Non-equilibrium temperature evolution of ionization fronts during the Epoch of Reionization


Abstract in English

The epoch of reionization (EoR) marks the end of the Cosmic Dawn and the beginning of large-scale structure formation in the universe. The impulsive ionization fronts (I-fronts) heat and ionize the gas within the reionization bubbles in the intergalactic medium (IGM). The temperature during this process is a key yet uncertain ingredient in current models. Typically, reionization simulations assume that all baryonic species are in instantaneous thermal equilibrium with each other during the passage of an I-front. Here we present a new model of the temperature evolution for the ionization front by studying non-equilibrium effects. In particular, we include the energy transfer between major baryon species ($e^{-}$, HI, HII, HeI, and HeII) and investigate their impacts on the post-ionization front temperature $T_{mathrm{re}}$. For a better step-size control when solving the stiff equations, we implement an implicit method and construct an energy transfer rate matrix. We find that the assumption of equilibration is valid for a low-speed ionization front ($lessapprox 10^9~mathrm{cm}/mathrm{s}$), but deviations from equilibrium occur for faster fronts. The post-front temperature $T_{mathrm{re}}$ is lower by up to 19.7% (at $3times 10^9$ cm/s) or 30.8% (at $10^{10}$ cm/s) relative to the equilibrium case.

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