Collaborative Research: 21 cm Reionization Science with the MWA

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The Epoch of Reionization (EoR) is the period of time in the early Universe when it is thought that the first stars and galaxies formed. Understanding the physics of galaxy formation and feedback during the EoR is one of the key goals of modern cosmology and astrophysics. Observations of neutral hydrogen in the early Universe have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of these first stars and galaxies. This work will improve data analysis with the Murchison Widefield Array telescope so that researchers can make significantly better detections of such faint signals, making the observations much more useful and providing a tool for researchers engaged in similar projects. In addition, this work will continue and expand the initiative to provide Research Experiences for Non-Traditional Undergraduates. Undergraduate research is an essential component in preparing students both for graduate school and for positions in the broader STEM workforce. Providing this kind of research experience to non-traditional undergraduate students will enable more of them to go on to graduate school, increasing the diversity of the broader STEM community.This award supports the continued work of a successful EoR analysis team. Over the past four years innovations by the US imaging power spectrum (PS) team have driven the field forward and have led to the deepest EoR PS limits in the world. The investigators will make the next steps needed to reduce the limits by another order of magnitude with Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) data. Specifically, this work will make improvements in PS analyses with the MWA that will lower limits on the signal strength by an order of magnitude, making deep cuts into the possible parameter space for EoR models. This research will be invaluable for the entire 21 cm community.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.