Reionization and Beyond: detecting the peaks of the cosmological 21cm signal

Understand

[ABRIDGED] The cosmological 21cm signal is set to become the most powerful probe of the early Universe, with first generation interferometers aiming to make statistical detections of reionization.

• There is increasing interest also in the pre-reionization epoch when the intergalactic medium was heated by an early X-ray background.
• Here we perform parameter studies varying the halo masses hosting galaxies, and their X-ray production efficiencies.
• We also relate these to popular models of Warm Dark Matter cosmologies.