Impact of the Primordial Stellar Initial Mass Function on the 21-cm Signal

TL;DR

This study explores how different assumptions about the initial mass function of first-generation stars affect the predicted 21-cm hydrogen signal from cosmic dawn, highlighting the importance of detailed stellar modeling.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed method for calculating Pop III stellar spectra over their lifetimes and assesses the impact of IMF variations on the 21-cm signal predictions.

Findings

Maximum 59% difference in global 21-cm signal.

Maximum 131% difference in power spectra.

Stars lighter than 20 solar masses significantly influence the signal.

Abstract

Properties of the first generation of stars (Pop III), such as their initial mass function (IMF), are poorly constrained by observations and have yet to converge between simulations. The cosmological 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen is predicted to be sensitive to Lyman-band photons produced by these stars, thus providing a unique way to probe the first stellar population. In this paper, we investigate the impacts of the Pop III IMF on the cosmic dawn 21-cm signal via the Wouthuysen-Field effect, Lyman-Werner feedback, Ly-alpha heating, and CMB heating. We calculate the emission spectra of star-forming halos for different IMFs by integrating over individual metal-free stellar spectra, computed from a set of stellar evolution histories and stellar atmospheres, and taking into account variability of the spectra with stellar age. Through this study, we therefore relax two common assumptions: that the zero-age main sequence emission rate of a Pop III star is representative of its lifetime mean emission rate, and that Pop III emission can be treated as instantaneous. Exploring a bottom-heavy, a top-heavy, and intermediate IMFs, we show that variations in the 21-cm signal are driven by stars lighter than 20 solar masses. For the explored models we find maximum relative differences of 59% in the cosmic dawn global 21-cm signal, and 131% between power spectra. Although this impact is modest, precise modelling of the first stars and their evolution is necessary for accurate prediction and interpretation of the 21-cm signal.