Foreground contamination in Lyα intensity mapping during the epoch of reionization
Journal Article
·
· Astrophysical Journal
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697 (United States)
- CENTRA, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Technical University of Lisbon, Lisboa 1049-001 (Portugal)
The intensity mapping of Lyα emission during the epoch of reionization will be contaminated by foreground emission lines from lower redshifts. We calculate the mean intensity and the power spectrum of Lyα emission at z ∼ 7 and estimate the uncertainties according to the relevant astrophysical processes. We find that the low-redshift emission lines from 6563 Å Hα, 5007 Å [O III], and 3727 Å [O II] will be strong contaminants on the observed Lyα power spectrum. We make use of both the star formation rate and luminosity functions to estimate the mean intensity and power spectra of the three foreground lines at z ∼ 0.5 for Hα, z ∼ 0.9 for [O III], and z ∼ 1.6 for [O II], as they will contaminate the Lyα emission at z ∼ 7. The [O II] line is found to be the strongest. We analyze the masking of the bright survey pixels with a foreground line above some line intensity threshold as a way to reduce the contamination in an intensity mapping survey. We find that the foreground contamination can be neglected if we remove pixels with fluxes above 1.4 × 10{sup –20} W m{sup –2}.
- OSTI ID:
- 22357136
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 785; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Intensity Mapping of Hα, Hβ, [O II], and [O III] Lines at z < 5
Foreground and Sensitivity Analysis for Broadband (2D) 21 cm–Lyα and 21 cm–Hα Correlation Experiments Probing the Epoch of Reionization
Prospects for detecting C II emission during the epoch of reionization
Journal Article
·
Tue Jan 31 23:00:00 EST 2017
· Astrophysical Journal
·
OSTI ID:22869452
Foreground and Sensitivity Analysis for Broadband (2D) 21 cm–Lyα and 21 cm–Hα Correlation Experiments Probing the Epoch of Reionization
Journal Article
·
Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017
· Astrophysical Journal
·
OSTI ID:22875634
Prospects for detecting C II emission during the epoch of reionization
Journal Article
·
Sat Jun 20 00:00:00 EDT 2015
· Astrophysical Journal
·
OSTI ID:22883027