1. Forecasts for Helium Reionization Detection with Fast Radio Bursts in the Era of Square Kilometre Array
- Author
-
Wei, Jun-Jie and Gao, Chong-Yu
- Subjects
Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics ,Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena - Abstract
The observed dispersion measures (DMs) of fast radio bursts (FRBs) are a good indicator of the amount of ionized material along the propagation paths. In this work, we present a forecast of He II reionization detection using the DM and redshift measurements of FRBs from the upcoming Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Assuming a model of the Universe in which \he reionization occurred at a specific redshift $z_{\rm re}$, we analyze what extent the signal-to-noise ratio ($\mathrm{S/N}$) for the detection of the amplitude of reionization can be achieved in the era of SKA. Using $10^{6}$ mock FRB data from a one-year observation of the second phase of SKA, we find that the $\mathrm{S/N}$ for detecting He II reionization can approach the $32-50\sigma$ level and the uncertainty on the reionization redshift can be constrained to be $\sigma(z_{\rm re})\approx 0.022-0.031$, depending on the assumed FRB redshift distribution. We also examine the influence of different fiducial $z_{\rm re}$ values, finding that this effect has a modest impact on the forecasts. Our results demonstrate the potentially remarkable capability of SKA-era FRBs in constraining the epoch of He II reionization., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 1 table
- Published
- 2024