Predictions and sensitivity forecasts for reionization-era [C II] line intensity mapping

Understand

Observations of the high-redshift Universe using the 21 cm line of neutral hydrogen and complimentary emission lines from the first galaxies promise to open a new door for our understanding of the epoch of reionization.

• We present predictions for the [C II] 158-micron line and H I 21 cm emission from redshifts z=6--9 using high-dynamic-range cosmological simulations combined with semi-analytical models.
• We find that the CONCERTO experiment should be able to detect the large scale power spectrum of [C II] emission to redshifts of up to z=8 (signal-to-noise ratio ~ 1 at k = 0.1 h/cMpc with 1500 hr of integration).
• A Stage II experiment similar to CCAT-p should be able to detect [C II] from even higher redshifts to high significance for similar integration times (signal-to-noise ratio of ~50 at k = 0.2 h/cMpc at z=6--9).