Hannes Jensen

Reionization and the Cosmic Dawn with the Square Kilometre Array

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will have a low frequency component (SKA-low) which has as one of its main science goals the study of the redshifted 21 cm line from the earliest phases of star and galaxy formation in the Universe. This 21 cm signal provides a new and unique window both on the time of the formation of the first stars and accreting black holes and the subsequent period of substantial ionization of the intergalactic medium. The signal will teach us fundamental new things about the earliest phases of structure formation, cosmology and even has the potential to lead to the discovery of new physical phenomena. Here we present a white paper with an overview of the science questions that SKA-low can address, how we plan to tackle these questions and what this implies for the basic design of the telescope.

On the use of Lyα emitters as probes of reionization

We use numerical simulations to study the effects of the patchiness of a partly reionized intergalactic medium (IGM) on the observability of Lyα emitters (LAEs) at high redshifts (z ≳ 6). We present a new model that divides the Lyα radiative transfer into a (circum)galactic and an extragalactic (IGM) part, and investigate how the choice of intrinsic line model affects the IGM transmission results. We use our model to study the impact of neutral hydrogen on statistical observables such as the Lyα rest-frame equivalent width (REW) distribution, the LAE luminosity function and the two-point correlation function. We find that if the observed changes in LAE luminosity functions and equivalent width distributions between z ∼ 6 and 7 are to be explained by an increased IGM neutral fraction alone, we require an extremely late and rapid reionization scenario, where the Universe was ∼40 per cent ionized at z = 7, ∼50 per cent ionized at z = 6.5 and ∼100 per cent ionized at z = 6. This is in conflict with other observations, suggesting that intrinsic LAE evolution at z ≳ 6 cannot be completely neglected. We show how the two-point correlation function can provide more robust constraints once future observations obtain larger LAE samples, and provide predictions for the sample sizes needed to tell different reionization scenarios apart.

The Spectral Evolution of the First Galaxies. II. Spectral Signatures of Lyman Continuum Leakage from Galaxies in the Reionization Epoch

The fraction of ionizing photons that escape (f esc) from z 6 galaxies is an important parameter for assessing the role of these objects in the reionization of the universe, but the opacity of the intergalactic medium precludes a direct measurement of f esc for individual galaxies at these epochs. We argue that since f esc regulates the impact of nebular emission on the spectra of galaxies, it should nonetheless be possible to indirectly probe f esc well into the reionization epoch. As a first step, we demonstrate that by combining measurements of the rest-frame UV slope β with the equivalent width of the Hβ emission line, galaxies with very high Lyman continuum escape fractions (f esc ≥ 0.5) should be identifiable up to z 9 through spectroscopy with the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). By targeting strongly lensed galaxies behind low-redshift galaxy clusters, JWST spectra of sufficiently good quality can be obtained for M 1500 –16.0 galaxies at z 7 and for M 1500 –17.5 galaxies at z 9. Dust-obscured star formation may complicate the analysis, but supporting observations with ALMA or the planned SPICA mission may provide useful constraints on this effect.

Probing reionization with LOFAR using 21-cm redshift space distortions

One of the most promising ways to study the epoch of reionization (EoR) is through radio observations of the redshifted 21-cm line emission from neutral hydrogen. These observations are complicated ...

On the use of seminumerical simulations in predicting the 21-cm signal from the epoch of reionization

We present a detailed comparison of three different simulations of the epoch of reionization (EoR). The radiative transfer simulation (C-2-RAY) among them is our benchmark. Radiative transfer codes can produce realistic results, but are computationally expensive. We compare it with two seminumerical techniques: one using the same haloes as C-2-RAY as its sources (Sem-Num), and one using a conditional Press-Schechter scheme (CPS+GS). These are vastly more computationally efficient than C-2-RAY, but use more simplistic physical assumptions. We evaluate these simulations in terms of their ability to reproduce the history and morphology of reionization. We find that both Sem-Num and CPS+GS can produce an ionization history and morphology that is very close to C-2-RAY, with Sem-Num performing slightly better compared to CPS+GS. We also study different redshift-space observables of the 21-cm signal from EoR: the variance, power spectrum and its various angular multipole moments. We find that both seminumerical models perform reasonably well in predicting these observables at length scales relevant for present and future experiments. However, Sem-Num performs slightly better than CPS+GS in producing the reionization history, which is necessary for interpreting the future observations. The CPS+GS scheme, however, has the advantage that it is not restricted by the mass resolution of the dark matter density field.

Constraining the epoch of reionization with the variance statistic: simulations of the LOFAR case

The Epoch of Reionization (EoR) is the epoch in which most of the neutral gas in the Universe was re-ionized by the radiation from the first stars and galaxies. Many projects are underway to detect the redshifted 21 cm signal of the neutral hydrogen from the EoR with the low frequency radio telescopes. These experiments aim for a statistical detection of the signal due to its very low signal-to-noise ratio. We study extraction of the sample variance of the signal to constrain the global properties of the EoR. We show that the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) should be able to detect the signal with a significance of 3 standard deviations in 600 hours of integration. Additionally, it should be able to constrain the timing and duration of reionization with uncertainties of 0.4 and 1 redshifts, respectively, with 95 percent confidence. We also show the upper limits on the signal detection obtained from the analysis of 115 hours of the observed data with LOFAR. In the observed redshift range of 7 to 11, our current best upper limits are 25 mK at 1 MHz, 12 arcmin spectral and spatial resolutions, respectively.

Linear polarization structures in LOFAR observations of the interstellar medium in the 3C 196 field

Aims. This study aims to characterize linear polarization structures in LOFAR observations of the interstellar medium (ISM) in the 3C 196 field, one of the primary fields of the LOFAR-Epoch of Reionization key science project. Methods. We have used the high band antennas (HBA) of LOFAR to image this region and rotation measure (RM) synthesis to unravel the distribution of polarized structures in Faraday depth. Results. The brightness temperature of the detected Galactic emission is 5−15 K in polarized intensity and covers the range from –3 to +8 rad m-2 in Faraday depth. The most interesting morphological feature is a strikingly straight filament at a Faraday depth of +0.5 rad m-2 running from north to south, right through the centre of the field and parallel to the Galactic plane. There is also an interesting system of linear depolarization canals conspicuous in an image showing the peaks of Faraday spectra. We used the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) at 350 MHz to image the same region. For the first time, we see some common morphology in the RM cubes made at 150 and 350 MHz. There is no indication of diffuse emission in total intensity in the interferometric data, in line with results at higher frequencies and previous LOFAR observations. Based on our results, we determined physical parameters of the ISM and proposed a simple model that may explain the observed distribution of the intervening magneto-ionic medium. Conclusions. The mean line-of-sight magnetic field component, B∥, is determined to be 0.3 ± 0.1 μG and its spatial variation across the 3C 196 field is 0.1 μG. The filamentary structure is probably an ionized filament in the ISM, located somewhere within the Local Bubble. This filamentary structure shows an excess in thermal electron density (neB∥> 6.2 cm-3μG) compared to its surroundings.

Light cone effect on the reionization 21-cm signal - II. Evolution, anisotropies and observational implications

Measurements of the H I 21-cm power spectra from the reionization epoch will be influenced by the evolution of the signal along the line-of-sight direction of any observed volume. We use numerical as well as seminumerical simulations of reionization in a cubic volume of 607 Mpc across to study this so-called light-cone effect on the H I 21-cm power spectrum. We find that the light-cone effect has the largest impact at two different stages of reionization: one when reionization is ∼20 per cent and other when it is ∼80 per cent completed. We find a factor of ∼4 amplification of the power spectrum at the largest scale available in our simulations. We do not find any significant anisotropy in the 21-cm power spectrum due to the light-cone effect. We argue that for the power spectrum to become anisotropic, the light-cone effect would have to make the ionized bubbles significantly elongated or compressed along the line of sight, which would require extreme reionization scenarios. We also calculate the two-point correlation functions parallel and perpendicular to the line of sight and find them to differ. Finally, we calculate an optimum frequency bandwidth below which the light-cone effect can be neglected when extracting power spectra from observations. We find that if one is willing to accept a 10 per cent error due to the light-cone effect, the optimum frequency bandwidth for k = 0.056 Mpc−1 is ∼7.5 MHz. For k = 0.15 and 0.41 Mpc−1, the optimum bandwidth is ∼11 and ∼16 MHz, respectively.

Studying reionization with the next generation of Lyα emitter surveys

We study the prospects for constraining the ionized fraction of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at z > 6 with the next generation of large Lyα emitter surveys. We make predictions for the upcoming Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) Lyα survey and a hypothetical spectroscopic survey performed with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Considering various scenarios where the observed evolution of the Lyα luminosity function of Lyα emitters at z > 6 is explained partly by an increasingly neutral IGM and partly by intrinsic galaxy evolution, we show how clustering measurements will be able to distinguish between these scenarios. We find that the HSC survey should be able to detect the additional clustering induced by a neutral IGM if the global IGM neutral fraction is greater than ∼20 per cent at z = 6.5. If measurements of the Lyα equivalent widths (EWs) are also available, neutral fractions as small as 10 per cent may be detectable by looking for correlation between the EW and the local number density of objects. In this case, if it should turn out that the IGM is significantly neutral at z = 6.5 and the intrinsic EW distribution is relatively narrow, the observed EWs can also be used to construct a map of the locations and approximate sizes of the largest ionized regions. For the JWST survey, the results appear a bit less optimistic. Since such surveys probe a large range of redshifts, the effects of the IGM will be mixed up with any intrinsic galaxy evolution that is present, making it difficult to disentangle the effects. However, we show that a survey with the JWST will have a possibility of observing a large group of galaxies at z ∼ 7, which would be a strong indication of a partially neutral IGM.

Lunar occultation of the diffuse radio sky: LOFAR measurements between 35 and 80 MHz

We present radio observations of the Moon between 35 and 80 MHz to demonstrate a novel technique of interferometrically measuring large-scale diffuse emission extending far beyond the primary beam (global signal) for the first time. In particular, we show that (i) the Moon appears as a negative-flux source at frequencies 35 z > 12) and the Epoch of Reionization (12 > z > 5).