TY - JOUR
T1 - Inferring the properties of the sources of reionization using the morphological spectra of the ionized regions
AU - Gazagnes, Simon
AU - Koopmans, Léon V. E.
AU - Wilkinson, Michael H. F.
PY - 2020/11/1
Y1 - 2020/11/1
N2 - High-redshift 21-cm observations will provide crucial insights into the
physical processes of the Epoch of Reionization. Next-generation
interferometers such as the Square Kilometer Array will have enough
sensitivity to directly image the 21-cm fluctuations and trace the
evolution of the ionizing fronts. In this work, we develop an
inferential approach to recover the sources and IGM properties of the
process of reionization using the number and, in particular, the
morphological pattern spectra of the ionized regions extracted from
realistic mock observations. To do so, we extend the Markov Chain Monte
Carlo analysis tool 21CMMC by including these 21-cm tomographic
statistics and compare this method to only using the power spectrum. We
demonstrate that the evolution of the number-count and morphology of the
ionized regions as a function of redshift provides independent
information to disentangle multiple reionization scenarios because it
probes the average ionizing budget per baryon. Although less precise, we
find that constraints inferred using 21-cm tomographic statistics are
more robust to the presence of contaminants such as foreground
residuals. This work highlights that combining power spectrum and
tomographic analyses more accurately recovers the astrophysics of
reionization.
AB - High-redshift 21-cm observations will provide crucial insights into the
physical processes of the Epoch of Reionization. Next-generation
interferometers such as the Square Kilometer Array will have enough
sensitivity to directly image the 21-cm fluctuations and trace the
evolution of the ionizing fronts. In this work, we develop an
inferential approach to recover the sources and IGM properties of the
process of reionization using the number and, in particular, the
morphological pattern spectra of the ionized regions extracted from
realistic mock observations. To do so, we extend the Markov Chain Monte
Carlo analysis tool 21CMMC by including these 21-cm tomographic
statistics and compare this method to only using the power spectrum. We
demonstrate that the evolution of the number-count and morphology of the
ionized regions as a function of redshift provides independent
information to disentangle multiple reionization scenarios because it
probes the average ionizing budget per baryon. Although less precise, we
find that constraints inferred using 21-cm tomographic statistics are
more robust to the presence of contaminants such as foreground
residuals. This work highlights that combining power spectrum and
tomographic analyses more accurately recovers the astrophysics of
reionization.
KW - Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
M3 - Article
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
SN - 0035-8711
ER -