While the connection between high-redshift star formation and the local universe has recently been used to understand the observed population of faint dwarf galaxies in the Milky Way (MW) halo, we explore how well these nearby objects can probe the epoch of first light. We construct a detailed, physically motivated model for the MW satellites based on the state-of-the-art Via Lactea II dark-matter simulations. Our model incorporates molecular hydrogen (H_2) cooling in low-mass systems and inhomogeneous photo-heating feedback during the internal reionization of our own galaxy. We find that the existence of MW satellites fainter than M_V ~ -5 is strong evidence for H_2 cooling in low-mass halos, while satellites with -5 > M_V > -9 were affected by hydrogen cooling and photoheating feedback. The age of stars in very low-luminosity systems and the minimum luminosity of these satellites are key predictions of our model. Most of the stars populating the brightest MW satellites could have formed after the epoch of reionization. Our models also predict a significantly larger dispersion in M_300 values than observed and a number of luminous satellites with M_300 as low as 10^6 solar masses.
Baryons both increase halo concentration through adiabatic contraction and expel mass through feedback processes. However, it is not well understood how the radiation fields prevalent during the epoch of reionization affect the evolution of concentration in dark matter halos. We investigate how baryonic physics during the epoch of reionization modify the structure of dark matter halos in the Cosmic Reionization On Computers (CROC) simulations. We use two different measures of halo concentration to quantify the effects. We compare concentrations of halos matched between full physics simulations…
We use the publicly available subhalo catalogs from the Via Lactea simulation along with a Gpc-scale N-body simulation to understand the impact of inhomogeneous reionization on the satellite galaxy population of the Milky Way. The large-volume simulation is combined with a model for reionization that allows us to predict the distribution of reionization times for Milky Way mass halos. Motivated by this distribution, we identify candidate satellite galaxies in the simulation by requiring that any subhalo must grow above a specified mass threshold before it is reionized; after this time the phot…
We present the results of a set of numerical simulations aimed at studying reionization at galactic scale. We use a high resolution simulation of the formation of the Milky Way-M31 system to simulate the reionization of the local group. The reionization calculation was performed with the post-processing radiative transfer code ATON and the underlying cosmological simulation was performed as part of the CLUES project. We vary the source models to bracket the range of source properties used in the literature. We investigate the structure and propagation of the galatic ionization fronts by a visu…
We present a new semi-analytical model of the population of satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, aimed at estimating the effect of the geometry of reionization at galaxy scale on the properties of the satellites. In this model reionization can be either: (A) externally-driven and uniform, or (B) internally-driven, by the most massive progenitor of the Milky Way. In the latter scenario the propagation of the ionisation front and photon dilution introduce a delay in the photo-evaporation of the outer satellites' gas with respect to the inner satellites. As a consequence, outer satellites experie…
The inhomogeneous cosmological reionization process leaves tangible imprints in the intergalactic medium down to z=4-5. The Lyman-alpha forest flux power spectrum provides a potentially powerful probe of the epoch of reionization. With the existing SDSS I/II quasar sample we show that two cosmological reionization scenarios, one completing reionization at z=6 and the other at z=9, can be distinguished at ~7 sigma level by utilizing Lyman alpha forest absorption spectra at z=4.5+-0.5, in the absence of other physical processes that may also affect the Lyman alpha flux power spectrum. The redshi…
In recent years, interstellar dust has become a crucial topic in the study of the high and very high redshift Universe. Evidence points to the existence of high dust masses in massive star forming galaxies already during the Epoch of Reionization, potentially affecting the escape of ionising photons into the intergalactic medium. Moreover, correctly estimating dust extinction at UV wavelengths is essential for precise ultra-violet luminosity function (UVLF) prediction and interpretation. In this paper, we investigate the impact of dust on the observed properties of high redshift galaxies, and …
Observations of the Milky Way (MW), M31, and their vicinity, known as the Local Group (LG), can provide clues about the sources of reionization. We present a suite of radiative transfer simulations based on initial conditions provided by the Constrained Local UniversE Simulations (CLUES) project that are designed to recreate the Local Universe, including a realistic MW-M31 pair and a nearby Virgo. Our box size (91 Mpc) is large enough to incorporate the relevant sources of ionizing photons for the LG. We employ a range of source models, mimicking the potential effects of radiative feedback for…
This white paper highlights the crucial and urgent synergies required between WFIRST, Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam or other >25m-class telescopes galaxy observations and SKA 21cm measurements to constrain the nature of reionization (ionization history and topology) and its sources.
Absorption signatures in the spectra of QSOs are one of our most powerful tools for studying galactic and intergalactic environments at high redshifts. With the discovery of QSOs out to z > 7, QSO absorption lines are now tracing the end stages of reionization on multiple fronts using the hydrogen Lyman-$α$ forest and heavy element absorbers. Next-generation QSO absorption line studies with large optical/IR telescopes will reveal in detail how the first galaxies emerged form the cosmic web, transformed their circum- and inter-galactic environments, and completed the last major phase transition…
Large-scale reionization simulations are described which combine the results of cosmological N-body simulations that model the evolving density and velocity fields and identify the galactic halo sources, with ray-tracing radiative transfer calculations which model the nonequilibrium ionization of the intergalactic medium. These simulations have been used to predict some of the signature effects of reionization on cosmic radiation backgrounds, including the CMB, near-IR, and redshifted 21cm backgrounds. We summarize some of our recent progress in this work, and address the question of whether o…
In this work, the sixth of a series, we use the ASTRAEUS (semi-numerical rAdiative tranSfer coupling of galaxy formaTion and Reionization in N-body dark matter simUlationS) framework to investigate the nature of the sources that reionized the Universe. We extend ASTRAEUS, which already couples a galaxy formation semi-analytical model with a detailed semi-numerical reionization scheme, to include a model for black hole formation, growth, and the production of ionizing radiation from associated AGN (active galactic nuclei). We calibrate our fiducial AGN model to reproduce the bolometric luminosi…
Cosmic reionization is known to be a major phase transition of the gas in the Universe. Since astronomical objects formed in the early Universe, such as the first stars, galaxies and black holes, are expected to have caused cosmic reionization, the formation history and properties of such objects are closely related to the reionization process. In spite of the importance of exploring reionization, our understandings regarding reionization is not sufficient yet. Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a next-generation large telescope that will be operated in the next decade. Although several programs …
The period in which hydrogen in the intergalactic medium (IGM) is ionized, known as the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) is still poorly understood. The timing and duration of the EoR is expected to be governed by the underlying astrophysics. Furthermore, most models of reionization predict a correlation between the density and ionization field. Here we consider using the mean dispersion measure (DM) of high redshift Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) as a probe of the underlying astrophysics and morphology of the EoR. To do this, we forecast observational scenarios by building mock data sets of non-repeatin…
Stacking 21-cm Maps around Lyman-$α$ Emitters during Reionization: Prospects for a Cross-correlation Detection with the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array
Far infrared fine-structure transitions of CI and CII and rotational transitions of CO are used to probe hypothetical variations of the electron-to-proton mass ratio mu = m_e/m_p at the epoch of reionization (z > 6). A constraint on Delta mu/mu = (mu_obs - mu_lab)/mu_lab = (0.7 +/- 1.2)x10^-5 (1sigma) obtained at <z> = 6.31 is the most stringent up-to-date limit on the variation of mu at such high redshift. For all available estimates of Delta mu/mu ranging between z = 0 and z = 1100, - the epoch of recombination, - a regression curve Delta mu/mu = k_mu (1+z)^p, with k_mu = (1.6 +/- 0.3) x10^-…
In this paper we investigate how the Reionization process is affected by early galaxy formation in different cosmological scenarios. We use a semi-analytic model with suppressed initial power spectra to obtain the UV Luminosity Function in thermal Warm Dark Matter and sterile neutrino cosmologies. We retrace the ionization history of intergalactic medium with hot stellar emission only, exploiting fixed and variable photons escape fraction models ($f_{esc}$). For each cosmology, we find an upper limit to fixed $f_{esc}$, which guarantees the completion of the process at $z<6.7$. The analysis is…
We use a set of 3D radiative transfer simulations to study the effect that a large fraction of binary stars in galaxies during the epoch of reionization has on the physical properties of the intergalactic medium (i.e. the gas temperature and the ionization state of hydrogen and helium), on the topology of the ionized bubbles and on the 21 cm power spectra. Consistently to previous literature, we find that the inclusion of binary stars can speed up the reionization process of HI and HeI, while HeII reionization is still dominated by more energetic sources, especially accreting black holes. The …
We combine recent simulation work on the SFR--[C II] correlation at high redshift with empirical modeling of the galaxy--halo connection (via UniverseMachine) to forecast [C II] auto power spectra from $z\sim4$ to $z\sim8$. We compare these to sensitivities realistically expected from various instruments expected to come on-line in the next decade. If the predictions of our model are correct, [C II] should be detectable up to $z\sim6$ in this generation of surveys, but detecting [C II] past the end of reionization will require a generational leap in line-intensity survey capabilities.
The large-scale structure of the ionization field during the epoch of reionization (EoR) can be modeled by the excursion set theory. While the growth of ionized regions during the early stage are described by the "bubble model", the shrinking process of neutral regions after the percolation of the ionized region calls for an "island model". An excursion set based analytical model and a semi-numerical code (islandFAST) have been developed. The ionizing background and the bubbles inside the islands are also included in the treatment. With two kinds of absorbers of ionizing photons, i.e. the larg…
One of the most important parameters in characterizing the Epoch of Reionization, the escape fraction of ionizing photons, $f_\mathrm{esc}$, remains unconstrained both observationally and theoretically. With recent work highlighting the impact of galaxy-scale feedback on the instantaneous value of $f_\mathrm{esc}$, it is important to develop a model in which reionization is self-consistently coupled to galaxy evolution. In this work, we present such a model and explore how physically motivated functional forms of $f_\mathrm{esc}$ affect the evolution of ionized hydrogen within the intergalacti…
The epoch of reionization (6 < z < 10) marks the period in our universe when the first large galaxies grew to fruition, and began to affect the universe around them. Massive stars, and potentially accreting supermassive black holes, filled the universe with ionizing radiation, burning off the haze of neutral gas that had filled the intergalactic medium (IGM) since recombination (z~1000). The evolution of this process constrains key properties of these earliest luminous sources, thus observationally constraining reionization is a key science goal for the next decade. The measurement of Lyman-al…
We combine the high-resolution Aquarius simulations with three-dimensional models of reionization based on the initial density field of the Aquarius parent simulation, Millennium-II, to study the impact of patchy reionization on the faint satellite population of Milky Way halos. Because the Aquarius suite consists of zoom-in simulations of halos in the Millennium-II volume, we follow the formation of substructure and the growth of reionization bubbles due to the larger environment simultaneously, and thereby determine the reionization redshifts of satellite candidates. We do this for four diff…
The physical properties and elemental abundances of the interstellar medium in galaxies during cosmic reionization are important for understanding the role of galaxies in this process. We report the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array detection of an oxygen emission line at a wavelength of 88 micrometers from a galaxy at an epoch about 700 million years after the Big Bang. The oxygen abundance of this galaxy is estimated at about one-tenth that of the Sun. The non-detection of far-infrared continuum emission indicates a deficiency of interstellar dust in the galaxy. A carbon emission …
Cosmological simulations of Population III star formation suggest an initial mass function (IMF) biased toward very massive stars (M>100Msun) formed in minihalos at redshift z>20, when the cooling is driven by molecular hydrogen. However, this result conflicts with observations of extremely-metal poor (EMP) stars in the Milky Way halo, whose r-process elemental abundances appear to be incompatible with those expected from very massive Population III progenitors. We propose a new solution to the problem in which the IMF of second-generation stars formed at z>10, before reionization, is deficien…
The 21cm background from the epoch of reionization is a promising cosmological probe: line-of-sight velocity fluctuations distort redshift, so brightness fluctuations in Fourier space depend upon angle, which linear theory shows can separate cosmological from astrophysical information. Nonlinear fluctuations in ionization, density and velocity change this, however. The validity and accuracy of the separation scheme are tested here for the first time, by detailed reionization simulations. The scheme works reasonably well early in reionization (< 40% ionized), but not late (> 80% ionized).
Globular clusters are unique tracers of ancient star formation. We determine the formation efficiencies of globular clusters across cosmic time by modeling the formation and dynamical evolution of the globular cluster population of a Milky Way type galaxy in hierarchical cosmology, using the merger tree from the Via Lactea II simulation. All of the models are constrained to reproduce the observed specific frequency and initial mass function of globular clusters in isolated dwarfs. Globular cluster orbits are then computed in a time varying gravitational potential after they are either accreted…
The 21-cm signal from the epoch of reionization is non-Gaussian. Current radio telescopes are focused on detecting the 21-cm power spectrum, but in the future the Square Kilometre Array is anticipated to provide a first measurement of the bispectrum. Previous studies have shown that the position-dependent power spectrum is a simple and efficient way to probe the squeezed-limit bispectrum. In this approach, the survey is divided into subvolumes and the correlation between the local power spectrum and the corresponding mean density of the subvolume is computed. This correlation is equivalent to …
Line Intensity Mapping Prediction from the Cosmic Dawn (CoDa) III Simulation for H$α$ from Galaxies and the Intergalactic Medium during the Epoch of Reionization
We combine observational data on a dozen independent cosmic properties at high-$z$ with the information on reionization drawn from the spectra of distant luminous sources and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) to constrain the interconnected evolution of galaxies and the intergalactic medium since the dark ages. The only acceptable solutions are concentrated in two narrow sets. In one of them reionization proceeds in two phases: a first one driven by Population III stars, completed at $z\sim 10$, and after a short recombination period a second one driven by normal galaxies, completed at $z\…
We describe three different methods for exploring the hydrogen reionization epoch using fast radio bursts (FRBs) and provide arguments for the existence of FRBs at high redshift (z). The simplest way, observationally, is to determine the maximum dispersion measure (DM$_{\rm max}$) of FRBs for an ensemble that includes bursts during the reionization. The DM$_{\rm max}$ provides information regarding reionization much like the optical depth of the CMB to Thomson scattering does, and it has the potential to be more accurate than constraints from Planck, if DM$_{\rm max}$ can be measured to a prec…
We investigate the connection between the epoch of reionization and the present day universe, by examining the extended mass reionization histories of dark matter halos identified at z=0. We combine an N-body dark matter simulation of a 600 Mpc volume with a three-dimensional, seminumerical reionization model. This provides reionization redshifts for each particle, which can then be connected with the properties of their halos at the present time. We find that the vast majority of present-day halos with masses larger than ~ few x 10^11 Msun reionize earlier than the rest of the universe. We al…
One of the most exciting advances of the current generation of telescopes has been the detection of galaxies during the epoch of reionization, using deep fields that have pushed these instruments to their limits. It is essential to optimize our analyses of these fields in order to extract as much information as possible from them. In particular, standard methods of measuring the galaxy luminosity function discard information on large-scale dark matter density fluctuations, even though this large-scale structure drives galaxy formation and reionization during the Cosmic Dawn. Measuring these de…
Current and upcoming radio interferometric experiments are aiming to make a statistical characterization of the high-redshift 21cm fluctuation signal spanning the hydrogen reionization and X-ray heating epochs of the universe. However, connecting 21cm statistics to underlying physical parameters is complicated by the theoretical challenge of modeling the relevant physics at computational speeds quick enough to enable exploration of the high dimensional and weakly constrained parameter space. In this work, we use machine learning algorithms to build a fast emulator that mimics expensive simulat…
Intensity mapping of the HI 21 cm line and the CO 2.61 mm line from the epoch of reionization has emerged as powerful, complementary, probes of the high-redshift Universe. However, both maps and their cross-correlation are dominated by foregrounds. We propose a new analysis by which the signal is unbiased by foregrounds, i.e. it can be measured without foreground mitigation. We construct the antisymmetric part of the HI-CO cross-correlation, arising because the statistical fluctuations of two fields have different evolution in time. We show that the sign of this new signal can distinguish mode…
Identifying low-redshift galaxies that emit Lyman Continuum radiation (LyC leakers) is one of the primary, indirect methods of studying galaxy formation in the epoch of reionization. However, not only has it proved challenging to identify such systems, it also remains uncertain whether the low-redshift LyC leakers are truly "analogues" of the sources that reionized the Universe. Here, we use high-resolution cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulations to examine whether simulated galaxies in the epoch of reionization share similar emission line properties to observed LyC leakers at $z\sim3…
We present the first results from the ongoing LAGER project (Lyman Alpha Galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization), which is the largest narrowband survey for $z \sim$ 7 galaxies to date. Using a specially built narrowband filter NB964 for the superb large-area Dark-Energy Camera (DECam) on the NOAO/CTIO 4m Blanco telescope, LAGER has collected 34 hours NB964 narrowband imaging data in the 3 deg$^2$ COSMOS field. We have identified 23 Lyman Alpha Emitter (LAE) candidates at $z$ = 6.9 in the central 2-deg$^2$ region, where DECam and public COSMOS multi-band images exist. The resulting luminosity f…
Heating of neutral gas by energetic sources is crucial for the prediction of the 21 cm signal during the epoch of reionization (EoR). To investigate differences induced on statistics of the 21 cm signal by various source types, we use five radiative transfer simulations which have the same stellar UV emission model and varying combinations of more energetic sources, such as X-ray binaries (XRBs), accreting nuclear black holes (BHs) and hot interstellar medium emission (ISM). We find that the efficient heating from the ISM increases the average global 21~cm signal, while reducing its fluctuatio…
The neutral hydrogen (HI) and its 21 cm line are promising probes to the reionization process of the intergalactic medium (IGM). To use this probe effectively, it is imperative to have a good understanding on how the neutral hydrogen traces the underlying matter distribution. Here we study this problem using semi-numerical modeling by combining the HI in the IGM and the HI from halos during the epoch of reionization (EoR), and investigate the evolution and the scale-dependence of the neutral fraction bias as well as the 21 cm line bias. We find that the neutral fraction bias on large scales is…
The highly neutral inter-galactic medium (IGM) during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) is expected to suppress Ly$α$ emission with damping-wing absorption, causing nearly no Ly$α$ detection from star-forming galaxies at $z{\sim}8$. However, spectroscopic observations of the 4 brightest galaxies (${\rm H}_{160}{\sim}25$ mag) at these redshifts do reveal prominent Ly$α$ line, suggesting locally ionised IGM. In this paper, we explore the Ly$α$ IGM transmission and environment of bright galaxies during the EoR using the Meraxes semi-analytic model. We find brighter galaxies to be less affected by d…
Magnetic fields are ubiquitous in the Universe. They seem to be present at virtually all scales and all epochs. Yet, whether the fields on cosmological scales are of astrophysical or cosmological origin remains an open major problem. Here we focus on an astrophysical mechanism based on the photoionization of the intergalactic medium during the Epoch of Reionization. Building upon previous studies that depicted the physical mechanism around isolated sources of ionization, we present here an analytic model to estimate the level at which this mechanism contributed to the magnetization of the whol…
We use synthetic sightlines drawn through snapshots of the Technicolor Dawn simulations to explore how the statistics of neutral oxygen OI absorbers respond to hydrogen reionization. The ionization state of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) initially roughly tracks that of the intergalactic medium, but beginning at $z=8$ the CGM grows systematically more neutral owing to self-shielding. Weak absorbers trace diffuse gas that lies farther from halos, hence they are ionized first, whereas stronger systems are less sensitive to reionization. The overall OI covering fraction decreases slowly with tim…
We use high resolution N-Body simulations to study the concentration and spin parameters of dark matter haloes in the mass range $10^8\, {\rm M}_{\odot}\, h^{-1} < {\rm M} < 10^{11}\, {\rm M}_{\odot}\, h^{-1}$ and redshifts $5{<}z{<}10$, corresponding to the haloes of galaxies thought to be responsible for reionization. We build a sub-sample of equilibrium haloes and contrast their properties to the full population that also includes unrelaxed systems. Concentrations are calculated by fitting both NFW and Einasto profiles to the spherically-averaged density profiles of individual haloes. After…
Current surveys are underway to utilize gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters with Einstein radii >35" in the search for the highest redshift galaxies. Associated supernova from the epoch of reionization would have their fluxes boosted above the detection threshold, extending their duration of visibility. We predict that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be able to discover lensed core-collapse supernovae at redshifts exceeding z=7-8.
We employ the rank-2 {\em contour} Minkowski Tensor in two dimensions to probe length and time scales of ionized bubbles during the epoch of reionization. We demonstrate that the eigenvalues of this tensor provide excellent probes of the distribution of the sizes of ionized bubbles, and from it the characteristic bubble sizes, at different redshifts. We show that ionized bubbles are not circular, and hence not spherical in three dimensions, as is often assumed for simplified analytic arguments. We quantify their shape anisotropy by using the ratio of the two eigenvalues. The shape parameter pr…
The Abundance Matching Box for the Epoch of Reionization (AMBER) is a semi-numerical code for modeling the cosmic dawn. The new algorithm is not based on the excursion set formalism for reionization, but takes the novel approach of calculating the reionization-redshift field $z_\mathrm{re}(\boldsymbol{x})$ assuming that hydrogen gas encountering higher radiation intensity are photoionized earlier. Redshift values are assigned while matching the abundance of ionized mass according to a given mass-weighted ionization fraction $\bar{x}_\mathrm{i}(z)$. The code has the unique advantage of allowing…
Measuring the small primordial nonGaussianity (PNG) predicted by cosmic inflation theories may help diagnose them. The detectability of PNG by its imprint on the 21cm power spectrum from the epoch of reionization is reassessed here in terms of $f_{NL}$, the local nonlinearity parameter. We find that an optimum, multi-frequency observation by SKA can achieve $Δf_{NL} \sim 3$ (comparable to recent Planck CMB limits), while a cosmic-variance-limited array of this size like Omniscope can even detect $Δf_{NL} \sim 0.2$. This substantially revises the methods and results of previous work.
It has been several years since the first detection of Gunn-Peterson troughs in the z > 6 Ly-alpha forest and since the first measurement of the Thomson scattering optical depth through reionization from the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Present day CMB measurements provide a significant constraint on the mean redshift of reionization, and the Ly-alpha forest provides a lower bound on the redshift at which reionization ended. However, no observation has provided definitive information on the duration and morphology of this process. This article is intended as a short review on the most pr…
We present the algorithm and main results of our semi-numerical simulation, islandFAST, which is developed from the 21cmFAST and designed for the late stage of reionization. The islandFAST predicts the evolution and size distribution of the large scale under-dense neutral regions (neutral islands), and we find that the late Epoch of Reionization (EoR) proceeds very fast, showing a characteristic scale of the neutral islands at each redshift. Using islandFAST, we compare the impact of two types of absorption systems, i.e. the large scale under-dense neutral islands versus small scale over-dense…
Primordial non-Gaussianity is a crucial test of inflationary cosmology. We consider the impact of non-Gaussianity on the ionization power spectrum from 21 cm emission during the epoch of reionization. We focus on the power spectrum on large scales at redshifts of 7 to 8 and explore the expected constraint on the local non-Gaussianity parameter f_NL for current and next-generation 21 cm experiments. We show that experiments such as SKA and MWA could measure f_NL values of order 10. This can be improved by an order of magnitude with a fast-Fourier transform telescope like Omniscope.
The first major star-forming galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei will produce Balmer and higher order extended haloes during the Epoch of Reionization through the scattering of Lyman resonance line photons off the surrounding neutral intergalactic gas. The optical depth dependence of the scattering rates will produce a signal sensitive to both the density and velocity fluctuations of the gas, offering the possibility of probing the ionization region and flow field surrounding young star-forming galaxies. The requirements for detecting the haloes in the infra-red using a space-based telescope a…
The dark age of the universe, when no luminous object had existed, ended with the birth of the first stars, galaxies, and blackholes. This epoch is called cosmic dawn. Cosmic reionization is the major transition of the intergalactic medium (IGM) in the universe driven by ionizing photons emitted from luminous objects. Although the epoch through the dark age to reionization is a milestone in the universe, our knowledge of this epoch has not been sufficient yet. Cosmic 21cm signal, which is emitted from neutral hydrogen, is expected to open a new window for this epoch. In this review paper, we f…
We provide an overview of 21cm tomography of the Cosmic Dawn and Epoch of Reionization as possible with SKA-Low. We show why tomography is essential for studying CD/EoR and present the scales which can be imaged at different frequencies for the different phases of SKA- Low. Next we discuss the different ways in which tomographic data can be analyzed. We end with an overview of science questions which can only be answered by tomography, ranging from the characterization of individual objects to understanding the global processes shaping the Universe during the CD/EoR
Observations of the 21-centimetre line of atomic hydrogen in the early Universe directly probe the history of the reionization of the gas between galaxies. The observations are challenging, though, because of the low expected signal strength (~10 mK), and contamination by strong (>100 K) foreground synchrotron emission in the Milky Way and extragalactic continuum sources2. If reionization happened rapidly, there should be a characteristic signature visible against the smooth foreground in an all-sky spectrum. Here we report an all-sky spectrum between 100 and 200 MHz, corresponding to the reds…
