ARRAY FOR MICROWAVE BACKGROUND ANISOTROPY: OBSERVATIONS, DATA ANALYSIS, AND RESULTS FOR SUNYAEV-ZEL'DOVICH EFFECTS

We present observations, analysis, and results for the first-year operation of Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA), an interferometric experiment designed to study cosmology via the measurement of cosmic microwave background (CMB). AMiBA is the first CMB interferometer operating at 3 mm to have reported successful results, currently with seven close-packed antennas of 60 cm diameter giving a synthesized resolution of around 6'. During 2007, AMiBA detected the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects (SZEs) of six galaxy clusters at redshift 0.091 ≤ z ≤ 0.322. An observing strategy with on-off-source switching is used to minimize the effects from electronic offset and ground pickup. Planets were used to test the observational capability of AMiBA and to calibrate the conversion from correlator time-lag data to visibilities. The detailed formalism for data analysis is given. We summarize our early tests including observations of planets and quasars, and present images, visibility profiles, the estimated central coordinates, sizes, and SZE amplitudes of the galaxy clusters. Scientific implications are summarized. We also discuss possible systematic effects in the results.