Theoretical Studies of Fluctuations in the Redshifted 21 cm Line

AST-0506556Zaldarriaga观测到的高红移中性氢在其21厘米跃迁中的吸收和发射引起的涨落，有可能提供一个新的和非常强大的宇宙学探测器。该项目将对这一信号进行预测，以便更好地了解这种方法的力量，选择最佳的角度尺度和频率范围，确定要使用的最佳统计数据，并量化前景的影响。研究原始种子应该会限制那些微扰产生的物理原因，为了解宇宙最早的演化(膨胀时代)提供了一个窗口。这也可能对基础物理学产生重要的影响。再电离时代的解析和数值模型将探索参数空间，并针对详细的物理进行校准。这项工作对探测和测量红移21厘米发射的实验至关重要，有助于优化设计和观测策略。结果的广泛传播和来自代表性不足群体的学生的参与将传播这项研究的好处，培训这一新兴宇宙学领域的下一代科学家。

AST-0506556ZaldarriagaObservations of fluctuations induced by absorption and emission from high redshift neutral hydrogen in its 21 cm transition have the potential to provide a new and extremely powerful probe of cosmology. This project will predict this signal, to understand better the power of this approach, to select the optimal angular scales and frequency ranges, to determine the best statistics to use, and to quantify the effects of foregrounds. Studying the primordial seeds should constrain the physics responsible for the generation of those perturbations, providing a window into the earliest evolution of the Universe (the epoch of inflation). This might also have important implications for fundamental physics. Analytic and numerical models of the epoch of reionization will both explore parameter space and calibrate against detailed physics.This work is vitally important to experiments to detect and measure redshifted 21 cm emission, motivating optimal design and observing strategies. Broad dissemination of results and the engagement of students from under-represented groups will spread the benefits of this research, training the next generation of scientists in this emerging area of cosmology.