A first look at the topology of reionization redshifts in models of the Epoch of the Reionization

TL;DR

This study investigates the topology of reionization redshift regions during the Epoch of Reionization using topological data analysis, revealing differences between models and insights into the geometry of ionized bubbles.

Contribution

It introduces a topological analysis framework for EoR models using DisPerSE, comparing fully numerical and semi-analytical simulations to understand ionization structures.

Findings

Different EoR models can be distinguished by the properties of peak patches.

Peak patches are generally prolate and aligned with gas filaments.

Percolation can be studied through persistence thresholds in zreion fields.

Abstract

During the EoR, the first stars and galaxies appear while creating ionized bubbles that will eventually percolate near z=6. These ionized bubbles and percolation process are nowadays under a lot of scrutiny since observations of the HI gas will be carried on in the next decade with e.g. the SKA radiotelescope. Studies of the EoR are performed on semi-analytical and fully numerical cosmological simulations to investigate e.g. the topology of the process. We analyse the topology of EoR models through regions that are under the radiative influence of ionization sources. They are associated with peak patches of reionization redshift (zreion) field, for which we measure their general properties (e.g. number, size, shape, orientation). We aim at gaining insights on the geometry of the reionization process and how it relates to the matter distribution for example. We also assess how such measurements can be used to quantify the influence of physical parameters on the reionization models or the differences between fully numerical simulations and semi-analytical models. We use the DisPerSE framework (which applies the Morse theory and the persistent homology) on different EoR scenarios through gas density and zreion maps. We find that we can distinguish between EoR models with different sources using simple analyses on the number, shape and size distributions of the peak patches. For every model, we statistically show that they are rather prolate and aligned with the gas filaments. We briefly highlight that the percolation process can be followed studying zreion fields with different persistence thresholds. We show that fully numerical EMMA simulations can be made consistent with 21cmFAST models in this topological framework as long as the source distribution is diffuse enough.