COSMOLOGY WITH CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES

Abstract

Rich clusters of galaxies, the largest virialized systems known, provide a powerful tool for the study of cosmology. Some of the fundamental questions that can be addressed with clusters of galaxies include: how did galaxies and large-scale structure form and evolve? What is the amount, composition and distribution of matter in the universe? I review some of the studies utilizing clusters of galaxies to investigare, among others: - The dark matter on clusters scale and the mean mass-density of the universe; - The large-scale structure of the universe; - The peculiar velocity field on large scales; - The mass-function of groups and clusters of galaxies; - The constraints placed on specific cosmological models using the cluster data.

compressed PostScript, to appear in the Proceedings of 11th Potsdam Cosmology Workshop on "Large Scale Structrure in the Universe", 1994; for the figures contact neta@astro.princeton.edu