BEoRN: A fast and flexible framework to simulate the epoch of reionisation and cosmic dawn

TL;DR

BEoRN is a new, efficient Python framework for simulating the 21-cm signal during cosmic dawn and reionisation, incorporating detailed physics and producing diverse models consistent with current observations.

Contribution

It introduces BEoRN, a flexible and publicly available simulation code that models the 21-cm signal with photon conservation and detailed astrophysical processes.

Findings

Three benchmark models match current observational constraints.

Models show diverse signatures, from cold to emission-dominated 21-cm signals.

BEoRN accurately reproduces key features of cosmic dawn and reionisation.

Abstract

In this study, we introduce BEoRN (Bubbles during the Epoch of Reionisation Numerical Simulator), a publicly available Python code that generates three-dimensional maps of the 21-cm signal from the cosmic dawn and the epoch of reionisation. Built upon N-body simulation outputs, BEoRN populates haloes with stars and galaxies based on a flexible source model. It then computes the evolution of Lyman-$\alpha$ coupling, temperature, and ionisation profiles as a function of source properties, and paints these profiles around each source onto a three-dimensional grid. The code consistently deals with the overlap of ionised bubbles by redistributing photons around the bubble boundaries, thereby ensuring photon conservation. It accounts for the redshifting of photons and the source look-back effect for the temperature and Lyman-$\alpha$ coupling profiles which extend far into the intergalactic medium to scales of order 100 cMpc. We provide a detailed description of the code and compare it to results from the literature. After validation, we run three different benchmark models based on a cosmological N-body simulation. All three models agree with current observations from UV luminosity functions and estimates of the mean ionisation fraction. Due to different assumptions regarding the small-mass stellar-to-halo relation, the X-ray flux emission, and the ionising photon escape fraction, the models produce unique signatures ranging from a cold reionisation with deep absorption trough to an emission-dominated 21-cm signal, broadly encompassing the current uncertainties at cosmic dawn. The code BEoRN is publicly available at https://github.com/cosmic-reionization/BEoRN.