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arXiv 2403.04838astro-ph.COastro-ph.GA
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再电离末期的21厘米信号

The 21-cm signal during the end stages of reionization

Sambit K. Giri, Michele Bianco, Timothée Schaeffer, Ilian T. Iliev, Garrelt Mellema, Aurel Schneider

AI总结:

本研究通过符合高红移观测的数值模拟,揭示再电离末期宇宙中性占比低于0.01%时再电离模式反转、21厘米信号探测主体转变,且存在可留下观测特征的大型中性岛。

摘要:

在再电离时期(EoR),21厘米信号可让我们直接观测星系际介质(IGM)中的中性氢(HI)。而在再电离后时代,该信号转而探测星系中的中性氢,这类中性氢示踪了暗物质的密度分布。我们通过新的数值模拟研究了再电离的末期阶段,以阐明宇宙向再电离后时代过渡的过程。我们的模型与最新的高红移测量结果一致,包括红移最高约为8的紫外(UV)光度函数。值得注意的是,这些模型一致重现了紫外光子背景的演化,该演化受到莱曼α吸收光谱的约束。我们研究了这一背景对星系际介质中光子汇性质的依赖关系,要求再电离时期紫外光子的平均自由程约为10共动兆秒差距(cMpc),且在末期阶段(红移z≲6)随时间逐渐增大。我们的模型揭示,当宇宙的中性氢占比低于0.01%时,星系际介质的再电离过程从“由内向外”转变为“由外向内”。在这一时期,21厘米信号的探测主体也从星系际介质中的中性氢转变为星系中的中性氢。此外,我们还发现了数量具有统计显著性的大型中性岛(尺寸最大可达40共动兆秒差距),它们能持续存在到非常晚的阶段(5≲z≲6),既会在莱曼α吸收光谱中留下特征,也会在21厘米功率谱中产生膝状特征。

英文摘要:

During the epoch of reionization (EoR), the 21-cm signal allows direct observation of the neutral hydrogen (HI) in the intergalactic medium (IGM). In the post-reionization era, this signal instead probes HI in galaxies, which traces the dark matter density distribution. With new numerical simulations, we investigated the end stages of reionization to elucidate the transition of our Universe into the post-reionization era. Our models are consistent with the latest high-redshift measurements, including ultraviolet (UV) luminosity functions \RefereeReport{up to redshift $\simeq$8}. Notably, these models consistently reproduced the evolution of the UV photon background, which is constrained from Lyman-$α$ absorption spectra. We studied the dependence of this background on the nature of photon sinks in the IGM, requiring mean free path of UV photons to be $\sim$10 comoving-megaparsecs (cMpc) during the EoR that increases gradually with time during late stages ($z\lesssim 6$). Our models revealed that the reionization of the IGM transitioned from an \textit{inside-out} to an \textit{outside-in} process when the Universe is less than 0.01 per cent neutral. During this epoch, the 21-cm signal also shifted from probing predominantly the HI in the IGM to that in galaxies. Furthermore, we identified a statistically significant number of large neutral islands (with sizes up to 40 cMpc) persisting until very late stages ($5 \lesssim z \lesssim 6$) that can imprint features in Lyman-$α$ absorption spectra and also produce a knee-like feature in the 21-cm power spectrum.

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