No Arabic abstract
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.
In this white paper, we lay out a US roadmap for high-redshift 21 cm cosmology (30 < z < 6) in the 2020s. Beginning with the currently-funded HERA and MWA Phase II projects and advancing through the decade with a coordinated program of small-scale instrumentation, software, and analysis projects targeting technology development, this roadmap incorporates our current best understanding of the systematics confronting 21 cm cosmology into a plan for overcoming them, enabling next-generation, mid-scale 21 cm arrays to be proposed late in the decade. Submitted for consideration by the Astro2020 Decadal Survey Program Panel for Radio, Millimeter, and Submillimeter Observations from the Ground as a Medium-Sized Project.
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)
The 21-cm and Lyman Alpha lines are the dominant line-emission spectral features at opposite ends of the spectrum of hydrogen. Each line can be used to create three dimensional intensity maps of large scale structure. The sky brightness at low redshift due to Lyman Alpha emission is estimated to be 0.4 Jy/Steradian, which is brighter than the zodiacal light foreground.
We forecast ability of dedicated 21 cm intensity mapping experiments to constraint primordial non-Gaussianity using power spectrum and bispectrum. We model the signal including the non-linear biasing expansion using a generalized halo model approach. We consider the importance of foreground filtering scale and of the foreground wedge. We find that the current generation intensity mapping experiments like CHIME do not posses sufficient sensitivity to be competitive with the existing limits. On the other hand, upcoming experiments like HIRAX can improve the current constraints and the proposed PUMA experiment can substantially improve them, reaching sensitivities below $sigma (f_{rm NL})<5$ for equilateral and orthogonal configurations and $sigma( f_{rm NL}) < 1$ for the local shape if good foreground control is achieved.
We quantify the prospects for using emission lines from rotational transitions of the CO molecule to perform an `intensity mapping observation at high redshift during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). The aim of CO intensity mapping is to observe the combined CO emission from many unresolved galaxies, to measure the spatial fluctuations in this emission, and use this as a tracer of large scale structure at very early times in the history of our Universe. This measurement would help determine the properties of molecular clouds -- the sites of star formation -- in the very galaxies that reionize the Universe. We further consider the possibility of cross-correlating CO intensity maps with future observations of the redshifted 21 cm line. The cross spectrum is less sensitive to foreground contamination than the auto power spectra, and can therefore help confirm the high redshift origin of each signal. Furthermore, the cross spectrum measurement would help extract key information about the EoR, especially regarding the size distribution of ionized regions. We discuss uncertainties in predicting the CO signal at high redshift, and discuss strategies for improving these predictions. Under favorable assumptions, and feasible specifications for a CO survey mapping the CO(2-1) and CO(1-0) lines, the power spectrum of CO emission fluctuations and its cross spectrum with future 21 cm measurements from the MWA are detectable at high significance.