Reionization of the Intergalactic Medium and its Effect on the CMB
Abstract
The bulk of the hydrogen in the universe transformed from neutral to ionized somewhere in the redshift interval 5 < z < 40, most likely due to ionizing photons produced by an early generation of stars or mini-quasars. The resulting free electrons, interacting with the CMB photons via Thomson scattering, are a mixed blessing, providing both a probe of the epoch of the first stars and a contaminant to the pristine primary anisotropy. Here we review our current knowledge of reionization with emphasis on inhomogeneities and describe the possible connections to CMB anisotropy.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/9902311,
title = {Reionization of the Intergalactic Medium and its Effect on the CMB},
author = {Zoltan Haiman and Lloyd Knox},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/9902311},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
Invited Review in "Microwave Foregounds", editors A. de Oliveira-Costa & M. Tegmark (ASP: San Francisco), 15 pages with 3 included figures. "Microwave Foregrounds", eds. A. De Oliveira-Costa & M. Tegmark (ASP, San Francisco, 1999)