LIMFAST. I. A Semi-Numerical Tool for Line Intensity Mapping

Abstract

We present LIMFAST, a semi-numerical code for simulating high-redshift galaxy formation and cosmic reionization as revealed by multi-tracer line intensity mapping (LIM) signals. LIMFAST builds upon and extends the 21cmFAST code widely used for 21 cm cosmology by implementing state-of-the-art models of galaxy formation and evolution. The metagalactic radiation background, including the production of various star-formation lines, together with the 21 cm line signal tracing the neutral intergalactic medium (IGM), are self-consistently described by photoionization modeling and stellar population synthesis coupled to the galaxy formation model. We introduce basic structure and functionalities of the code, and demonstrate its validity and capabilities by showing broad agreements between the predicted and observed evolution of cosmic star formation, IGM neutral fraction, and metal enrichment. We also present the LIM signals of 21 cm, Ly$\alpha$, H$\alpha$, H$\beta$, [OII], and [OIII] lines simulated by LIMFAST, and compare them with results from the literature. We elaborate on how several major aspects of our modeling framework, including models of star formation, chemical enrichment, and photoionization, may impact different LIM observables and thus become testable once applied to observational data. LIMFAST aims at being an efficient and resourceful tool for intensity mapping studies in general, exploring a wide range of scenarios of galaxy evolution and reionization and frequencies over which useful cosmological signals can be measured.

arXiv comment24 pages, 12 figures; to appear in ApJ after being significantly updated from v1

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Cited by in corpus (12)

• Line-Intensity Mapping: Theory Review
• LIMFAST. II. Line Intensity Mapping as a Probe of High-Redshift Galaxy Formation
• Forecasts and Statistical Insights for Line Intensity Mapping Cross-Correlations: A Case Study with 21cm x [CII]
• A multi-tracer empirically-driven approach to line-intensity mapping lightcones
• Efficient simulation of discrete galaxy populations and associated radiation fields during the first billion years
• SIMPLE: Simple Intensity Map Producer for Line Emission
• A statistical framework for recovering intensity mapping autocorrelations from crosscorrelations
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• oLIMpus: An Effective Model for Line Intensity Mapping Auto- and Cross- Power Spectra in Cosmic Dawn and Reionization
• The informativeness of [C II] line-intensity mapping as a probe of the H I content and metallicity of galaxies at the end of reionization
• Line Intensity Mapping Prediction from the Cosmic Dawn (CoDa) III Simulation for H$\alpha$ from Galaxies and the Intergalactic Medium during the Epoch of Reionization
• CosmoGLINT: Cosmological Generative Model for Line Intensity Mapping with Transformer