No Arabic abstract
3D mapping of matter distribution in the universe through the 21 cm radio emission of atomic hydrogen HI is a complementary approach to optical surveys for the study of the Large Scale Structures, in particular for measuring the BAO (Baryon Acoustic Oscillation) scale up to redshifts z < 3, and therefore constraining dark energy parameters. We propose a novel method to map the HI mass distribution in three dimensions in radio, without detecting or identifying individual compact sources. This method would require an instrument with a large instantaneous bandwidth (> 100 MHz) and high sensitivity, while a rather modest angular resolution (~ 10 arcmin) should be sufficient. These requirements can be met by a dense interferometric array or a phased array (FPA) in the focal plane of a large primary reflector, representing a total collecting area of a few thousand square meters with few hundred simultaneous beams covering a 20 to 100 square degrees field of view. We describe the development and qualification of an electronic and data processing system for digital radio interferometry and beam forming suitable for such instruments with several hundred receiver elements.
The 21-cm line of neutral hydrogen (HI) opens a new avenue in our exploration of the Universes structure and evolution. It provides complementary data with different systematics, which aim to improve our current understanding of the $Lambda$CDM model. Among several radio cosmological surveys designed to measure this line, BINGO is a single dish telescope mainly designed to detect Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) at low redshifts ($0.127 < z < 0.449$). Our goal is to assess the capabilities of the fiducial BINGO setup to constrain the cosmological parameters and analyse the effect of different instrument configurations. We will use the 21-cm angular power spectra to extract information about the HI signal and the Fisher matrix formalism to study BINGO projected constraining power. We use the Phase 1 fiducial configuration of the BINGO telescope to perform our cosmological forecasts. In addition, we investigate the impact of several instrumental setups and different cosmological models. Combining BINGO with Planck temperature and polarization data, we project a $1%$ and a $3%$ precision measurement at $68%$ CL for the Hubble constant and the dark energy (DE) equation of state (EoS), respectively, within the wCDM model. Assuming a CPL parametrization, the EoS parameters have standard deviations given by $sigma_{w_0} = 0.30$ and $sigma_{w_a} = 1.2$. We find that BINGO can also help breaking degeneracies in alternative models, which improves the cosmological constraints significantly. Moreover, we can access information about the HI density and bias, obtaining $sim 8.5%$ and $sim 6%$ precision, respectively, assuming they vary with redshift at three independent bins. The fiducial BINGO configuration will be able to extract significant information from the HI distribution and provide constraints competitive with current and future cosmological surveys. (Abridged)
Using the 21 cm line, observed all-sky and across the redshift range from 0 to 5, the large scale structure of the Universe can be mapped in three dimensions. This can be accomplished by studying specific intensity with resolution ~ 10 Mpc, rather than via the usual galaxy redshift survey. The data set can be analyzed to determine Baryon Acoustic Oscillation wavelengths, in order to address the question: What is the nature of Dark Energy? In addition, the study of Large Scale Structure across this range addresses the questions: How does Gravity effect very large objects? and What is the composition our Universe? The same data set can be used to search for and catalog time variable and transient radio sources.
Measurement of the spatial distribution of neutral hydrogen via the redshifted 21 cm line promises to revolutionize our knowledge of the epoch of reionization and the first galaxies, and may provide a powerful new tool for observational cosmology from redshifts 1<z<4 . In this review we discuss recent advances in our theoretical understanding of the epoch of reionization (EoR), the application of 21 cm tomography to cosmology and measurements of the dark energy equation of state after reionization, and the instrumentation and observational techniques shared by 21 cm EoR and post reionization cosmology machines. We place particular emphasis on the expected signal and observational capabilities of first generation 21 cm fluctuation instruments.
We introduce a new Bayesian HI spectral line fitting technique capable of obtaining spectroscopic redshifts for millions of galaxies in radio surveys with the Square Kilometere Array (SKA). This technique is especially well-suited to the low signal-to-noise regime that the redshifted 21-cm HI emission line is expected to be observed in, especially with SKA Phase 1, allowing for robust source detection. After selecting a set of continuum objects relevant to large, cosmological-scale surveys with the first phase of the SKA dish array (SKA1-MID), we simulate data corresponding to their HI line emission as observed by the same telescope. We then use the MultiNest nested sampling code to find the best-fitting parametrised line profile, providing us with a full joint posterior probability distribution for the galaxy properties, including redshift. This provides high quality redshifts, with redshift errors $Delta z / z <10^{-5}$, from radio data alone for some 1.8 million galaxies in a representative 5000 square degree survey with the SKA1-MID instrument with up-to-date sensitivity profiles. Interestingly, we find that the SNR definition commonly used in forecast papers does not correlate well with the actual detectability of an HI line using our method. We further detail how our method could be improved with per-object priors and how it may be also used to give robust constraints on other observables such as the HI mass function. We also make our line fitting code publicly available for application to other data sets.
Next generation observatories will enable us to study the first billion years of our Universe in unprecedented detail. Foremost among these are 21-cm interferometry with the HERA and the SKA, and high-$z$ galaxy observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Taking a basic galaxy model, in which we allow the star formation rates and ionizing escape fractions to have a power-law dependence on halo mass with an exponential turnover below some threshold, we quantify how observations from these instruments can be used to constrain the astrophysics of high-$z$ galaxies. For this purpose, we generate mock JWST LFs, based on two different hydrodynamical cosmological simulations; these have intrinsic luminosity functions (LFs) which turn over at different scales and yet are fully consistent with present-day observations. We also generate mock 21-cm power spectrum observations, using 1000h observations with SKA1 and a moderate foreground model. Using only JWST data, we predict up to a factor of 2-3 improvement (compared with HST) in the fractional uncertainty of the star formation rate to halo mass relation and the scales at which the LFs peak (i.e. turnover). Most parameters regulating the UV galaxy properties can be constrained at the level of $sim 10$% or better, if either (i) we are able to better characterize systematic lensing uncertainties than currently possible; or (ii) the intrinsic LFs peak at magnitudes brighter than $M_{rm UV} lesssim -13$. Otherwise, improvement over HST-based inference is modest. When combining with upcoming 21-cm observations, we are able to significantly mitigate degeneracies, and constrain all of our astrophysical parameters, even for our most pessimistic assumptions about upcoming JWST LFs. The 21-cm observations also result in an order of magnitude improvement in constraints on the EoR history.