Radio views of cosmic reionization

Abstract

We use numerical simulations of cosmic reionization and radiative processes related to the HI 21 cm emission line to produce synthetic radio maps as seen by next generation radio telescopes that will operate at low radio frequencies (e.g. LOFAR). Two different scenarios, in which the end of reionization occurs early (z approx 13) or late (z approx 8) depending on the Initial Mass Function (IMF) of the first stars and ionizing photon escape fraction, have been explored. For each of these models we produce synthetic HI 21 cm emission maps by convolving the simulation outputs with the provisional LOFAR sampling function in the frequency range 76-140 MHz. If reionization occurs late, LOFAR will be able to detect individual HI structures on arcmin scales, emitting at a brightness temperature of approx 35 mK as a 3-sigma signal in about 1000 hours of observing time. In the case of early reionization, the detection would be unlikely, due to decreased sensitivity and increased sky temperatures. These results assume that ionospheric, interference and foreground issues are fully under control.

arXiv comment6 pages, 3 figures, Minor changes following referee report

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Cosmology at Low Frequencies: The 21 cm Transition and the High-Redshift Universe
• Reionization and Cosmology with 21 cm Fluctuations
• Simulating Cosmic Reionization at Large Scales II: the 21-cm Emission Features and Statistical Signals
• The simulated 21 cm signal during the epoch of reionization : full modeling of the Ly-alpha pumping
• Secondary anisotropies of the CMB
• Lyman-alpha radiative transfer during the Epoch of Reionization: contribution to 21-cm signal fluctuations
• The Impact of a Percolating IGM on Redshifted 21 cm Observations of Quasar HII Regions
• Improved supervised learning methods for EoR parameters reconstruction
• The effect of Galactic foreground subtraction on redshifted 21-cm observations of quasar HII regions