The distribution of rich clusters of galaxies in the south Galactic pole region

We present the first results from the Edinburgh-Milano cluster redshift survey. This survey consists of ∼800 galaxy redshifts for ∼100 rich clusters contained in the Edinburgh/Durham Cluster Catalogue. The most striking result is the close correspondence between the maxima in the cluster redshift distribution and the periodic peaks discovered by Broadhurst et al. in their pencil beam galaxy survey at the south Galactic pole. Particularly impressive is an elongated concentration of ∼20 systems at z ∼ 0.11, found to be responsible for giving rise to the third peak. These observations leave little doubt about the structural reality of the fluctuations observed by Broadhurst et al.