We report the results of a pilot program for a Green Bank Telescope (GBT) MUSTANG Galactic Plane survey at 3 mm (90 GHz), MGPS90. The survey achieves a typical $1\sigma$ depth of $1-2$ mJy beam$^{-1}$ with a 9" beam. We describe the survey parameters, quality assessment process, cataloging, and comparison with other data sets. We have identified 709 sources over seven observed fields selecting some of the most prominent millimeter-bright regions between $0\deg < \ell < 50\deg$ (total area $\approx 7.5 \deg^2$). The majority of these sources have counterparts at other wavelengths. By applying flux selection criteria to these sources, we successfully recovered several known hypercompact HII (HCHII) regions, but did not confirm any new ones. We identify 126 sources that have mm-wavelength counterparts but do not have cm-wavelength counterparts and are therefore candidate HCHII regions; of these, 10 are morphologically compact and are strong candidates for new HCHII regions. Given the limited number of candidates in the extended area in this survey compared to the relatively large numbers seen in protoclusters W51 and W49, it appears that most HCHII regions exist within dense protoclusters. Comparing the counts of HCHII to ultracompact HII (UCHII) regions, we infer the HCHII region lifetime is 16-46% that of the UCHII region lifetime. We additionally separated the 3 mm emission into dust and free-free emission by comparing with archival 870 $\mu$m and 20 cm data. In the selected pilot fields, most ($\gtrsim80$%) of the 3 mm emission comes from plasma, either through free-free or synchrotron emission.
Context. The thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect presents a relatively new tool for characterizing galaxy cluster merger shocks, traditionally studied through X-ray observations. Widely regarded as the “textbook example” of a cluster merger bow shock, the western, most-prominent shock front in the Bullet Cluster (1E0657-56) represents the ideal test case for such an SZ study. Aims. We aim to characterize the shock properties using deep, high-resolution interferometric SZ effect observations in combination with priors from an independent X-ray analysis. Methods. Our analysis technique relies on the reconstruction of a parametric model for the SZ signal by directly and jointly fitting data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Atacama Compact Array (ACA) in Fourier space. Results. The ALMA+ACA data are primarily sensitive to the electron pressure difference across the shock front. To estimate the shock Mach number ℳ, this difference can be combined with the value for the upstream electron pressure derived from an independent Chandra X-ray analysis. In the case of instantaneous electron-ion temperature equilibration, we find ℳ = 2.08 −0.12 +0.12 , in ≈ 2.4 σ tension with the independent constraint from Chandra , M X = 2.74 ± 0.25. The assumption of purely adiabatic electron temperature change across the shock leads to ℳ = 2.53 −0.25 +0.33 , in better agreement with the X-ray estimate ℳ X = 2.57 ± 0.23 derived for the same heating scenario. Conclusion. We have demonstrated that interferometric observations of the thermal SZ effect provide constraints on the properties of the shock in the Bullet Cluster that are highly complementary to X-ray observations. The combination of X-ray and SZ data yields a powerful probe of the shock properties, capable of measuring ℳ and addressing the question of electron-ion equilibration in cluster shocks. Our analysis is however limited by systematics related to the overall cluster geometry and the complexity of the post-shock gas distribution. To overcome these limitations, a simultaneous, joint-likelihood analysis of SZ and X-ray data is needed.
We have imaged the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect signals at 140 and 270. GHz toward 10 galaxy clusters with Bolocam and AzTEC/ASTE. We also used Planck data to constrain the signal at large angular scales, Herschel-SPIRE images to subtract the brightest galaxies that comprise the cosmic infrared background (CIB), Chandra imaging to map the electron temperature T-e of the intra-cluster medium, and Hubble Space Telescope imaging to derive models of each galaxy cluster's mass density. The galaxy clusters gravitationally lens the background CIB, which produced an on-average reduction in brightness toward the galaxy clusters' centers after the brightest galaxies were subtracted. We corrected for this deficit, which was between 5% and 25% of the 270. GHz SZ effect signal within R-2500. Using the SZ effect measurements, along with the X-ray constraint on T-e, we measured each galaxy cluster's average line of sight (LOS) velocity v(z) within R-2500, with a median per-cluster uncertainty of +/- 700 km s(-1). We found an ensemble-mean < v(z)> of 430. +/-. 210 m s(-1), and an intrinsic cluster-to-cluster scatter sigma(int) of 470. +/-. 340 km s(-1). We also obtained maps of vz over each galaxy cluster's face with an angular resolution of 70 ''. All four galaxy clusters previously identified as having a merger oriented along the LOS showed an excess variance in these maps at a significance of similar or equal to 2-4 sigma, indicating an internal v(z) rms of greater than or similar to 1000 km s(-1). None of the six galaxy clusters previously identified as relaxed or plane-of-sky mergers showed any such excess variance.
We present pressure profiles of galaxy clusters determined from high-resolution Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect observations of 14 clusters, which span the redshift range of 0.25 < z < 0.89. The procedure simultaneously fits spherical cluster models to MUSTANG and Bolocam data. In this analysis, we adopt the generalized NFW parameterization of pressure profiles to produce our models. Our constraints on ensemble-average pressure profile parameters, in this study gamma, C-500, and P-0, are consistent with those in previous studies, but for individual clusters we find discrepancies with the X-ray derived pressure profiles from the ACCEPT2 database. We investigate potential sources of these discrepancies, especially cluster geometry, electron temperature of the intracluster medium, and substructure. We find that the ensemble mean profile for all clusters in our sample is described by the parameters [gamma, C-500, P-0] = [0.3(-0.1)(+0.1), 1.3(-0.1)(+0.1), 8.6(-2.4)(+2.4)], cool core clusters are described by [gamma, C-500, P-0] = [0.6(-0.1)(+0.1), 0.9(-0.1)(+0.1), 3.6(-1.5)(+1.5)] and disturbed clusters are described by [gamma, C-500, P-0] = [0.1(-0.0)(+0.1), 1.5(-0.2)(+0.1), 13.8(-1.6)(+1.6)]. Of the 14 clusters, 4 have clear substructure in our SZ observations, while an additional 2 clusters exhibit potential substructure.
We present a technique to constrain galaxy cluster pressure profiles by jointly fitting Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (SZE) data obtained with MUSTANG and Bolocam for the clusters Abell 1835 and MACS0647. Bolocam and MUSTANG probe different angular scales and are thus highly complementary. We find that the addition of the high-resolution MUSTANG data can improve constraints on pressure profile parameters relative to those derived solely from Bolocam. In Abell 1835 and MACS0647, we find gNFW inner slopes of γ = 0.36 − 0.21 + 0.33 ?> and γ = 0.38 − 0.25 + 0.20 ?> , respectively, when α and β are constrained to 0.86 and 4.67, respectively. The fitted SZE pressure profiles are in good agreement with X-ray derived pressure profiles.
We present high resolution (9″) imaging of the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich Effect (SZE) toward two massive galaxy clusters, MACS J0647.7+7015 (z = 0.591) and MACS J1206.2–0847 (z = 0.439). We compare these 90 GHz measurements, taken with the Multiplexed Squid/TES Array at Ninety Gigahertz (MUSTANG ) receiver on the Green Bank Telescope, with generalized Navarro–Frenk–White (gNFW) models derived from Bolocam 140 GHz SZE data as well as maps of the thermal gas derived from Chandra X-ray observations. We adopt a serial-fitting approach, in which gNFW models are first fit to the Bolocam data and then compared to the MUSTANG data to determine an overall best-fit model. For MACS J0647.7+7015, we find a gNFW profile with core slope parameter γ = 0.9 fits the MUSTANG image with χ red 2 = 1.005 ?> and probability to exceed (PTE) = 0.34. For MACS J1206.2–0847, we find γ = 0.7 ?> , χ red 2 = 0.993 ?> , and PTE = 0.70. In addition, we find a significant (>3σ) residual SZE feature in MACS J1206.2–0847 coincident with a group of galaxies identified in Very Large Telescope data and filamentary structure found in a weak-lensing mass reconstruction. We suggest the detected sub-structure may be the SZE decrement from a low mass foreground group or an infalling group. Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope measurements at 610 MHz reveal diffuse extended radio emission to the west, which we posit is either an active galactic nucleus-driven radio lobe, a bubble expanding away from disturbed gas associated with the SZE signal, or a bubble detached and perhaps re-accelerated by sloshing within the cluster. Using the spectroscopic redshifts available, we find evidence for a foreground (z = 0.423) or infalling group, coincident with the residual SZE feature.
We present 610 MHz and 2.1 GHz imaging of the massive Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect selected z = 0.870 cluster merger ACT-CL J0102-4915 ("El Gordo"), obtained with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), respectively. We detect two complexes of radio relics separated by 3.' 4 (1.6Mpc) along the system's northwest-to-southeast collision axis that have high integrated polarization fractions (33%) and steep spectral indices (alpha between 1 and 2; S-nu proportional to nu(-alpha)), consistent with creation via Fermi acceleration by shocks in the intracluster medium triggered by the cluster collision. From the spectral index of the relics, we compute a Mach number M = 2.5(-0.3)(+0.7) and shock speed of 2500(-300)(+400) km s(-1). With our wide-bandwidth, full-polarization ATCA data, we compute the Faraday depth phi across the northwest relic and find a range of values spanning Delta phi = 30 rad m(-2), with a mean value of = 11 rad m-2 and standard deviation sigma(phi) = 6 rad m(-2). With the integrated line-of-sight gas density derived from new Chandra X-ray observations, our Faraday depth measurement implies B-parallel to similar to 0.01 mu G in the cluster outskirts. The extremely narrow shock widths in the relics (d(shock) <= 23 kpc), caused by the short synchrotron cooling timescale of relativistic electrons at z = 0.870, prevent us from placing a meaningful constraint on the magnetic field strength B using cooling time arguments. In addition to the relics, we detect a large (r(H) similar or equal to 1.1Mpc radius), powerful (log(L-1.4/WHz(-1)) = 25.66 +/- 0.12) radio halo with a shape similar to El Gordo's "bullet"-like X-ray morphology. The spatially resolved spectral-index map of the halo shows the synchrotron spectrum is flattest near the relics, along the system's collision axis, and in regions of high T-gas, all locations associated with recent energy injection. The spatial and spectral correlation between the halo emission and cluster X-ray properties supports primary-electron processes like turbulent reacceleration as the halo production mechanism. The halo's integrated 610MHz to 2.1 GHz spectral index is a relatively flat alpha = 1.2 +/- 0.1, consistent with the cluster's high Tgas in view of previously established global scaling relations. El Gordo is the highest-redshift cluster known to host a radio halo and/or radio relics, and provides new constraints on the non-thermal physics in clusters at z > 0.6.
We present the temperature power spectra of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) derived from the three seasons of data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) at 148 GHz and 218 GHz, as well as the cross-frequency spectrum between the two channels. We detect and correct for contamination due to the Galactic cirrus in our equatorial maps. We present the results of a number of tests for possible systematic error and conclude that any effects are not significant compared to the statistical errors we quote. Where they overlap, we cross-correlate the ACT and the South Pole Telescope (SPT) maps and show they are consistent. The measurements of higher-order peaks in the CMB power spectrum provide an additional test of the Lambda CDM cosmological model, and help constrain extensions beyond the standard model. The small angular scale power spectrum also provides constraining power on the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects and extragalactic foregrounds. We also present a measurement of the CMB gravitational lensing convergence power spectrum at 4.6-sigma detection significance.
We present a statistical analysis of the millimetre-wavelength properties of 1.4 GHz-selected sources and a detection of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect associated with the haloes that host them. We stack data at 148, 218 and 277 GHz from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope at the positions of a large sample of radio AGN selected at 1.4 GHz. The thermal SZ effect associated with the haloes that host the AGN is detected at the 5 sigma level through its spectral signature, representing a statistical detection of the SZ effect in some of the lowest mass haloes (average M-200 approximate to 10(13) M-circle dot h(70)(-1)) studied to date. The relation between the SZ effect and mass (based on weak lensing measurements of radio galaxies) is consistent with that measured by Planck for local bright galaxies. In the context of galaxy evolution models, this study confirms that galaxies with radio AGN also typically support hot gaseous haloes. Adding Herschel observations allows us to show that the SZ signal is not significantly contaminated by dust emission. Finally, we analyse the contribution of radio sources to the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background.
We present a catalogue of 191 extragalactic sources detected by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) at 148 and/or 218 GHz in the 2008 Southern survey. Flux densities span 14 -1700 mJy, and we use source spectral indices derived using ACT-only data to divide our sources into two subpopulations: 167 radio galaxies powered by central active galactic nuclei (AGN) and 24 dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs). We cross-identify 97 per cent of our sources (166 of the AGN and 19 of the DSFGs) with those in currently available catalogues. When combined with flux densities from the Australia Telescope 20 GHz survey and follow-up observations with the Australia Telescope Compact Array, the synchrotron-dominated population is seen to exhibit a steepening of the slope of the spectral energy distribution from 20 to 148 GHz, with the trend continuing to 218 GHz. The ACT dust-dominated source population has a median spectral index, alpha(148-218), of 3.7(-0.86)(+0.62), and includes both local galaxies and sources with redshift around 6. Dusty sources with no counterpart in existing catalogues likely belong to a recently discovered subpopulation of DSFGs lensed by foreground galaxies or galaxy groups.
We present constraints on cosmological and astrophysical parameters from high-resolution microwave background maps at 148 GHz and 218 GHz made by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) in three seasons of observations from 2008 to 2010. A model of primary cosmological and secondary foreground parameters is fit to the map power spectra and lensing deflection power spectrum, including contributions from both the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (tSZ) effect and the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich (kSZ) effect, Poisson and correlated anisotropy from unresolved infrared sources, radio sources, and the correlation between the tSZ effect and infrared sources. The power ℓ2Cℓ/2π of the thermal SZ power spectrum at 148 GHz is measured to be 3.4±1.4 μK2 at ℓ = 3000, while the corresponding amplitude of the kinematic SZ power spectrum has a 95% confidence level upper limit of 8.6 μK2. Combining ACT power spectra with the WMAP 7-year temperature and polarization power spectra, we find excellent consistency with the LCDM model. We constrain the number of effective relativistic degrees of freedom in the early universe to be Neff = 2.79±0.56, in agreement with the canonical value of Neff = 3.046 for three massless neutrinos. We constrain the sum of the neutrino masses to be Σmν < 0.39 eV at 95% confidence when combining ACT and WMAP 7-year data with BAO and Hubble constant measurements. We constrain the amount of primordial helium to be Yp = 0.225±0.034, and measure no variation in the fine structure constant α since recombination, with α/α0 = 1.004±0.005. We also find no evidence for any running of the scalar spectral index, dns/dln k = −0.004±0.012.
We present a Subaru weak lensing measurement of ACT-CL J0022.2-0036, one of the most luminous, high-redshift (z = 0.81) Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) clusters discovered in the 268 deg(2) equatorial region survey of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope that overlaps with Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82 field. Ours is the first weak lensing study with Subaru at such high redshifts. For the weak lensing analysis using i'-band images, we use a model-fitting (Gauss-Laguerre shapelet) method to measure shapes of galaxy images, where we fit galaxy images in different exposures simultaneously to obtain best-fitting ellipticities taking into account the different point spread functions (PSFs) in each exposure. We also take into account the astrometric distortion effect on galaxy images by performing the model fitting in the world coordinate system. To select background galaxies behind the cluster at z = 0.81, we use photometric redshift estimates for every galaxy derived from the co-added images of multi-passband Br'i'z'Y, with PSF matching/homogenization. After a photometric redshift cut for background galaxy selection, we detect the tangential weak lensing distortion signal with a total signal-to-noise ratio of about 3.7. By fitting a Navarro-Frenk-White model to the measured shear profile, we find the cluster mass to be M-200 (rho) over barm = [7.5(-2.8)(+3.2)(stat.)(+1.3)(-0.6)(sys.)] x 10(14) M-circle dot h(-1). The weak lensing-derived mass is consistent with previous mass estimates based on the SZ observation, with assumptions of hydrostatic equilibrium and virial theorem, as well as with scaling relations between SZ signal and mass derived from weak lensing, X-ray and velocity dispersion, within the measurement errors. We also show that the existence of ACT-CL J0022.2-0036 at z = 0.81 is consistent with the cluster abundance prediction of the Lambda-dominated cold dark matter structure formation model. We thus demonstrate the capability of Subaru-type ground-based images for studying weak lensing of high-redshift clusters.
We present the measured Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) flux from 474 optically-selected MaxBCG clusters that fall within the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) Equatorial survey region. The ACT Equatorial region used in this analysis covers 510 square degrees and overlaps Stripe 82 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We also present the measured SZ flux stacked on 52 X-ray-selected MCXC clusters that fall within the ACT Equatorial region and an ACT Southern survey region covering 455 square degrees. We find that the measured SZ flux from the X-ray-selected clusters is consistent with expectations. However, we find that the measured SZ flux from the optically-selected clusters is both significantly lower than expectations and lower than the recovered SZ flux measured by the Planck satellite. Since we find a lower recovered SZ signal than Planck, we investigate the possibility that there is a significant offset between the optically-selected brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and the SZ centers, to which ACT is more sensitive due to its finer resolution. Such offsets can arise due to either an intrinsic physical separation between the BCG and the center of the gas concentration or from misidentification of the cluster BCG. We find that the entire discrepancy for both ACT and Planck can be explained by assuming that the BCGs are offset from the SZ maxima with a uniform random distribution between 0 and 1.5 Mpc. Such large offsets between gas peaks and BCGs for optically-selected cluster samples seem unlikely given that we find the physical separation between BCGs and X-ray peaks for an X-ray-selected subsample of MaxBCG clusters to have a much narrower distribution that peaks within 0.2 Mpc. It is possible that other effects are lowering the ACT and Planck signals by the same amount, with offsets between BCGs and SZ peaks explaining the remaining difference between measurements. (Abridged)
We present a first measurement of the stellar mass component of galaxy clusters selected via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect, using 3.6 um and 4.5 um photometry from the Spitzer Space Telescope. Our sample consists of 14 clusters detected by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), which span the redshift range 0.27 < z < 1.07 (median z = 0.50), and have dynamical mass measurements, accurate to about 30 per cent, with median M500 = 6.9 x 10^14 MSun. We measure the 3.6 um and 4.5 um galaxy luminosity functions, finding the characteristic magnitude (m*) and faint-end slope (alpha) to be similar to those for IR-selected cluster samples. We perform the first measurements of the scaling of SZ-observables (Y500 and y0) with both brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) stellar mass and total cluster stellar mass (M500star). We find a significant correlation between BCG stellar mass and Y500 (E(z)^-2/3 DA^2 Y500 M*^1.2 +/- 0.6), although we are not able to obtain a strong constraint on the slope of the relation due to the small sample size. Additionally, we obtain E(z)^-2/3 DA^2 Y500 M500star^1.0 +/- 0.6 for the scaling with total stellar mass. The mass fraction in stars spans the range 0.006-0.034, with the second ranked cluster in terms of dynamical mass (ACT-CL J0237-4939) having an unusually low total stellar mass and the lowest stellar mass fraction. For the five clusters with gas mass measurements available in the literature, we see no evidence for a shortfall of baryons relative to the cosmic mean value.
We present a catalog of 68 galaxy clusters, of which 19 are new discoveries, detected via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZ) at 148 GHz in the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) survey on the celestial equator. With this addition, the ACT collaboration has reported a total of 91 optically confirmed, SZ detected clusters. The 504 square degree survey region includes 270 square degrees of overlap with SDSS Stripe 82, permitting the confirmation of SZ cluster candidates in deep archival optical data. The subsample of 48 clusters within Stripe 82 is estimated to be 90% complete for M500c > 4.5 × 1014M⊙ and redshifts 0.15 < z < 0.8. While a full suite of matched filters is used to detect the clusters, the sample is studied further through a ''Profile Based Amplitude Analysis'' using a statistic derived from a single filter at a fixed θ500 = 5.′9 angular scale. This new approach incorporates the cluster redshift along with prior information on the cluster pressure profile to fix the relationship between the cluster characteristic size (R500) and the integrated Compton parameter (Y500). We adopt a one-parameter family of ''Universal Pressure Profiles'' (UPP) with associated scaling laws, derived from X-ray measurements of nearby clusters, as a baseline model. Three additional models of cluster physics are used to investigate a range of scaling relations beyond the UPP prescription. Assuming a concordance cosmology, the UPP scalings are found to be nearly identical to an adiabatic model, while a model incorporating non-thermal pressure better matches dynamical mass measurements and masses from the South Pole Telescope. A high signal to noise ratio subsample of 15 ACT clusters with complete optical follow-up is used to obtain cosmological constraints. We demonstrate, using fixed scaling relations, how the constraints depend on the assumed gas model if only SZ measurements are used, and show that constraints from SZ data are limited by uncertainty in the scaling relation parameters rather than sample size or measurement uncertainty. We next add in seven clusters from the ACT Southern survey, including their dynamical mass measurements, which are based on galaxy velocity dispersions and thus are independent of the gas physics. In combination with WMAP7 these data simultaneously constrain the scaling relation and cosmological parameters, yielding 68% confidence ranges described by σ8 = 0.829 ± 0.024 and Ωm = 0.292 ± 0.025.. We consider these results in the context of constraints from CMB and other cluster studies. The constraints arise mainly due to the inclusion of the dynamical mass information and do not require strong priors on the SZ scaling relation parameters. The results include marginalization over a 15% bias in dynamical masses relative to the true halo mass. In an extension to ΛCDM that incorporates non-zero neutrino mass density, we combine our data with WMAP7, Baryon Acoustic Oscillation data, and Hubble constant measurements to constrain the sum of the neutrino mass species to be ∑νmν < 0.29 eV (95% confidence limit).
We present the optical and X-ray properties of 68 galaxy clusters selected via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect at 148 GHz by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). Our sample, from an area of 504 square degrees centered on the celestial equator, is divided into two regions. The main region uses 270 square degrees of the ACT survey that overlaps with the co-added ugriz imaging from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) over Stripe 82 plus additional near-infrared pointed observations with the Apache Point Observatory 3.5-meter telescope. We confirm a total of 49 clusters to z~1.3, of which 22 (all at z>0.55) are new discoveries. For the second region the regular-depth SDSS imaging allows us to confirm 19 more clusters up to z~0.7, of which 10 systems are new. We present the optical richness, photometric redshifts, and separation between the SZ position and the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG). We find no significant offset between the cluster SZ centroid and BCG location and a weak correlation between optical richness and SZ-derived mass. We also present X-ray fluxes and luminosities from the ROSAT All Sky Survey which confirm that this is a massive sample. One of the newly discovered clusters, ACT-CL J0044.4+0113 at z=1.1 (photometric), has an integrated XMM-Newton X-ray temperature of kT_x=7.9+/-1.0 keV and combined mass of M_200a=8.2(-2.5,+3.3)x10^14 M_sun/h70 placing it among the most massive and X-ray-hot clusters known at redshifts beyond z=1. We also highlight the optically-rich cluster ACT-CL J2327.4-0204 (RCS2 2327) at z=0.705 (spectroscopic) as the most significant detection of the whole equatorial sample with a Chandra-derived mass of M_200a=1.9(-0.4,+0.6)x10^15 M_sun/h70, comparable to some of the most massive known clusters like "El Gordo" and the Bullet Cluster.
We present the first dynamical mass estimates and scaling relations for a sample of Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect (SZE) selected galaxy clusters. The sample consists of 16 massive clusters detected with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) over a 455 deg2 area of the southern sky. Deep multi-object spectroscopic observations were taken to secure intermediate-resolution (R ∼ 700–800) spectra and redshifts for ≈60 member galaxies on average per cluster. The dynamical masses M200c of the clusters have been calculated using simulation-based scaling relations between velocity dispersion and mass. The sample has a median redshift z = 0.50 and a median mass with a lower limit , consistent with the expectations for the ACT southern sky survey. These masses are compared to the ACT SZE properties of the sample, specifically, the match-filtered central SZE amplitude , the central Compton parameter y0, and the integrated Compton signal Y200c, which we use to derive SZE–mass scaling relations. All SZE estimators correlate with dynamical mass with low intrinsic scatter (≲ 20%), in agreement with numerical simulations. We explore the effects of various systematic effects on these scaling relations, including the correlation between observables and the influence of dynamically disturbed clusters. Using the three-dimensional information available, we divide the sample into relaxed and disturbed clusters and find that ∼50% of the clusters are disturbed. There are hints that disturbed systems might bias the scaling relations, but given the current sample sizes, these differences are not significant; further studies including more clusters are required to assess the impact of these clusters on the scaling relations.