2,032 research outputs found
Characterizing Signal Loss in the 21 cm Reionization Power Spectrum: A Revised Study of PAPER-64
The Epoch of Reionization (EoR) is an uncharted era in our Universe's history
during which the birth of the first stars and galaxies led to the ionization of
neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium. There are many experiments
investigating the EoR by tracing the 21cm line of neutral hydrogen. Because
this signal is very faint and difficult to isolate, it is crucial to develop
analysis techniques that maximize sensitivity and suppress contaminants in
data. It is also imperative to understand the trade-offs between different
analysis methods and their effects on power spectrum estimates. Specifically,
with a statistical power spectrum detection in HERA's foreseeable future, it
has become increasingly important to understand how certain analysis choices
can lead to the loss of the EoR signal. In this paper, we focus on signal loss
associated with power spectrum estimation. We describe the origin of this loss
using both toy models and data taken by the 64-element configuration of the
Donald C. Backer Precision Array for Probing the Epoch of Reionization (PAPER).
In particular, we highlight how detailed investigations of signal loss have led
to a revised, higher 21cm power spectrum upper limit from PAPER-64.
Additionally, we summarize errors associated with power spectrum error
estimation that were previously unaccounted for. We focus on a subset of
PAPER-64 data in this paper; revised power spectrum limits from the PAPER
experiment are presented in a forthcoming paper by Kolopanis et al. (in prep.)
and supersede results from previously published PAPER analyses.Comment: 25 pages, 18 figures, Accepted by Ap
PAPER-64 Constraints On Reionization II: The Temperature Of The z=8.4 Intergalactic Medium
We present constraints on both the kinetic temperature of the intergalactic
medium (IGM) at z=8.4, and on models for heating the IGM at high-redshift with
X-ray emission from the first collapsed objects. These constraints are derived
using a semi-analytic method to explore the new measurements of the 21 cm power
spectrum from the Donald C. Backer Precision Array for Probing the Epoch of
Reionization (PAPER), which were presented in a companion paper, Ali et al.
(2015). Twenty-one cm power spectra with amplitudes of hundreds of mK^2 can be
generically produced if the kinetic temperature of the IGM is significantly
below the temperature of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB); as such, the
new results from PAPER place lower limits on the IGM temperature at z=8.4.
Allowing for the unknown ionization state of the IGM, our measurements find the
IGM temperature to be above ~5 K for neutral fractions between 10% and 85%,
above ~7 K for neutral fractions between 15% and 80%, or above ~10 K for
neutral fractions between 30% and 70%. We also calculate the heating of the IGM
that would be provided by the observed high redshift galaxy population, and
find that for most models, these galaxies are sufficient to bring the IGM
temperature above our lower limits. However, there are significant ranges of
parameter space that could produce a signal ruled out by the PAPER
measurements; models with a steep drop-off in the star formation rate density
at high redshifts or with relatively low values for the X-ray to star formation
rate efficiency of high redshift galaxies are generally disfavored. The PAPER
measurements are consistent with (but do not constrain) a hydrogen spin
temperature above the CMB temperature, a situation which we find to be
generally predicted if galaxies fainter than the current detection limits of
optical/NIR surveys are included in calculations of X-ray heating.Comment: companion paper to Ali et al. (2015), ApJ 809, 61; matches version
accepted to ApJ; 11 pages, 7 figure
The Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array Dish I: Beam Pattern Measurements and Science Implications
The Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) is a radio interferometer
aiming to detect the power spectrum of 21 cm fluctuations from neutral hydrogen
from the Epoch of Reionization (EOR). Drawing on lessons from the Murchison
Widefield Array (MWA) and the Precision Array for Probing the Epoch of
Reionization (PAPER), HERA is a hexagonal array of large (14 m diameter) dishes
with suspended dipole feeds. Not only does the dish determine overall
sensitivity, it affects the observed frequency structure of foregrounds in the
interferometer. This is the first of a series of four papers characterizing the
frequency and angular response of the dish with simulations and measurements.
We focus in this paper on the angular response (i.e., power pattern), which
sets the relative weighting between sky regions of high and low delay, and
thus, apparent source frequency structure. We measure the angular response at
137 MHz using the ORBCOMM beam mapping system of Neben et al. We measure a
collecting area of 93 m^2 in the optimal dish/feed configuration, implying
HERA-320 should detect the EOR power spectrum at z~9 with a signal-to-noise
ratio of 12.7 using a foreground avoidance approach with a single season of
observations, and 74.3 using a foreground subtraction approach. Lastly we study
the impact of these beam measurements on the distribution of foregrounds in
Fourier space.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures. Replaced to match accepted ApJ versio
The Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array Dish II: Characterization of Spectral Structure with Electromagnetic Simulations and its science Implications
We use time-domain electromagnetic simulations to determine the spectral
characteristics of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Arrays (HERA) antenna.
These simulations are part of a multi-faceted campaign to determine the
effectiveness of the dish's design for obtaining a detection of redshifted 21
cm emission from the epoch of reionization. Our simulations show the existence
of reflections between HERA's suspended feed and its parabolic dish reflector
that fall below -40 dB at 150 ns and, for reasonable impedance matches, have a
negligible impact on HERA's ability to constrain EoR parameters. It follows
that despite the reflections they introduce, dishes are effective for
increasing the sensitivity of EoR experiments at relatively low cost. We find
that electromagnetic resonances in the HERA feed's cylindrical skirt, which is
intended to reduce cross coupling and beam ellipticity, introduces significant
power at large delays ( dB at 200 ns) which can lead to some loss of
measurable Fourier modes and a modest reduction in sensitivity. Even in the
presence of this structure, we find that the spectral response of the antenna
is sufficiently smooth for delay filtering to contain foreground emission at
line-of-sight wave numbers below Mpc, in
the region where the current PAPER experiment operates. Incorporating these
results into a Fisher Matrix analysis, we find that the spectral structure
observed in our simulations has only a small effect on the tight constraints
HERA can achieve on parameters associated with the astrophysics of
reionization.Comment: Accepted to ApJ, 18 pages, 17 Figures. Replacement matches accepted
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