No Arabic abstract
The spatial distribution of neutral hydrogen (HI) in the Universe contains a wealth of cosmological information. The 21 cm emission line can be used to map the HI up to very high redshift and therefore reveal us something about the evolution of the large scale structures in the Universe. However little is known about the abundance and clustering properties of the HI over cosmic time. Motivated by this, we build an analytic framework where the relevant parameters that govern how the HI is distributed among dark matter halos can be fixed using observations. At the same time we provide tools to study the column density distribution function of the HI absorbers together with their clustering properties. Our formalism is the first one able to account for all observations at a single redshift, $z = 2.3$. The linear bias of the HI and the mean number density of HI sources, two main ingredients in the calculation of the signal-to-noise ratio of a cosmological survey, are then discussed in detail, also extrapolating the results to low and high redshift. We find that HI bias is relatively higher than the value reported in similar studies, but the shot noise level is always sub dominant, making the HI Power Spectrum always a high signal-to-noise measurements up to $zsimeq5$ in the limit of no instrumental noise and foreground contamination.
Observations of the neutral Hydrogen (HI ) 21-cm signal hold the potential of allowing us to map out the cosmological large scale structures (LSS) across the entire post-reionization era ($z leq 6$). Several experiments are planned to map the LSS over a large range of redshifts and angular scales, many of these targeting the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations. It is important to model the HI distribution in order to correctly predict the expected signal, and more so to correctly interpret the results after the signal is detected. In this paper we have carried out semi-numerical simulations to model the HI distribution and study the HI power spectrum $P_{HI}(k,z)$ across the redshift range $1 le z le 6$. We have modelled the HI bias as a complex quantity $tilde{b}(k,z)$ whose modulus squared $b^2(k,z)$ relates $P_{HI}(k,z)$ to the matter power spectrum $P(k,z)$, and whose real part $b_r(k,z)$ quantifies the cross-correlation between the HI and the matter distribution. We study the $z$ and $k$ dependence of the bias, and present polynomial fits which can be used to predict the bias across $0 le z le6$ and $0.01 le k le 10 , {rm Mpc}^{-1}$. We also present results for the stochasticity $r=b_r/b$ which is important for cross-correlation studies.
The formation and evolution of galaxies with low neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) masses, M$_{rm HI}$$<$10$^{8}h^{-2}$M$_{odot}$, are affected by host dark matter halo mass and photoionisation feedback from the UV background after the end of reionization. We study how the physical processes governing the formation of galaxies with low HI mass are imprinted on the distribution of neutral hydrogen in the Universe using the hierarchical galaxy formation model, GALFORM. We calculate the effect on the correlation function of changing the HI mass detection threshold at redshifts $0 le z le 0.5$. We parameterize the clustering as $xi(r)=(r/r_{0})^{-gamma}$ and we find that including galaxies with M$_{rm HI}$$<$10$^{8}h^{-2}$M$_{odot}$ increases the clustering amplitude $r_{0}$ and slope $gamma$ compared to samples of higher HI masses. This is due to these galaxies with low HI masses typically being hosted by haloes with masses greater than 10$^{12}{h}^{-1}$M$_{odot}$, and is in contrast to optically selected surveys for which the inclusion of faint, blue galaxies lowers the clustering amplitude. We show the HI mass function for different host dark matter halo masses and galaxy types (central or satellite) to interpret the values of $r_{0}$ and $gamma$ of the clustering of HI-selected galaxies. We also predict the contribution of low HI mass galaxies to the 21cm intensity mapping signal. We calculate that a dark matter halo mass resolution better than $sim$10$^{10}{h}^{-1}$M$_{odot}$ at redshifts higher than 0.5 is required in order to predict converged 21cm brightness temperature fluctuations.
An anisotropic power spectrum will have a clear signature in the 21cm radiation from high-redshift hydrogen. We calculate the expected power spectrum of the intensity fluctuations in neutral hydrogen from before the epoch of reionization, and predict the accuracy to which future experiments could constrain a quadrupole anisotropy in the power spectrum. We find that the Square Kilometer Array will have marginal detection abilities for this signal at z~17 if the process of reionization has not yet started; reionization could enhance the detectability substantially. Pushing to higher redshifts and higher sensitivity will allow highly precise (percent level) measurements of anisotropy.
There has been much recent interest in studying anisotropies in the astrophysical gravitational-wave (GW) background, as these could provide us with interesting new information about galaxy clustering and large-scale structure. However, this information is obscured by shot noise, caused by the finite number of GW sources that contribute to the background at any given time. We develop a new method for estimating the angular spectrum of anisotropies, based on the principle of combining statistically-independent data segments. We show that this gives an unbiased estimate of the true, astrophysical spectrum, removing the offset due to shot noise power, and that in the limit of many data segments, it is the most efficient (i.e. lowest-variance) estimator possible.
The first objects to arise in a cold dark matter universe present a daunting challenge for models of structure formation. In the ultra small-scale limit, CDM structures form nearly simultaneously across a wide range of scales. Hierarchical clustering no longer provides a guiding principle for theoretical analyses and the computation time required to carry out credible simulations becomes prohibitively high. To gain insight into this problem, we perform high-resolution (N=720^3 - 1584^3) simulations of an Einstein-de Sitter cosmology where the initial power spectrum is P(k) propto k^n, with -2.5 < n < -1. Self-similar scaling is established for n=-1 and n=-2 more convincingly than in previous, lower-resolution simulations and for the first time, self-similar scaling is established for an n=-2.25 simulation. However, finite box-size effects induce departures from self-similar scaling in our n=-2.5 simulation. We compare our results with the predictions for the power spectrum from (one-loop) perturbation theory and demonstrate that the renormalization group approach suggested by McDonald improves perturbation theorys ability to predict the power spectrum in the quasilinear regime. In the nonlinear regime, our power spectra differ significantly from the widely used fitting formulae of Peacock & Dodds and Smith et al. and a new fitting formula is presented. Implications of our results for the stable clustering hypothesis vs. halo model debate are discussed. Our power spectra are inconsistent with predictions of the stable clustering hypothesis in the high-k limit and lend credence to the halo model. Nevertheless, the fitting formula advocated in this paper is purely empirical and not derived from a specific formulation of the halo model.