Redshifted 21cm Observations of High Redshift Quasar Proximity Zones

TL;DR

This paper models the redshifted 21cm signal around high-redshift quasars to explore their potential in probing the late stages of cosmic reionization, emphasizing observational strategies with upcoming radio arrays.

Contribution

It introduces a semi-analytic model of 21cm signals around z~6 quasars and assesses their utility in studying reionization with future radio observations.

Findings

Spectral features from quasar proximity zones remain after foreground subtraction.

Quasars at z<6.5 can probe late reionization stages due to light-travel time effects.

High-redshift quasar detection prospects with the Murchison Widefield Array are promising.

Abstract

The introduction of low-frequency radio arrays is expected to revolutionize the study of the reionization epoch. Observation of the contrast in redshifted 21cm emission between a large HII region and the surrounding neutral inter-galactic medium (IGM) will be the simplest and most easily interpreted signature. However the highest redshift quasars known are thought to reside in an ionized IGM. Using a semi-analytic model we describe the redshifted 21cm signal from the IGM surrounding quasars discovered using the i-drop out technique (i.e. quasars at z~6). We argue that while quasars at z<6.5 seem to reside in the post overlap IGM, they will still provide valuable probes of the late stages of the overlap era because the light-travel time across a quasar proximity zone should be comparable to the duration of overlap. For redshifted 21cm observations within a 32MHz bandpass, we find that the subtraction of a spectrally smooth foreground will not remove spectral features due to the proximity zone. These features could be used to measure the neutral hydrogen content of the IGM during the late stages of reionization. The density of quasars at z~6 is now well constrained. We use the measured quasar luminosity function to estimate the prospects for discovery of high redshift quasars in fields that will be observed by the Murchison Widefield Array.