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Rennan Barkana

Publications and source records attributed to Rennan Barkana.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Accurate modelling of the Lyman-$α$ coupling for the 21-cm signal, observability with NenuFAR and SKA

The measurement of the $21$ cm signal from the Cosmic Dawn is a major goal for several existing and upcoming radio interferometers such as NenuFAR and the SKA. During this era before the beginning of the Epoch of Reionization, the signal is more difficult to observe due to brighter foregrounds but reveals additional information on the underlying astrophysical processes encoded in the spatial fluctuations of the spin temperature of hydrogen. To interpret future measurements, controlling the level of accuracy of the Lyman-$α$ flux modelling is mandatory. In this work, we evaluate the impact of various approximations that exist in the main fast modelling approach compared to the results of a costly full radiative transfer simulation. The fast SPINTER code, presented in this work, computes the Lyman-$α$ flux including the effect of wing scatterings for an inhomogeneous emissivity field, but assuming an otherwise homogeneous expanding universe. The LICORICE code computes the full radiative transfer in the Lyman-$α$ line without any substantial approximation. We find that the difference between homogeneous and inhomogeneous gas density and temperature is very small for the computed flux. On the contrary, neglecting the effect of gas velocities produces a significant change in the computed flux. We identify the causes (mainly Doppler shifts due to velocity gradients) and quantify the magnitude of the effect in both an idealised setup and a realistic cosmological situation. We find that the amplitude of the effect, up to a factor of $\sim 2$ on the $21$ cm signal power spectrum on some scales (depending on both other model parameters and the redshift), can be easily discriminated with an SKA-like survey and already be approached, particularly for exotic signals, by the ongoing NenuFAR Cosmic Dawn Key Science Program.

astro-ph.CO↗

Improved Constraints on the 21 cm EoR Power Spectrum and the X-Ray Heating of the IGM with HERA Phase I Observations

We report the most sensitive upper limits to date on the 21 cm epoch of reionization power spectrum using 94 nights of observing with Phase I of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA). Using similar analysis techniques as in previously reported limits (HERA Collaboration 2022a), we find at 95% confidence that $Δ^2(k = 0.34$ $h$ Mpc$^{-1}$) $\leq 457$ mK$^2$ at $z = 7.9$ and that $Δ^2 (k = 0.36$ $h$ Mpc$^{-1}) \leq 3,496$ mK$^2$ at $z = 10.4$, an improvement by a factor of 2.1 and 2.6 respectively. These limits are mostly consistent with thermal noise over a wide range of $k$ after our data quality cuts, despite performing a relatively conservative analysis designed to minimize signal loss. Our results are validated with both statistical tests on the data and end-to-end pipeline simulations. We also report updated constraints on the astrophysics of reionization and the cosmic dawn. Using multiple independent modeling and inference techniques previously employed by HERA Collaboration (2022b), we find that the intergalactic medium must have been heated above the adiabatic cooling limit at least as early as $z = 10.4$, ruling out a broad set of so-called "cold reionization" scenarios. If this heating is due to high-mass X-ray binaries during the cosmic dawn, as is generally believed, our result's 99% credible interval excludes the local relationship between soft X-ray luminosity and star formation and thus requires heating driven by evolved low-metallicity stars.

astro-ph.CO↗

Strong 21-cm fluctuations and anisotropy due to the line-of-sight effect of radio galaxies at cosmic dawn

The reported detection of the global 21-cm signal by the EDGES collaboration is significantly stronger than standard astrophysical predictions. One possible explanation is an early radio excess above the cosmic microwave background. Such a radio background could have been produced by high redshift galaxies, if they were especially efficient in producing low-frequency synchrotron radiation. We have previously studied the effects of such an inhomogeneous radio background on the 21-cm signal; however, we made a simplifying assumption of isotropy of the background seen by each hydrogen cloud. Here we perform a complete calculation that accounts for the fact that the 21-cm absorption occurs along the line of sight, and is therefore sensitive to radio sources lying behind each absorbing cloud. We find that the complete calculation strongly enhances the 21-cm power spectrum during cosmic dawn, by up to two orders of magnitude; on the other hand, the effect on the global 21-cm signal is only at the $5\%$ level. In addition to making the high-redshift 21-cm fluctuations potentially more easily observable, the line of sight radio effect induces a new anisotropy in the 21-cm power spectrum. While these effects are particularly large for the case of an extremely-enhanced radio efficiency, they make it more feasible to detect even a moderately-enhanced radio efficiency in early galaxies. This is especially relevant since the EDGES signal has been contested by the SARAS experiment.

astro-ph.CO↗

HERA Phase I Limits on the Cosmic 21-cm Signal: Constraints on Astrophysics and Cosmology During the Epoch of Reionization

Recently, the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) collaboration has produced the experiment's first upper limits on the power spectrum of 21-cm fluctuations at z~8 and 10. Here, we use several independent theoretical models to infer constraints on the intergalactic medium (IGM) and galaxies during the epoch of reionization (EoR) from these limits. We find that the IGM must have been heated above the adiabatic cooling threshold by z~8, independent of uncertainties about the IGM ionization state and the nature of the radio background. Combining HERA limits with galaxy and EoR observations constrains the spin temperature of the z~8 neutral IGM to 27 K < T_S < 630 K (2.3 K < T_S < 640 K) at 68% (95%) confidence. They therefore also place a lower bound on X-ray heating, a previously unconstrained aspects of early galaxies. For example, if the CMB dominates the z~8 radio background, the new HERA limits imply that the first galaxies produced X-rays more efficiently than local ones (with soft band X-ray luminosities per star formation rate constrained to L_X/SFR = { 10^40.2, 10^41.9 } erg/s/(M_sun/yr) at 68% confidence), consistent with expectations of X-ray binaries in low-metallicity environments. The z~10 limits require even earlier heating if dark-matter interactions (e.g., through millicharges) cool down the hydrogen gas. Using a model in which an extra radio background is produced by galaxies, we rule out (at 95% confidence) the combination of high radio and low X-ray luminosities of L_{r,ν}/SFR > 3.9 x 10^24 W/Hz/(M_sun/yr) and L_X/SFR<10^40 erg/s/(M_sun/yr). The new HERA upper limits neither support nor disfavor a cosmological interpretation of the recent EDGES detection. The analysis framework described here provides a foundation for the interpretation of future HERA results.

astro-ph.CO↗

Anticipating a New-Physics Signal in Upcoming 21-cm Power Spectrum Observations

Dark matter-baryon interactions can cool the baryonic fluid, which has been shown to modify the cosmological 21-cm global signal. We show that in a two-component dark sector with an interacting millicharged component, dark matter-baryon scattering can produce a 21-cm power spectrum signal with acoustic oscillations. The signal can be up to three orders of magnitude larger than expected in $Λ$CDM cosmology, given realistic astrophysical models. This model provides a new-physics target for near-future experiments such as HERA or NenuFAR, which can potentially discover or strongly constrain the dark matter explanation of the putative EDGES anomaly.

hep-ph↗

Effect of the cosmological transition to metal-enriched star-formation on the hydrogen 21-cm signal

Mapping Cosmic Dawn with 21-cm tomography offers an exciting new window into the era of primordial star formation. However, self-consistent implementation of both the process of star formation and the related 21-cm signal is challenging, due to the multi-scale nature of the problem. In this study, we develop a flexible semi-analytical model to follow the formation of the first stars and the process of gradual transition from primordial to metal-enriched star formation. For this transition we use different in scenarios with varying time-delays (or recovery times) between the first supernovae and the formation of the second generation of stars. We use recovery times between 10 and 100\,Myr and find that these delays have a strong impact on the redshift at which the transition to metal-enriched star formation occurs. We then explore the effect of this transition on the 21-cm signal and find that the recovery time has a distinctive imprint in the signal. Together with an improved understanding of how this time-delay relates to the properties of Population~III stars, future 21-cm observations can give independent constraints on the earliest epoch of star formation.

astro-ph.CO↗

Shot noise and scatter in the star formation efficiency as a source of 21-cm fluctuations

The 21-cm signal from cosmic dawn and the epoch of reionization (EoR) probes the characteristics of the high redshift galaxy population. Many of the astrophysical properties of galaxies at high redshifts are currently unconstrained due to the lack of observations. This creates a vast space of possible astrophysical scenarios where the 21-cm signal needs to be modeled in order to plan for, and eventually fit, future observations. This is done with fast numerical methods which make simplifying approximations for the underlying physical processes. In this work we quantify the effect of Poisson fluctuations and scatter in the star formation efficiency; while Poisson fluctuations are included in some works and not in others, scatter in the star formation efficiency is usually neglected, and all galaxies of a given mass are assumed to have the same properties. We show that both features can have a significant effect on the 21-cm power spectrum, most importantly in scenarios where the signal is dominated by massive galaxies. Scatter in the star formation efficiency does not simply enhance the effect of Poisson fluctuations; for example we show that the power spectrum shape at cosmic dawn has a feature corresponding to the width of the galaxy brightness distribution. We also discuss some of the consequences for 21-cm imaging, and the signature of reduced correlation between the density and radiation fields.

astro-ph.CO↗

The subtlety of Ly-a photons: changing the expected range of the 21-cm signal

We present the evolution of the 21-cm signal from cosmic dawn and the epoch of reionization (EoR) in an upgraded model including three subtle effects of Ly-a radiation: Ly-a heating, CMB heating (mediated by Ly-a photons), and multiple scattering of Ly-a photons. Taking these effects into account we explore a wide range of astrophysical models and quantify the impact of these processes on the global 21-cm signal and its power spectrum at observable scales and redshifts. We find that, in agreement with the literature, Ly-a and CMB heating raise the gas temperature by up to $\mathcal{O}(100)$ degrees in models with weak X-ray heating and, thus, suppress the predicted 21-cm signals. Varying the astrophysical parameters over broad ranges, we find that in the upgraded model the absorption trough of the global signal reaches a lowest floor of $-165$ mK at redshifts $z\approx 15-19$. This is in contrast with the predictions for a pure adiabatically cooling Universe, for which the deepest possible absorption is a monotonically decreasing function of cosmic time and is $-178$ mK at $z = 19$ and $-216$ mK at $z=15$, dropping to even lower values at lower redshifts (e.g. $-264$ mK at $z = 10$). With the Ly-a and CMB heating included we also observe a strong suppression in the low-redshift power spectra, with the maximum possible power (evaluated over the ensemble of models) attenuated by a factor of $6.6$ at $z=9$ and $k = 0.1$ Mpc$^{-1}$. Finally, we find that at high redshifts corresponding to cosmic dawn, the heating terms have a subdominant effect while multiple scattering of Ly-a photons is important, leading to an amplification of the power spectrum by a factor of $\sim 2-5$.

astro-ph.CO↗

Mapping discrete galaxies at cosmic dawn with 21-centimeter observations

At cosmic dawn, the 21-centimeter signal from intergalactic hydrogen was driven by Lyman-$α$ photons from some of the earliest stars, producing a spatial pattern that reflected the distribution of galaxies at that time. Due to the large foreground, it is thought that around redshift 20 it is only observationally feasible to detect 21-cm fluctuations statistically, yielding a limited, indirect probe of early galaxies. Here we show that 21-cm images at cosmic dawn should actually be dominated by large (tens of comoving megaparsecs), high contrast bubbles surrounding individual galaxies. We demonstrate this using a substantially upgraded semi-numerical simulation code that realistically captures the formation and 21-cm effects of the small galaxies expected during this era. Small number statistics associated with the rarity of early galaxies, combined with the multiple scattering of photons in the blue wing of the Lyman-$α$ line, create the large bubbles and also enhance the 21-cm power spectrum by a factor of 2--7 and add to it a feature that measures the typical brightness of galaxies. These various signatures of discrete early galaxies are potentially detectable with planned experiments such as the Square Kilometer Array or the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array, even if the early stars formed in dark matter halos with masses as low as $10^8\, M_\odot$, ten thousand times smaller than the Milky Way halo.

astro-ph.CO↗

High-redshift radio galaxies: a potential new source of 21-cm fluctuations

Radio sources are expected to have formed at high redshifts, producing an excess radiation background above the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at low frequencies. Their effect on the redshifted 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen is usually neglected, as it is assumed that the associated background is small. Recently, an excess radio background above the level of the CMB has been proposed as one of the possible explanations for the unusually strong 21-cm signal from redshift $z\sim 17$ reported by the EDGES collaboration. As a result, the implications of a smooth and extremely strong excess radio background on both the sky-averaged (global) 21-cm signal and its fluctuations have been considered. Here we take into account the inhomogeneity of the radio background created by a population of high-redshift galaxies, and show that it adds a new type of 21-cm fluctuations to the well-known contributions of density, velocity, Ly-$α$ coupling, heating and reionization. We find that a population of high-redshift galaxies even with a moderately-enhanced radio efficiency (unrelated to the EDGES result) can have a significant effect on the 21-cm power spectrum and global signal in models with weak X-ray heating. For models that can explain the EDGES data, we conduct a large parameter survey to explore their signatures. We show that in such models the 21-cm power spectrum at $z\sim 17$ is enhanced by up to two orders of magnitude compared to the CMB-only standard case, and the shape and time evolution of the power spectrum is significantly modified by the radio fluctuations. These fluctuations are within reach of upcoming radio interferometers. We also find that these models can be significantly constrained by current and future observations of radio sources.

astro-ph.CO↗

Emulating the Global 21-cm Signal from Cosmic Dawn and Reionization

The 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen is a sensitive probe of the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) and Cosmic Dawn. Currently operating radio telescopes have ushered in a data-driven era of 21-cm cosmology, providing the first constraints on the astrophysical properties of sources that drive this signal. However, extracting astrophysical information from the data is highly non-trivial and requires the rapid generation of theoretical templates over a wide range of astrophysical parameters. To this end emulators are often employed, with previous efforts focused on predicting the power spectrum. In this work we introduce 21cmGEM - the first emulator of the global 21-cm signal from Cosmic Dawn and the EoR. The smoothness of the output signal is guaranteed by design. We train neural networks to predict the cosmological signal using a database of ~30,000 simulated signals which were created by varying seven astrophysical parameters: the star formation efficiency and the minimal mass of star-forming halos; the efficiency of the first X-ray sources and their spectrum parameterized by spectral index and the low energy cutoff; the mean free path of ionizing photons and the CMB optical depth. We test the performance with a set of ~2,000 simulated signals, showing that the relative error in the prediction has an r.m.s. of 0.0159. The algorithm is efficient, with a running time per parameter set of 0.16 sec. Finally, we use the database of models to check the robustness of relations between the features of the global signal and the astrophysical parameters that we previously reported.

astro-ph.CO↗

Quantiles as Robust Probes of Non-Gaussianity in 21-cm Images

The early epoch in which the first stars and galaxies formed is among the most exciting unexplored eras of the Universe. A major research effort focuses on probing this era with the 21-cm spectral line of hydrogen. While most research focused on statistics like the 21-cm power spectrum or the sky-averaged global signal, there are other ways to analyze tomographic 21-cm maps, which may lead to novel insights. We suggest statistics based on quantiles as a method to probe non-Gaussianities of the 21-cm signal. We show that they can be used in particular to probe the variance, skewness, and kurtosis of the temperature distribution, but are more flexible and robust than these standard statistics. We test these statistics on a range of possible astrophysical models, including different galactic halo masses, star-formation efficiencies, and spectra of the X-ray heating sources, plus an exotic model with an excess early radio background. Simulating data with angular resolution and thermal noise as expected for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), we conclude that these statistics can be measured out to redshifts above 20 and offer a promising statistical method for probing early cosmic history.

astro-ph.CO↗

Extracting the Global Signal from 21-cm Fluctuations: the Multi-Tracer Approach

The multi-tracer technique employs a ratio of densities of two differently biased galaxy samples that trace the same underlying matter density field, and was proposed to alleviate the cosmic variance problem. Here we propose a novel application of this approach, applying it to two different tracers one of which is the 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen from the epochs of reionization and comic dawn. The second tracer is assumed to be a sample of high-redshift galaxies, but the approach can be generalized and applied to other high-redshift tracers. We show that the anisotropy of the ratio of the two density fields can be used to measure the sky-averaged 21-cm signal, probe the spectral energy distribution of radiative sources that drive this signal, and extract large-scale properties of the second tracer, e.g., the galaxy bias. Using simulated 21-cm maps and mock galaxy samples, we find that the method works well for an idealized galaxy survey. However, in the case of a more realistic galaxy survey which only probes highly biased luminous galaxies, the inevitable Poisson noise makes the reconstruction far more challenging. This difficulty can be mitigated with the greater sensitivity of future telescopes along with larger survey volumes.

astro-ph.CO↗

Peering into the Dark (Ages) with Low-Frequency Space Interferometers

Neutral hydrogen pervades the infant Universe, and its redshifted 21-cm signal allows one to chart the Universe. This signal allows one to probe astrophysical processes such as the formation of the first stars, galaxies, (super)massive black holes and enrichment of the pristine gas from z~6 to z~30, as well as fundamental physics related to gravity, dark matter, dark energy and particle physics at redshifts beyond that. As one enters the Dark Ages (z>30), the Universe becomes pristine. Ground-based low-frequency radio telescopes aim to detect the spatial fluctuations of the 21-cm signal. Complementary, global 21-cm experiments aim to measure the sky-averaged 21-cm signal. Escaping RFI and the ionosphere has motivated space-based missions, such as the Dutch-Chinese NCLE instrument (currently in lunar L2), the proposed US-driven lunar or space-based instruments DAPPER and FARSIDE, the lunar-orbit interferometer DSL (China), and PRATUSH (India). To push beyond the current z~25 frontier, though, and measure both the global and spatial fluctuations (power-spectra/tomography) of the 21-cm signal, low-frequency (1-100MHz; BW~50MHz; z>13) space-based interferometers with vast scalable collecting areas (1-10-100 km2), large filling factors (~1) and large fields-of-view (4pi sr.) are needed over a mission lifetime of >5 years. In this ESA White Paper, we argue for the development of new technologies enabling interferometers to be deployed, in space (e.g. Earth-Sun L2) or in the lunar vicinity (e.g. surface, orbit or Earth-Moon L2), to target this 21-cm signal. This places them in a stable environment beyond the reach of most RFI from Earth and its ionospheric corruptions, enabling them to probe the Dark Ages as well as the Cosmic Dawn, and allowing one to investigate new (astro)physics that is inaccessible in any other way in the coming decades. [Abridged]

astro-ph.IM↗

Signature of Excess Radio Background in the 21-cm Global Signal and Power Spectrum

The recent tentative detection by the EDGES Low-Band antenna of the hydrogen 21-cm line from cosmic dawn, if confirmed, is the first ever signature observed from the epoch of primordial star formation. However, the magnitude and the shape of this signal are incompatible with standard astrophysical predictions, requiring either colder than expected gas, or an excess radio background above the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation. In this paper we explore the latter option, investigating possible 21-cm signals in models with a phenomenological excess radio background together with the standard astrophysical modeling. Assuming uniform radiation with a synchrotron-like spectrum existing throughout cosmic history, we show that such a radio background, in addition to explaining the EDGES Low-Band signal, enhances the power spectrum. The signal during cosmic dawn and reionization strongly depends on both the intensity of the radio background and the astrophysical parameters. We verify the broad agreement of our models with the detected feature, including additional constraints from the EDGES High-Band data, high-redshift quasars, and observational limits on the extragalactic radio background. The data imply a lower limit on the star formation efficiency of 2.8\%, an upper limit on the minimum mass of star-forming halos of M$_{\rm h}\sim 10^9$ M$_\odot$ at $z = 17$, and a lower limit on the excess radio background of 1.9 times the CMB at the 78 MHz cosmic dawn frequency (corresponding to 0.1\% of the CMB at 1.42 GHz). The properties of X-ray sources remain unconstrained. We also show that during the dark ages, such a radio background saturates the 21-cm signal, imprinting a unique signature in both the global signal and the power spectrum.

astro-ph.CO↗

Results from EDGES High-Band: III. New Constraints on Parameters of the Early Universe

We present new constraints on parameters of cosmic dawn and the epoch of reionization derived from the EDGES High-Band spectrum ($90-190$ MHz). The parameters are probed by evaluating global $21$ cm signals generated with the recently developed Global21cm tool. This tool uses neural networks trained and tested on $\sim 30,000$ spectra produced with semi-numerical simulations that assume the standard thermal evolution of the cosmic microwave background and the intergalactic medium. From our analysis, we constrain at $68\%$ (1) the minimum virial circular velocity of star-forming halos to $V_{\rm c}<19.3$ km s$^{-1}$, (2) the X-ray heating efficiency of early sources to $f_{\rm X}>0.0042$, and (3) the low-energy cutoff of the X-ray spectral energy distribution to $ν_{\rm min}<2.3$ keV. We also constrain the star-formation efficiency ($f_*$), the electron scattering optical depth ($τ_{\rm e}$), and the mean-free path of ionizing photons ($R_{\rm mfp}$). We re-compute the constraints after incorporating into the analysis four estimates for the neutral hydrogen fraction from high-$z$ quasars and galaxies, and a prior on $τ_{\rm e}$ from Planck $2018$. The largest impact of the external observations is on the parameters that most directly characterize reionization. Specifically, we derive the combined $68\%$ constraints $τ_{\rm e}<0.063$ and $R_{\rm mfp}>27.5$ Mpc. The external observations also have a significant effect on $V_{\rm c}$ due to its degeneracy with $τ_{\rm e}$, while the constraints on $f_*$, $f_{\rm X}$, and $ν_{\rm min}$, remain primarily determined by EDGES.

astro-ph.CO↗

Tighter Limits on Dark Matter Explanations of the Anomalous EDGES 21cm Signal

We investigate the hypothesis that Coulomb-type interactions between dark matter (DM) and baryons explain the anomalously low 21cm brightness-temperature minimum at redshift z ~ 17 that was recently measured by the EDGES experiment. In particular, we reassess the validity of the scenario where a small fraction of the total DM is millicharged, focusing on newly derived constraints from Planck 2015 cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. Crucially, the CMB power spectrum is sensitive to DM-baryon scattering if the fraction of interacting DM is larger than (or comparable to) the fractional uncertainty in the baryon energy density. Meanwhile, there is a mass-dependent lower limit on the fraction for which the required interaction to cool the baryons sufficiently is so strong that it drives the interacting-DM temperature to the baryon temperature prior to their decoupling from the CMB. If this occurs as early as recombination, the cooling saturates. We precisely determine the viable parameter space for millicharged DM, and find that only a fraction (m_chi/MeV) 0.0115% <~ f <~ 0.4% of the entire DM content, and only for DM-particle masses between 0.5 MeV - 35 MeV, can be charged at the level needed to marginally explain the anomaly, without violating limits from SLAC, CMB, Big-Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), or stellar and SN1987A cooling. In reality, though, we demonstrate that at least moderate fine tuning is required to both agree with the measured absorption profile and overcome various astrophysical sources of heating. Finally, we point out that a ~0.4% millicharged DM component which is tightly coupled to the baryons at recombination may resolve the current 2-sigma tension between the BBN and CMB determinations of the baryon energy density. Future CMB-S4 measurements will be able to probe this scenario directly.

astro-ph.CO↗

A Critical Assessment of CMB Limits on Dark Matter-Baryon Scattering: New Treatment of the Relative Bulk Velocity

We perform an improved cosmic microwave background (CMB) analysis to search for dark matter-proton scattering with a momentum-transfer cross section of the form $σ_0 v^n$ for $n=-2$ and $n=-4$. In particular, we present a new and robust prescription for incorporating the relative bulk velocity between the dark matter and baryon fluids into the standard linear Boltzmann calculation. Using an iterative procedure, we self-consistently include the effects of the bulk velocities in a cosmology in which dark matter interacts with baryons. With this prescription, we derive CMB bounds on the cross section, excluding $σ_0 > 2.3 \times 10^{-33}~\mathrm{cm}^2$ for $n=-2$ and $σ_0 > 1.7 \times 10^{-41}~\mathrm{cm}^2$ for $n=-4$ at $95\%$ confidence, for dark matter masses below 10 MeV. Furthermore, we investigate how these constraints change when only a subcomponent of dark matter is interacting. We show that Planck limits vanish if $\lesssim 0.4\%$ of dark matter is tightly coupled to baryons. We discuss the implications of our results for present and future cosmological observations.

astro-ph.CO↗