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arXiv · astro-ph/9902311

Reionization of the Intergalactic Medium and its Effect on the CMB

Zoltan Haiman·Lloyd Knox
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Abstract

The bulk of the hydrogen in the universe transformed from neutral to ionized somewhere in the redshift interval 5 < z < 40, most likely due to ionizing photons produced by an early generation of stars or mini-quasars. The resulting free electrons, interacting with the CMB photons via Thomson scattering, are a mixed blessing, providing both a probe of the epoch of the first stars and a contaminant to the pristine primary anisotropy. Here we review our current knowledge of reionization with emphasis on inhomogeneities and describe the possible connections to CMB anisotropy.

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Zoltan Haiman, Lloyd Knox. 1999-03-26. Reionization of the Intergalactic Medium and its Effect on the CMB. https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9902311

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