estimated median mass for the WISE -Pan-STARRS catalog is M 500 = 1.6 +0.7 −0.8 × 10 14 M , with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich data confirming that we detect clusters with masses up to M 500 ∼ 5 × 10 14 M (M 200 ∼ 10 15 M ).

We present a simultaneous analysis of galaxy cluster scaling relations between weaklensing mass and multiple cluster observables, across a wide range of wavelengths, that probe both gas and stellar content. Our new hierarchical Bayesian model simultaneously considers the selection variable alongside all other observables in order to explicitly model intrinsic property covariance and account for selection effects. We apply this method to a sample of 41 clusters at 0.15 < z < 0.30, with a well-defined selection criteria based on RASS X-ray luminosity, and observations from Chandra/XMM, SZA, Planck, UKIRT, SDSS and Subaru. These clusters have well-constrained weaklensing mass measurements based on Subaru/Suprime-Cam observations, which serve as the reference masses in our model. We present 30 scaling relation parameters for 10 properties. All relations probing the intracluster gas are slightly shallower than self-similar predictions, in moderate tension with prior measurements, and the stellar fraction decreases with mass. K-band luminosity has the lowest intrinsic scatter with a 95th percentile of 0.16, while the lowest scatter gas probe is gas mass with a fractional intrinsic scatter of 0.16 ± 0.03. We find no distinction between the core-excised X-ray or high-resolution Sunyaev-Zel'dovich relations of clusters of different central entropy, but find with modest significance that higher entropy clusters have higher stellar fractions than their lower entropy counterparts. We also report posterior mass estimates from our likelihood model.

We present confirmation of the cluster MOO J1142+1527, a massive galaxy cluster discovered as part of the Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey. The cluster is confirmed to lie at z = 1.19, and using the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy we robustly detect the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) decrement at 13.2σ. The SZ data imply a mass of M 200m = (1.1 ± 0.2) × 10 15 M e , making MOO J1142+1527 the most massive galaxy cluster known at z > 1.15 and the second most massive cluster known at z > 1. For a standard ΛCDM cosmology it is further expected to be one of the ∼5 most massive clusters expected to exist at z 1.19 over the entire sky. Our ongoing Spitzer program targeting ∼1750 additional candidate clusters will identify comparably rich galaxy clusters over the full extragalactic sky.

We demonstrate the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect imaging capabilities of the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) by presenting an SZ map of the galaxy cluster RX J1347.5−1145. By combining data from multiple CARMA bands and configurations, we are able to capture the structure of this cluster over a wide range of angular scales, from its bulk properties to its core morphology. We find that roughly 9% of this cluster's thermal energy is associated with sub-arcminute-scale structure imparted by a merger, illustrating the value of high-resolution SZ measurements for pursuing cluster astrophysics and for understanding the scatter in SZ scaling relations. We also find that the cluster's SZ signal is lower in amplitude than suggested by a spherically symmetric model derived from X-ray data, consistent with compression along the line of sight relative to the plane of the sky. Finally, we discuss the impact of upgrades currently in progress that will further enhance CARMA's power as an SZ imaging instrument.

We present CARMA 30 GHz Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) observations of five high-redshift (z 1), infrared-selected galaxy clusters discovered as part of the all-sky Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey (MaDCoWS). The SZ decrements measured toward these clusters demonstrate that the MaDCoWS selection is discovering evolved, massive galaxy clusters with hot intracluster gas. Using the SZ scaling relation calibrated with South Pole Telescope clusters at similar masses and redshifts, we find these MaDCoWS clusters have masses in the range M 200 ≈ 2−6×10 14 M ⊙ . Three of these are among the most massive clusters found to date at z 1, demonstrating that MaDCoWS is sensitive to the most massive clusters to at least z = 1.3. The added depth of the AllWISE data release will allow all-sky infrared cluster detection to z ≈ 1.5 and beyond.