21 cm cosmology in the 21st century Pritchard, Jonathan R; Loeb, Abraham
Reports on progress in physics,
08/2012, Letnik:
75, Številka:
8
Journal Article
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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 will 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.
Abstract
The epoch of reionization (EoR) 21-cm signal is expected to be highly non-Gaussian in nature and this non-Gaussianity is also expected to evolve with the progressing state of reionization. ...Therefore the signal will be correlated between different Fourier modes (k). The power spectrum will not be able capture this correlation in the signal. We use a higher order estimator – the bispectrum – to quantify this evolving non-Gaussianity. We study the bispectrum using an ensemble of simulated 21-cm signal and with a large variety of k triangles. We observe two competing sources driving the non-Gaussianity in the signal: fluctuations in the neutral fraction ($x_{{{\rm H\,\small {I}}}\,}$) field and fluctuations in the matter density field. We find that the non-Gaussian contribution from these two sources varies, depending on the stage of reionization and on which k modes are being studied. We show that the sign of the bispectrum works as a unique marker to identify which among these two components is driving the non-Gaussianity. We propose that the sign change in the bispectrum, when plotted as a function of triangle configuration cos θ and at a certain stage of the EoR can be used as a confirmative test for the detection of the 21-cm signal. We also propose a new consolidated way to visualize the signal evolution (with evolving $\bar{x}_{{{\rm H\,\small {I}}}$ or redshift), through the trajectories of the signal in a power spectrum and equilateral bispectrum i.e. P(k) − B(k, k, k) space.
Abstract
In this paper, we establish the accuracy and robustness of a fast estimator for the bispectrum – the ‘FFT-bispectrum estimator’. The implementation of the estimator presented here offers ...speed and simplicity benefits over a direct-measurement approach. We also generalize the derivation so it may be easily be applied to any order polyspectra, such as the trispectrum, with the cost of only a handful of Fast-Fourier Transforms (FFTs). All lower order statistics can also be calculated simultaneously for little extra cost. To test the estimator, we make use of a non-linear density field, and for a more strongly non-Gaussian test case, we use a toy-model of reionization in which ionized bubbles at a given redshift are all of equal size and are randomly distributed. Our tests find that the FFT-estimator remains accurate over a wide range of k, and so should be extremely useful for analysis of 21-cm observations. The speed of the FFT-bispectrum estimator makes it suitable for sampling applications, such as Bayesian inference. The algorithm we describe should prove valuable in the analysis of simulations and observations, and whilst, we apply it within the field of cosmology, this estimator is useful in any field that deals with non-Gaussian data.
There are numerous ways in which plants can influence the composition of soil communities. However, it remains unclear whether information on plant community attributes, including taxonomic, ...phylogenetic, or trait-based composition, can be used to predict the structure of soil communities. We tested, in both monocultures and field-grown mixed temperate grassland communities, whether plant attributes predict soil communities including taxonomic groups from across the tree of life (fungi, bacteria, protists, and metazoa). The composition of all soil community groups was affected by plant species identity, both in monocultures and in mixed communities. Moreover, plant community composition predicted additional variation in soil community composition beyond what could be predicted from soil abiotic characteristics. In addition, analysis of the field aboveground plant community composition and the composition of plant roots suggests that plant community attributes are better predictors of soil communities than root distributions. However, neither plant phylogeny nor plant traits were strong predictors of soil communities in either experiment. Our results demonstrate that grassland plant species form specific associations with soil community members and that information on plant species distributions can improve predictions of soil community composition. These results indicate that specific associations between plant species and complex soil communities are key determinants of biodiversity patterns in grassland soils.
ABSTRACT
We present a new statistical tool, called the triangle correlation function (TCF), inspired by the earlier work of Obreschkow et al. It is derived from the three-point correlation function ...and aims to probe the characteristic scale of ionized regions during the epoch of reionization from 21cm interferometric observations. Unlike most works, which focus on power spectrum, i.e. amplitude information, our statistic is based on the information we can extract from the phases of the Fourier transform of the ionization field. In this perspective, it may benefit from the well-known interferometric concept of closure phases. We find that this statistical estimator performs very well on simple ionization fields. For example, with well-defined fully ionized discs, there is a peaking scale, which we can relate to the radius of the ionized bubbles. We explore the robustness of the TCF when observational effects such as angular resolution and noise are considered. We also get interesting results on fields generated by more elaborate simulations such as 21CMFAST. Although the variety of sources and ionized morphologies in the early stages of the process make its interpretation more challenging, the nature of the signal can tell us about the stage of reionization. Finally, and in contrast to other bubble size distribution algorithms, we show that the TCF can resolve two different characteristic scales in a given map.
ABSTRACT
The bispectrum can quantify the non-Gussianity present in the redshifted 21-cm signal produced by the neutral hydrogen ($\rm {H \small {I}}$) during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). ...Motivated by this, we perform a comprehensive study of the EoR 21-cm bispectrum using simulated signals. Given a model of reionization, we demonstrate the behaviour of the bispectrum for all unique triangles in k space. For ease of identification of the unique triangles we parametrize the k-triangle space with two parameters, namely the ratio of the two arms of the triangle (n = k2/k1) and the cosine of the angle between them (cos θ). Furthermore, for the first time we quantify the impact of the redshift space distortions (RSD) on the spherically averaged EoR 21-cm bispectrum in the entire unique triangle space. We find that the real space signal bispectra for small and intermediate k1-triangles ($k_1 \le 0.6 \, \, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$) is negative in most of the unique triangle space. It takes a positive sign for squeezed, stretched, and linear k1-triangles, specifically for large k1 values ($k_1 \ge 0.6 \, \, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$). The RSD affects both the sign and magnitude of the bispectra significantly. It changes (increases/decreases) the magnitude of the bispectra by $50\!-\!100{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ without changing its sign (mostly) during the entire period of the EoR for small and intermediate k1-triangles. For larger k1-triangles, RSD affects the magnitude by $100\!-\!200{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ and also flips the sign from negative to positive. We conclude that it is important to take into account the impact of RSD for a correct interpretation of the EoR 21-cm bispectra.
Many models of early structure formation predict a period of heating immediately preceding reionization, when X-rays raise the gas temperature above that of the cosmic microwave background. These ...X-rays are often assumed to heat the intergalactic medium (IGM) uniformly, but in reality will heat the gas more strongly closer to the sources. We develop a framework for calculating fluctuations in the 21-cm brightness temperature that originate from this spatial variation in the heating rate. High-redshift sources are highly clustered, leading to significant gas temperature fluctuations (with fractional variations ∼40 per cent, peaking on k∼ 0.1 Mpc−1 scales). This induces a distinctive peak-trough structure in the angle-averaged 21-cm power spectrum, which may be accessible to the proposed Square Kilometre Array. This signal reaches the ∼10 mK level, and is stronger than that induced by Lyα flux fluctuations. As well as probing the thermal evolution of the IGM before reionization, this 21-cm signal contains information about the spectra of the first X-ray sources. Finally, we consider disentangling temperature, density and Lyα flux fluctuations as functions of redshift.
We present analysis of the normalized 21-cm bispectrum from fully-numerical simulations of intergalactic-medium heating by stellar sources and high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) during the cosmic dawn. ...Ly-alpha coupling is assumed to be saturated, we therefore probe the nature of non-Gaussianities produced by X-ray heating processes. We find the evolution of the normalized bispectrum to be very different from that of the power spectrum. It exhibits a turnover whose peak moves from large to small scales with decreasing redshift, and corresponds to the typical separation of emission regions. This characteristic scale reduces as more and more regions move into emission with time. Ultimately, small-scale fluctuations within heated regions come to dominate the normalized bispectrum, which at the end of the simulation is almost entirely driven by fluctuations in the density field. To establish how generic the qualitative evolution of the normalized bispectrum we see in the stellar + HMXB simulation is, we examine several other simulations - two fully numerical simulations that include quasi-stellar object (QSO) sources, and two with contrasting source properties produced with the semi-numerical simulation 21CMFAST. We find the qualitative evolution of the normalized bispectrum during X-ray heating to be generic, unless the sources of X-rays are, as with QSOs, less numerous and so exhibit more distinct isolated heated profiles. Assuming mitigation of foreground and instrumental effects are ultimately effective, we find that we should be sensitive to the normalized bispectrum during the epoch of heating, so long as the spin temperature has not saturated by z approximate to 19.
ABSTRACT
We present a study of the 21-cm signal bispectrum (which quantifies the non-Gaussianity in the signal) from the Cosmic Dawn (CD). For our analysis, we have simulated the 21-cm signal using ...radiative transfer code grizzly, while considering two types of sources (mini-QSOs and HMXBs) for Ly α coupling and the X-ray heating of the IGM. Using this simulated signal, we have, for the first time, estimated the CD 21-cm bispectra for all unique k-triangles and for a range of k modes. We observe that the redshift evolution of the bispectrum magnitude and sign follow a generic trend for both source models. However, the redshifts at which the bispectrum magnitude reaches their maximum and minimum values and show their sign reversal depends on the source model. When the Ly α coupling and the X-ray heating of the IGM occur simultaneously, we observe two consecutive sign reversals in the bispectra for small k-triangles (irrespective of the source models). One arising at the beginning of the IGM heating and the other at the end of Ly α-coupling saturation. This feature can be used in principle to constrain the CD history and/or to identify the specific CD scenarios. We also quantify the impact of the spin temperature (TS) fluctuations on the bispectra. We find that TS fluctuations have maximum impact on the bispectrum magnitude for small k-triangles and at the stage when Ly α coupling reaches saturation. Furthermore, we are also the first to quantify the impact of redshift space distortions (RSD), on the CD bispectra. We find that the impact of RSD on the CD 21-cm bispectra is significant ($\gt 20{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) and the level depends on the stages of the CD and the k-triangles for which the bispectra are being estimated.
ABSTRACT
A measurement of the 21-cm global signal would be a revealing probe of the Dark Ages, the era of first star formation, and the Epoch of Reionization. It has remained elusive owing to bright ...galactic and extra-galactic foreground contaminants, coupled with instrumental noise, ionospheric effects, and beam chromaticity. The simultaneous detection of a consistent 21-cm dipole signal alongside the 21-cm global signal would provide confidence in a claimed detection. We use simulated data to investigate the possibility of using drift-scan dipole antenna experiments to achieve a detection of both monopole and dipole. We find that at least two antennae located at different latitudes are required to localize the dipole. In the absence of foregrounds, a total integration time of ∼104 h is required to detect the dipole. With contamination by simple foregrounds, we find that the integration time required increases to ∼105 h. We show that the extraction of the 21-cm dipole from more realistic foregrounds requires a more sophisticated foreground modelling approach. Finally, we motivate a global network of dipole antennae that could reasonably detect the dipole in ∼103 h of integration time.
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