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A. Loeb (Harvard University)
Fluctuations in the 21cm brightness from cosmic hydrogen at redshifts above 6 were sourced by the primordial density perturbations from inflation as well as by the radiation from galaxies. These two different components can be separated based on the angular dependence of the 21cm fluctuation power spectrum which is induced by peculiar velocities. The resulting angular structure relative to the line of sight facilitates a simple separation of the power spectrum into its components, permitting an unambiguous determination of the primordial power spectrum of density fluctuations, and of the detailed properties of all astrophysical sources of 21cm fluctuations. Several low-frequency arrays that could potentially detect the redshifted 21cm signal are being designed and constructed around the globe. I will review the theoretical and experimental challenges that characterize this emerging frontier in cosmology.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.