The 21-cm signal from the epoch of cosmic dawn prior to reionization consists of a promising observable to gain new insights into the dark matter (DM) sector. In this paper, we investigate its potential to constrain mixed (cold + non-cold) dark matter scenarios that are characterised by the non-cold DM fraction ($f_{\rm nCDM}$) and particle mass ($m_{\rm nCDM}$). As non-cold DM species, we investigate both a fermionic (sterile neutrino) and a bosonic (ultra-light axion) particle. We show how these scenarios affect the global signal and the power spectrum using a halo-model implementation of the 21-cm signal at cosmic dawn. Next to this study, we perform an inference-based forecast study based on realistic mock power spectra from the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope. Assuming inefficient, yet non-zero star-formation in minihaloes (i.e. haloes with mass below $10^8$ M$_{\odot}$), we obtain stringent constraints on both $m_{\rm nCDM}$ and $f_{\rm nCDM}$ that go well beyond current limits. Regarding the special case of $f_{\rm nCDM}\sim 1$, for example, we find a constraint of $m_{\rm nCDM}>15$ keV (thermal mass) for fermionic DM and $m_{\rm nCDM}>2\times10^{-20}$ eV for bosonic DM. For the opposite case of dominating cold DM, we find that at most one percent of the total DM abundance can be made of a hot fermionic or bosonic relic. All constraints are provided at the 95 percent confidence level.
Upcoming measurements of the highly redshifted 21cm line with next-generation radio telescopes such as HERA and SKA will provide the intriguing opportunity to probe dark matter (DM) physics during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR), Cosmic Dawn, and the Dark Ages. With HERA already under construction, there is a pressing need to thoroughly understand the impact of DM physics on the intergalactic medium (IGM) during these epochs. We present first results of a hydrodynamic simulation suite with $2 \times 512^3$ particles in a $(100 \ h^{-1} \ \text{Mpc})^3$ box with DM annihilation and baryonic coo…
Conventional wisdom was that thermal relics from the epoch of reionization (EOR) would vanish swiftly. Recently, however, it was shown that these relics can survive to lower redshifts ($z \sim 2$) than previously thought, due to gas at mean density being heated to $T \sim 3 \times 10^4$ K by reionization, which is inhomogeneous, and shocks. Given the high sensitivities of upcoming Ly$α$ forest surveys, this effect will be a novel broadband systematic for cosmological application. From the astrophysical point of view, however, the imprint of inhomogeneous reionization can shed light on the EOR …
Ultra-light axions (ULAs) are a promising and intriguing set of dark-matter candidates. We study the prospects to use forthcoming measurements of 21-cm fluctuations from cosmic dawn to probe ULAs. We focus in particular on the velocity acoustic oscillations (VAOs) in the large-scale 21-cm power spectrum, features imprinted by the long-wavelength ($k\sim0.1\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$) modulation, by dark-matter--baryon relative velocities, of the small-scale ($k\sim 10-10^3\, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$) power required to produce the stars that heat the neutral hydrogen. Damping of small-scale power by ULAs reduces …
Constraining Lyman-Werner Feedback from Velocity Acoustic Oscillations in the Cosmic Dawn 21 cm Signal
National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院国家天文台）；University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学）；Ben-Gurion University of the Negev（内盖夫本古里安大学）
Dipole Anisotropy as an Essential Qualifier for the Monopole Component of the Cosmic-Dawn Spectral Signature, and the Potential of Diurnal Pattern for Foreground Estimation
The Rise and Fall of Acoustic Oscillations at Cosmic Dawn
New York University（纽约大学）；Johns Hopkins University（约翰斯·霍普金斯大学）；University of Texas at Austin（德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校）；Ben-Gurion University of the Negev（内盖夫本-古里安大学）
Indirect insights of Pop III stars and Black Holes (BHs) at Cosmic Dawn (CD) may be imprinted as an absorption signal in the 21cm line of HI against the CMB, when the Universe was less than 200 Myr old. To explain the additional large amplitude of the 21cm HI absorption reported by EDGES there have been proposed models based on an additional synchrotron Cosmic Radio Background (CRB) from BH-jet sources that boost the HI absorption signal at CD. The recent observations of radio loud supermassive BHs (SMBHs) in high-z quasars up to z=7 suggest the existence of a CRB from growing BHs at z > 15, o…
The first generation of galaxies is expected to form in minihalos, accreting gas through ${\rm H}_2$ cooling, and possessing unique properties. Although unlikely to be directly detected in UV/infrared surveys, the radiation from these molecular-cooling galaxies (MCGs) could leave an imprint in the 21-cm signal from the Cosmic Dawn. Here we quantify their detectability with upcoming radio interferometers. We generate mock 21-cm power spectra using a model for both MCGs as well as more massive, atomic-cooling galaxies (AGCs), allowing both populations to have different properties and scaling rel…
Constraining Primordial Black Holes via p-wave annihilation in light of CMB Spectral Distortion and 21-cm global signal
National Institute of Technology, Meghalaya（梅加拉亚国立技术学院）；Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, UCAS（杭州高等研究院）；University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学）
Little is known about dark matter beyond the fact that it does not interact with the standard model or itself, or else does so incredibly weakly. A natural candidate, given the history of no-go theorems against their interactions, are higher spin fields. Here we develop the scenario of higher spin (spin $s>2$) dark matter. We show that the gravitational production of superheavy bosonic higher spin fields during inflation can provide all the dark matter we observe today. We consider the observable signatures, and find a potential characteristic signature of bosonic higher spin dark matter in di…
Light bosonic scalars (e.g. axions) may form clouds around black holes via superradiant instabilities, or via accretion if they form some component of the dark matter. It has been suggested that their presence may lead to a distinctive dephasing of the gravitational wave signal when a small compact object spirals into a larger black hole. Motivated by this, we study numerically the dynamical friction force on a black hole moving at relativistic velocities in a background scalar field with an asymptotically homogeneous energy density. We show that the relativistic scaling is analogous to that f…
