Dark age consistency in the 21cm global signal

TL;DR

The paper introduces the dark-age consistency ratio, a new observable derived from the 21cm global signal during the dark ages, which tests the standard cosmological model with minimal data.

Contribution

It proposes the dark-age consistency ratio as a novel, model-independent test for the 21cm global signal during the dark ages, enabling model validation with limited measurements.

Findings

The consistency ratio has a specific value in the $\Lambda$CDM model.

It provides a critical test for standard and beyond-standard cosmological models.

Requires only a few frequency measurements during the dark ages.

Abstract

We propose a new observable for the 21cm global signal during the dark ages, the dark-age consistency ratio, which is motivated from the fact that the shape of the functional form of the brightness temperature against the frequency is cosmological-parameter independent in the standard $\Lambda$CDM model. The dark-age consistency ratio takes a certain definite value in the $\Lambda$CDM case, which can serve as a critical test of the model and probe those beyond the standard one. The new observable just needs measurements of the brightness temperature at a few frequency bands during the dark ages, and thus it allows us to test cosmological scenarios even with limited information on the global signal.