The REACH radiometer for detecting the 21-cm hydrogen signal from redshift z ≈ 7.5–28

E. de Lera Acedo; D. I.L. de Villiers; N. Razavi-Ghods; W. Handley; A. Fialkov; A. Magro; D. Anstey; H. T.J. Bevins; R. Chiello; J. Cumner; A. T. Josaitis; I. L.V. Roque; P. H. Sims; K. H. Scheutwinkel; P. Alexander; G. Bernardi; S. Carey; J. Cavillot; W. Croukamp; J. A. Ely; T. Gessey-Jones; Q. Gueuning; R. Hills; G. Kulkarni; R. Maiolino; P. D. Meerburg; S. Mittal; J. R. Pritchard; E. Puchwein; A. Saxena; E. Shen; O. Smirnov; M. Spinelli; K. Zarb-Adami

doi:10.1038/s41550-022-01709-9

The REACH radiometer for detecting the 21-cm hydrogen signal from redshift z ≈ 7.5–28

E. de Lera Acedo^*, D. I.L. de Villiers, N. Razavi-Ghods, W. Handley, A. Fialkov, A. Magro, D. Anstey, H. T.J. Bevins, R. Chiello, J. Cumner, A. T. Josaitis, I. L.V. Roque, P. H. Sims, K. H. Scheutwinkel, P. Alexander, G. Bernardi, S. Carey, J. Cavillot, W. Croukamp, J. A. ElyT. Gessey-Jones, Q. Gueuning, R. Hills, G. Kulkarni, R. Maiolino, P. D. Meerburg, S. Mittal, J. R. Pritchard, E. Puchwein, A. Saxena, E. Shen, O. Smirnov, M. Spinelli, K. Zarb-Adami

^*Corresponding author for this work

Cosmic Frontier

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Abstract

Observations of the 21-cm line from primordial hydrogen promise to be one of the best tools to study the early epochs of the Universe: the dark ages, the cosmic dawn and the subsequent epoch of reionization. In 2018, the Experiment to Detect the Global Epoch of Reionization Signature (EDGES) caught the attention of the cosmology community with a potential detection of an absorption feature in the sky-averaged radio spectrum centred at 78 MHz. The feature is deeper than expected, and, if confirmed, would call for new physics. However, different groups have re-analysed the EDGES data and questioned the reliability of the signal. The Radio Experiment for the Analysis of Cosmic Hydrogen (REACH) is a sky-averaged 21-cm experiment aiming at improving the current observations by tackling the issues faced by current instruments related to residual systematic signals in the data. The novel experimental approach focuses on detecting and jointly explaining these systematics together with the foregrounds and the cosmological signal using Bayesian statistics. To achieve this, REACH features simultaneous observations with two different antennas, an ultra-wideband system (redshift range about 7.5 to 28) and a receiver calibrator based on in-field measurements. Simulated observations forecast percent-level constraints on astrophysical parameters, potentially opening up a new window to the infant Universe.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	984-998
Number of pages	15
Journal	Nature Astronomy
Volume	6
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01709-9
Publication status	Published - Aug-2022

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de Lera Acedo, E., de Villiers, D. I. L., Razavi-Ghods, N., Handley, W., Fialkov, A., Magro, A., Anstey, D., Bevins, H. T. J., Chiello, R., Cumner, J., Josaitis, A. T., Roque, I. L. V., Sims, P. H., Scheutwinkel, K. H., Alexander, P., Bernardi, G., Carey, S., Cavillot, J., Croukamp, W., ... Zarb-Adami, K. (2022). The REACH radiometer for detecting the 21-cm hydrogen signal from redshift z ≈ 7.5–28. Nature Astronomy, 6(8), 984-998. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01709-9

@article{ea922f9ebebb4fe5ba2d127e6d74fdee,

title = "The REACH radiometer for detecting the 21-cm hydrogen signal from redshift z ≈ 7.5–28",

abstract = "Observations of the 21-cm line from primordial hydrogen promise to be one of the best tools to study the early epochs of the Universe: the dark ages, the cosmic dawn and the subsequent epoch of reionization. In 2018, the Experiment to Detect the Global Epoch of Reionization Signature (EDGES) caught the attention of the cosmology community with a potential detection of an absorption feature in the sky-averaged radio spectrum centred at 78 MHz. The feature is deeper than expected, and, if confirmed, would call for new physics. However, different groups have re-analysed the EDGES data and questioned the reliability of the signal. The Radio Experiment for the Analysis of Cosmic Hydrogen (REACH) is a sky-averaged 21-cm experiment aiming at improving the current observations by tackling the issues faced by current instruments related to residual systematic signals in the data. The novel experimental approach focuses on detecting and jointly explaining these systematics together with the foregrounds and the cosmological signal using Bayesian statistics. To achieve this, REACH features simultaneous observations with two different antennas, an ultra-wideband system (redshift range about 7.5 to 28) and a receiver calibrator based on in-field measurements. Simulated observations forecast percent-level constraints on astrophysical parameters, potentially opening up a new window to the infant Universe.",

author = "{de Lera Acedo}, E. and {de Villiers}, {D. I.L.} and N. Razavi-Ghods and W. Handley and A. Fialkov and A. Magro and D. Anstey and Bevins, {H. T.J.} and R. Chiello and J. Cumner and Josaitis, {A. T.} and Roque, {I. L.V.} and Sims, {P. H.} and Scheutwinkel, {K. H.} and P. Alexander and G. Bernardi and S. Carey and J. Cavillot and W. Croukamp and Ely, {J. A.} and T. Gessey-Jones and Q. Gueuning and R. Hills and G. Kulkarni and R. Maiolino and Meerburg, {P. D.} and S. Mittal and Pritchard, {J. R.} and E. Puchwein and A. Saxena and E. Shen and O. Smirnov and M. Spinelli and K. Zarb-Adami",

note = "Funding Information: The REACH collaboration acknowledges the Kavli Institute for Cosmology in Cambridge ( www.kicc.cam.ac.uk ), Stellenbosch University ( www.sun.ac.za ), the National Research Foundation of South Africa ( www.nrf.ac.za ) and the Cambridge–Africa ALBORADA Research Fund ( www.cambridge-africa.cam.ac.uk/initiatives/the-alborada-research-fund/ ) for their financial support of the project. E.d.L.A. wishes to acknowledge the support of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) through grant number ST/V004425/1 (Ernest Rutherford Fellowship). G.B. and M.S. acknowledge support from the Ministero degli Affari Esteri della Cooperazione Internazionale–Direzione Generale per la Promozione del Sistema Paese Progetto di Grande Rilevanza ZA18GR02 and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Number 113121) as part of the ISARP RADIOSKY2020 Joint Research Scheme. The research of D.I.L.d.V. and O.S. is supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation. M.S. acknowledges funding from the INAF PRIN-SKA 2017 project 1.05.01.88.04 (FORECaST). This work is based on the research supported in part by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Number 75322). H.T.J.B. acknowledges the support of the STFC through grant number ST/T505997/1. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.",

year = "2022",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1038/s41550-022-01709-9",

language = "English",

volume = "6",

pages = "984--998",

journal = "Nature Astronomy",

issn = "2397-3366",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

number = "8",

}

de Lera Acedo, E, de Villiers, DIL, Razavi-Ghods, N, Handley, W, Fialkov, A, Magro, A, Anstey, D, Bevins, HTJ, Chiello, R, Cumner, J, Josaitis, AT, Roque, ILV, Sims, PH, Scheutwinkel, KH, Alexander, P, Bernardi, G, Carey, S, Cavillot, J, Croukamp, W, Ely, JA, Gessey-Jones, T, Gueuning, Q, Hills, R, Kulkarni, G, Maiolino, R, Meerburg, PD, Mittal, S, Pritchard, JR, Puchwein, E, Saxena, A, Shen, E, Smirnov, O, Spinelli, M & Zarb-Adami, K 2022, 'The REACH radiometer for detecting the 21-cm hydrogen signal from redshift z ≈ 7.5–28', Nature Astronomy, vol. 6, no. 8, pp. 984-998. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01709-9

TY - JOUR

T1 - The REACH radiometer for detecting the 21-cm hydrogen signal from redshift z ≈ 7.5–28

AU - de Lera Acedo, E.

AU - de Villiers, D. I.L.

AU - Razavi-Ghods, N.

AU - Handley, W.

AU - Fialkov, A.

AU - Magro, A.

AU - Anstey, D.

AU - Bevins, H. T.J.

AU - Chiello, R.

AU - Cumner, J.

AU - Josaitis, A. T.

AU - Roque, I. L.V.

AU - Sims, P. H.

AU - Scheutwinkel, K. H.

AU - Alexander, P.

AU - Bernardi, G.

AU - Carey, S.

AU - Cavillot, J.

AU - Croukamp, W.

AU - Ely, J. A.

AU - Gessey-Jones, T.

AU - Gueuning, Q.

AU - Hills, R.

AU - Kulkarni, G.

AU - Maiolino, R.

AU - Meerburg, P. D.

AU - Mittal, S.

AU - Pritchard, J. R.

AU - Puchwein, E.

AU - Saxena, A.

AU - Shen, E.

AU - Smirnov, O.

AU - Spinelli, M.

AU - Zarb-Adami, K.

N1 - Funding Information: The REACH collaboration acknowledges the Kavli Institute for Cosmology in Cambridge ( www.kicc.cam.ac.uk ), Stellenbosch University ( www.sun.ac.za ), the National Research Foundation of South Africa ( www.nrf.ac.za ) and the Cambridge–Africa ALBORADA Research Fund ( www.cambridge-africa.cam.ac.uk/initiatives/the-alborada-research-fund/ ) for their financial support of the project. E.d.L.A. wishes to acknowledge the support of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) through grant number ST/V004425/1 (Ernest Rutherford Fellowship). G.B. and M.S. acknowledge support from the Ministero degli Affari Esteri della Cooperazione Internazionale–Direzione Generale per la Promozione del Sistema Paese Progetto di Grande Rilevanza ZA18GR02 and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Number 113121) as part of the ISARP RADIOSKY2020 Joint Research Scheme. The research of D.I.L.d.V. and O.S. is supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation. M.S. acknowledges funding from the INAF PRIN-SKA 2017 project 1.05.01.88.04 (FORECaST). This work is based on the research supported in part by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Number 75322). H.T.J.B. acknowledges the support of the STFC through grant number ST/T505997/1. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.

PY - 2022/8

Y1 - 2022/8

N2 - Observations of the 21-cm line from primordial hydrogen promise to be one of the best tools to study the early epochs of the Universe: the dark ages, the cosmic dawn and the subsequent epoch of reionization. In 2018, the Experiment to Detect the Global Epoch of Reionization Signature (EDGES) caught the attention of the cosmology community with a potential detection of an absorption feature in the sky-averaged radio spectrum centred at 78 MHz. The feature is deeper than expected, and, if confirmed, would call for new physics. However, different groups have re-analysed the EDGES data and questioned the reliability of the signal. The Radio Experiment for the Analysis of Cosmic Hydrogen (REACH) is a sky-averaged 21-cm experiment aiming at improving the current observations by tackling the issues faced by current instruments related to residual systematic signals in the data. The novel experimental approach focuses on detecting and jointly explaining these systematics together with the foregrounds and the cosmological signal using Bayesian statistics. To achieve this, REACH features simultaneous observations with two different antennas, an ultra-wideband system (redshift range about 7.5 to 28) and a receiver calibrator based on in-field measurements. Simulated observations forecast percent-level constraints on astrophysical parameters, potentially opening up a new window to the infant Universe.

AB - Observations of the 21-cm line from primordial hydrogen promise to be one of the best tools to study the early epochs of the Universe: the dark ages, the cosmic dawn and the subsequent epoch of reionization. In 2018, the Experiment to Detect the Global Epoch of Reionization Signature (EDGES) caught the attention of the cosmology community with a potential detection of an absorption feature in the sky-averaged radio spectrum centred at 78 MHz. The feature is deeper than expected, and, if confirmed, would call for new physics. However, different groups have re-analysed the EDGES data and questioned the reliability of the signal. The Radio Experiment for the Analysis of Cosmic Hydrogen (REACH) is a sky-averaged 21-cm experiment aiming at improving the current observations by tackling the issues faced by current instruments related to residual systematic signals in the data. The novel experimental approach focuses on detecting and jointly explaining these systematics together with the foregrounds and the cosmological signal using Bayesian statistics. To achieve this, REACH features simultaneous observations with two different antennas, an ultra-wideband system (redshift range about 7.5 to 28) and a receiver calibrator based on in-field measurements. Simulated observations forecast percent-level constraints on astrophysical parameters, potentially opening up a new window to the infant Universe.

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DO - 10.1038/s41550-022-01709-9

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AN - SCOPUS:85134600104

SN - 2397-3366

VL - 6

SP - 984

EP - 998

JO - Nature Astronomy

JF - Nature Astronomy

IS - 8

ER -

The REACH radiometer for detecting the 21-cm hydrogen signal from redshift z ≈ 7.5–28

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Author Correction: The REACH radiometer for detecting the 21-cm hydrogen signal from redshift z ≈ 7.5–28 (Nature Astronomy, (2022), 6, 8, (984-998), 10.1038/s41550-022-01709-9)

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