Euclid preparation. Decomposing components of the extragalactic background light using multi-band intensity mapping cross-correlations

Abstract

The extragalactic background light (EBL) fluctuations in the optical/near-IR encode the cumulative integrated galaxy light (IGL), diffuse intra-halo light (IHL), and high-$z$ sources from the epoch of reionisation (EoR), but they are difficult to disentangle with auto-spectra alone. We aim to decompose the EBL into its principal constituents using multi-band intensity mapping combined with cosmic shear and galaxy clustering. We develop a joint halo-model framework in which IHL follows a mass- and redshift-dependent luminosity scaling, IGL is set by an evolving Schechter luminosity function, and EoR emission is modelled with Pop II/III stellar emissivities and a binned star-formation efficiency. Using mock surveys in a flat $\hat{I}›$CDM cosmology with ten spectral bands spanning 0.75-5.0$\hat{\mathrm{I}}¼\mathrm{m}$ in the NEP deep fields over about 100$\hat{A}{°}^2$ with source detections down to AB=20.5 for masking, and six redshift bins to $z=2.5$, we fit auto- and cross-power spectra using a MCMC method. The combined SPHEREx$\times$Euclid analysis recovers all fiducial parameters within 1$\ddot{I}ƒ$ and reduces 1$\ddot{I}ƒ$ uncertainties on IHL parameters by 10-35% relative to SPHEREx EBL-only, while EoR star-formation efficiency parameters improve by 20-35%. Cross-correlations reveal a stronger coupling of IHL than IGL to the shear field, enhancing component separation; conversely, the EoR contribution shows negligible correlation with cosmic shear and galaxy clustering, aiding its isolation in the EBL. Relative to the SPHEREx EBL-only case, the inferred IHL fraction as a function of halo mass is significantly tightened over $10^{11}-10^{14}{M}_{\odot }$, with uncertainties reduced by 5-30%, and the resulting star-formation rate density constraints extend to $z\sim 11$, with uncertainty reductions of 22-31%.

21 pages, 11 figures