Abstract

The XMM Cluster Survey (XCS) will exploit the entire XMM -Newton data archive to find clusters. XCS already covers 275 square degrees and has found more than 1500 cluster candidates with > 300 counts. We have more than 400 have been optically confirmed clusters so far; z_max=1.45. Here we present the first results for cluster X-ray scaling relations from an initial XCS sample and discuss their implications for cluster physics and cosmology. Unlike most previous measurements of scaling relations, XCS has both a well characterised selection function and a large sample size, which will allow much more accurate inferences about the underlying cluster relations to be made from the measurements. To this end we also explore the effects of selection and measurement errors on our ability to measure scaling relations by folding clusters drawn from n-body/hydro simulations through the XCS selection function to infer selection and measurement biases.