Observing the Epoch of Reionization with the Cosmic Microwave Background
arXiv:1511.01117 · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-21957-8_8
Abstract
We review the observable consequences of the epoch of reionization (EoR) on the cosmic microwave background (CMB), and the resulting constraints on the EoR. We discuss how Thomson scattering with the free electrons produced during EoR equates to an optical depth for CMB photons. The optical depth measurements from the WMAP and Planck satellites, using large-scale CMB polarization power spectra, is one of the few current constraints on the timing of cosmic reionization. We also present forecasts for the precision with which the optical depth will be measured by future satellite missions. Second, we consider the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect, and how the kSZ power spectrum depends on the duration of reionization. We review current measurements of the kSZ power and forecasts for future experiments. Finally, we mention proposals to look for spectral distortions in the CMB that are related to the electron temperature at EoR, and ideas to map the variations in the optical depth across the sky.
Book chapter in "Understanding the Epoch of Cosmic Reionization: Challenges and Progress", Springer International Publishing, Ed. Andrei Mesinger, ISBN 978-3-319-21956-1
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- Updated Bounds on Sum of Neutrino Masses in Various Cosmological Scenarios
- Reionization inference from the CMB optical depth and E-mode polarization power spectra
- Reionization and Cosmic Dawn: theory and simulations
- Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) Science: Resolving the Hot and Ionized Universe through the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect