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Reaching small scales with low-frequency imaging: applications to the Dark Ages

Morabito, L.K.; Silk, J.

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Authors

J. Silk



Abstract

The initial conditions for the density perturbations in the early Universe, which dictate the large-scale structure and distribution of galaxies we see today, are set during inflation. Measurements of primordial non-Gaussianity are crucial for distinguishing between different inflationary models. Current measurements of the matter power spectrum from the cosmic microwave background only constrain this on scales up to k ∼ 0.1 Mpc−1. Reaching smaller angular scales (higher values of k) can provide new constraints on non-Gaussianity. A powerful way to do this is by measuring the HI matter power spectrum at z≳30. In this paper, we investigate what values of k can be reached for the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), which can achieve ≲1″ resolution at approximately 50 MHz. Combining this with a technique to isolate the spectrally smooth foregrounds to a wedge in k∥–k⊥ space, we demonstrate what values of k we can feasibly reach within observational constraints. We find that LOFAR is approximately five orders of magnitude away from the desired sensitivity, for 10 years of integration time.

Citation

Morabito, L., & Silk, J. (2021). Reaching small scales with low-frequency imaging: applications to the Dark Ages. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 379(2188), Article 20190571. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0571

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 1, 2020
Online Publication Date Nov 23, 2020
Publication Date 2021-01
Deposit Date Jan 11, 2021
Publicly Available Date Jan 13, 2021
Journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.
Print ISSN 1364-503X
Electronic ISSN 1471-2962
Publisher The Royal Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 379
Issue 2188
Article Number 20190571
DOI https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0571
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1253705
Related Public URLs https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.13353

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