Descending from on high: Lyman series cascades and spin-kinetic temperature coupling in the 21 cm line

We examine the effect of Lyman continuum photons on the 21 cm background in the high-redshift universe. The brightness temperature of this transition is determined by the spin temperature T_s, which describes the relative populations of the singlet and triplet hyperfine states. Once the first luminous sources appear, T_s is set by the Wouthuysen-Field effect, in which Lyman-series photons mix the hyperfine levels. Here we consider coupling through n>2 Lyman photons. We first show that coupling (and heating) from scattering of Lyman-n photons is negligible, because they rapidly cascade to lower-energy photons. These cascades can result in either a Lyman-alpha photon -- which will then affect T_s according to the usual Wouthuysen-Field mechanism -- or photons from the 2s -> 1s continuum, which escape without scattering. We show that a proper treatment of the cascades delays the onset of strong Wouthuysen-Field coupling and affects the power spectrum of brightness fluctuations when the overall coupling is still relatively weak (i.e., around the time of the first stars). Cascades damp fluctuations on small scales because only ~ 1/3 of Lyn photons cascade through Lyman-alpha, but they do not affect the large-scale power because that arises from those photons that redshift directly into the Lyman-alpha transition. We also comment on the utility of Lyman-n transitions in providing "standard rulers" with which to study the high-redshift universe.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS. 10 pages, 8 figures. Minor revisions + corrected normalisation of figure

On the Detectability of the Hydrogen 3-cm Fine Structure Line from the EoR

A soft ultraviolet radiation field, 10.2 eV < E <13.6 eV, that permeates neutral intergalactic gas during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) excites the 2p (directly) and 2s (indirectly) states of atomic hydrogen. Because the 2s state is metastable, the lifetime of atoms in this level is relatively long, which may cause the 2s state to be overpopulated relative to the 2p state. It has recently been proposed that for this reason, neutral intergalactic atomic hydrogen gas may be detected in absorption in its 3-cm fine-structure line (2s_1/2 -> 2p_3/2) against the Cosmic Microwave Background out to very high redshifts. In particular, the optical depth in the fine-structure line through neutral intergalactic gas surrounding bright quasars during the EoR may reach tau~1e-5. The resulting surface brightness temperature of tens of micro K (in absorption) may be detectable with existing radio telescopes. Motivated by this exciting proposal, we perform a detailed analysis of the transfer of Lyman beta,gamma,delta,... radiation, and re-analyze the detectability of the fine-structure line in neutral intergalactic gas surrounding high-redshift quasars. We find that proper radiative transfer modeling causes the fine-structure absorption signature to be reduced tremendously to tau< 1e-10. We therefore conclude that neutral intergalactic gas during the EoR cannot reveal its presence in the 3-cm fine-structure line to existing radio telescopes.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, MNRAS in press; v2. some typos fixe

Scale-dependent Galaxy Bias

We present a simple heuristic model to demonstrate how feedback related to the galaxy formation process can result in a scale-dependent bias of mass versus light, even on very large scales. The model invokes the idea that galaxies form initially in locations determined by the local density field, but the subsequent formation of galaxies is also influenced by the presence of nearby galaxies that have already formed. The form of bias that results possesses some features that are usually described in terms of stochastic effects, but our model is entirely deterministic once the density field is specified. Features in the large-scale galaxy power spectrum (such as wiggles that might in an extreme case mimic the effect of baryons on the primordial transfer function) could, at least in principle, arise from spatial modulations of the galaxy formation process that arise naturally in our model. We also show how this fully deterministic model gives rise to apparently stochasticity in the galaxy distribution.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, typos corrected, discussion added and references corrected; matches version accepted by JCA

21-cm cosmology

Imaging the Universe during the first hundreds of millions of years remains one of the exciting challenges facing modern cosmology. Observations of the redshifted 21 cm line of atomic hydrogen offer the potential of opening a new window into this epoch. This would transform our understanding of the formation of the first stars and galaxies and of the thermal history of the Universe. A new generation of radio telescopes is being constructed for this purpose with the first results starting to trickle in. In this review, we detail the physics that governs the 21 cm signal and describe what might be learnt from upcoming observations. We also generalize our discussion to intensity mapping of other atomic and molecular lines.Comment: 64 pages, 20 figures, submitted to Reports on Progress in Physics, comments welcom

Observing Neutral Hydrogen Above Redshift 6: The "Global" Perspective

Above redshift 6, the dominant source of neutral hydrogen in the Universe shifts from localized clumps in and around galaxies and filaments to a pervasive, diffuse component of the intergalactic medium (IGM). This transition tracks the global neutral fraction of hydrogen in the IGM and can be studied, in principle, through the redshifted 21 cm hyperfine transition line. During the last half of the reionization epoch, the mean (global) brightness temperature of the redshifted 21 cm emission is proportional to the neutral fraction, but at earlier times (10 < z < 25), the mean brightness temperature should probe the spin temperature of neutral hydrogen in the IGM. Measuring the (of order 10 mK) mean brightness temperature of the redshifted 21 cm line as a function of frequency (and hence redshift) would chart the early evolution of galaxies through the heating and ionizing of the IGM by their stellar populations. Experiments are already underway to accomplish this task or, at least, provide basic constraints on the evolution of the mean brightness temperature. We provide a brief overview of one of these projects, the Experiment to the Detect the Global EOR Signature (EDGES), and discuss prospects for future results.Comment: From AIP Conference Proceedings, Volume 1035, 2008, "The Evolution of Galaxies through the Neutral Hydrogen Window". 3 page

Cosmic 21-cm Fluctuations as a Probe of Fundamental Physics

Fluctuations in high-redshift cosmic 21-cm radiation provide a new window for observing unconventional effects of high-energy physics in the primordial spectrum of density perturbations. In scenarios for which the initial state prior to inflation is modified at short distances, or for which deviations from scale invariance arise during the course of inflation, the cosmic 21-cm power spectrum can in principle provide more precise measurements of exotic effects on fundamentally different scales than corresponding observations of cosmic microwave background anisotropies.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Gridded and direct Epoch of Reionisation bispectrum estimates using the Murchison Widefield Array

We apply two methods to estimate the 21~cm bispectrum from data taken within the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR) project of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). Using data acquired with the Phase II compact array allows a direct bispectrum estimate to be undertaken on the multiple redundantly-spaced triangles of antenna tiles, as well as an estimate based on data gridded to the $uv$-plane. The direct and gridded bispectrum estimators are applied to 21 hours of high-band (167--197~MHz; $z$=6.2--7.5) data from the 2016 and 2017 observing seasons. Analytic predictions for the bispectrum bias and variance for point source foregrounds are derived. We compare the output of these approaches, the foreground contribution to the signal, and future prospects for measuring the bispectra with redundant and non-redundant arrays. We find that some triangle configurations yield bispectrum estimates that are consistent with the expected noise level after 10 hours, while equilateral configurations are strongly foreground-dominated. Careful choice of triangle configurations may be made to reduce foreground bias that hinders power spectrum estimators, and the 21~cm bispectrum may be accessible in less time than the 21~cm power spectrum for some wave modes, with detections in hundreds of hours.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

A Space-based Observational Strategy for Characterizing the First Stars and Galaxies Using the Redshifted 21 cm Global Spectrum

© 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. The redshifted 21 cm monopole is expected to be a powerful probe of the epoch of the first stars and galaxies (10 < z < 35). The global 21 cm signal is sensitive to the thermal and ionization state of hydrogen gas and thus provides a tracer of sources of energetic photons-primarily hot stars and accreting black holes-which ionize and heat the high redshift intergalactic medium (IGM). This paper presents a strategy for observations of the global spectrum with a realizable instrument placed in a low-altitude lunar orbit, performing night-time 40-120 MHz spectral observations, while on the farside to avoid terrestrial radio frequency interference, ionospheric corruption, and solar radio emissions. The frequency structure, uniformity over large scales, and unpolarized state of the redshifted 21 cm spectrum are distinct from the spectrally featureless, spatially varying, and polarized emission from the bright foregrounds. This allows a clean separation between the primordial signal and foregrounds. For signal extraction, we model the foreground, instrument, and 21 cm spectrum with eigenmodes calculated via Singular Value Decomposition analyses. Using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm to explore the parameter space defined by the coefficients associated with these modes, we illustrate how the spectrum can be measured and how astrophysical parameters (e.g., IGM properties, first star characteristics) can be constrained in the presence of foregrounds using the Dark Ages Radio Explorer (DARE)

Measuring phased-array antenna beampatterns with high dynamic range for the Murchison Widefield Array using 137MHz ORBCOMM satellites

Detection of the fluctuations in a 21 cm line emission from neutral hydrogen during the Epoch of Reionization in thousand hour integrations poses stringent requirements on calibration and image quality, both of which necessitate accurate primary beam models. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) uses phased-array antenna elements which maximize collecting area at the cost of complexity. To quantify their performance, we have developed a novel beam measurement system using the 137 MHz ORBCOMM satellite constellation and a reference dipole antenna. Using power ratio measurements, we measure the in situ beampattern of the MWA antenna tile relative to that of the reference antenna, canceling the variation of satellite flux or polarization with time. We employ angular averaging to mitigate multipath effects (ground scattering) and assess environmental systematics with a null experiment in which the MWA tile is replaced with a second-reference dipole. We achieve beam measurements over 30 dB dynamic range in beam sensitivity over a large field of view (65% of the visible sky), far wider and deeper than drift scans through astronomical sources allow. We verify an analytic model of the MWA tile at this frequency within a few percent statistical scatter within the full width at half maximum. Toward the edges of the main lobe and in the sidelobes, we measure tens of percent systematic deviations. We compare these errors with those expected from known beamforming errors

Imaging neutral hydrogen on large-scales during the Epoch of Reionization with LOFAR

The first generation of redshifted 21 cm detection experiments, carried out with arrays like LOFAR, MWA and GMRT, will have a very low signal-to-noise ratio per resolution element (\sim 0.2). In addition, whereas the variance of the cosmological signal decreases on scales larger than the typical size of ionization bubbles, the variance of the formidable galactic foregrounds increases, making it hard to disentangle the two on such large scales. The poor sensitivity on small scales on the one hand, and the foregrounds effect on large scales on the other hand, make direct imaging of the Epoch of Reionization of the Universe very difficult, and detection of the signal therefore is expected to be statistical.Despite these hurdles, in this paper we argue that for many reionization scenarios low resolution images could be obtained from the expected data. This is because at the later stages of the process one still finds very large pockets of neutral regions in the IGM, reflecting the clustering of the large-scale structure, which stays strong up to scales of \sim 120 comoving Mpc/h (\sim 1 degree). The coherence of the emission on those scales allows us to reach sufficient S/N (\sim 3) so as to obtain reionization 21 cm images. Such images will be extremely valuable for answering many cosmological questions but above all they will be a very powerful tool to test our control of the systematics in the data. The existence of this typical scale (\sim 120 comoving Mpc/h) also argues for designing future EoR experiments, e.g., with SKA, with a field of view of at least 4 degree.Comment: Replaced with final version (minor changes), 9 figures, 11 pages, accepted for publication in MNRA