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[86.05] Constraints on the Primordial Power Spectrum From the Reionization Epoch

A. Venkatesan (University of Colorado, Boulder)

Spectroscopic studies of high-redshift objects and increasingly precise data on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are beginning to independently place strong complementary bounds on the epoch of hydrogen reionization. Here, we present two methods of using the reionization epoch to constrain the amplitude and index of the primordial scalar power spectrum. In the first case, we combine a semi-analytic model of reionization by the first stars with CMB parameter extraction for the case of data anticipated from the MAP satellite. Alternatively, we examine the implications of an independent, e.g., spectroscopic, determination of the epoch of reionization. This second method has the potential to significantly strengthen limits from the CMB on the primordial power spectrum, while having the considerable advantage of being free of the choice of the reionization model

The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: aparna@casa.colorado.edu

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.