Intensity Mapping of Molecular Gas During Cosmic Reionization
- Creators
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Carilli, C. L.
Abstract
I present a simple calculation of the expected mean CO brightness temperature from the large-scale distribution of galaxies during cosmic reionization. The calculation is based on the cosmic star formation rate density required to reionize, and keep ionized, the intergalactic medium, and uses standard relationships between star formation rate, IR luminosity, and CO luminosity derived for star-forming galaxies over a wide range in redshift. I find that the mean CO brightness temperature resulting from the galaxies that could reionize the universe at z = 8 is T_B ∼ 1.1(C/5)(fesc/0.1)−1μK, where fesc is the escape fraction of ionizing photons from the first galaxies and C is the IGM clumping factor. Intensity mapping of the CO emission from the large-scale structure of the star-forming galaxies during cosmic reionization on scales of order 102 to 103 deg^2, in combination with H i 21 cm imaging of the neutral IGM, will provide a comprehensive study of the earliest epoch of galaxy formation.
Additional Information
Copyright 2011. The American Astronomical Society. Received 2010 December 28; accepted 2011 February 22; published 2011 March 9. C.C. thanks the Keck Institute for Space Studies for instigating this work, the CO intensity mapping design team for lively discussions, and the referee for insightful comments that improved this Letter.Attached Files
Published - intensity.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 64567
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20160218-130729603
- Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS)
- Created
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2016-02-20Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Keck Institute for Space Studies