Related papers: Radiation from early black holes - I: effects on t…
We consider cosmological implications of the formation of first stellar size black holes (BHs) in the universe. Such BHs form and grow by accretion in minihaloes of masses $\simeq 10^5-10^7~M_\odot$, and emit non-thermal radiation which…
It is well established that between 380000 and 1 billion years after the Big Bang the Inter Galactic Medium (IGM) underwent a "phase transformation" from cold and fully neutral to warm (~10^4 K) and ionized. Whether this phase…
The 21-cm signal from the cosmic reionization epoch can shed light on the history of heating of the primordial intergalactic medium (IGM) at z~30-10. It has been suggested that X-rays from the first accreting black holes could significantly…
We use semi-analytical models to study the effects of primordial black hole (PBH) accretion on the cosmic radiation background during the epoch of reionization ($z\gtrsim 6$). We consider PBHs floating in the intergalactic medium (IGM), and…
Observational studies indicate that the intergalactic medium (IGM) is highly ionized up to redshifts just over 6. A number of models have been developed to describe the process of reionization and the effects of the ionizing photons from…
Observations of the 21 cm line from neutral hydrogen indicate that an Epoch of Heating (EoH) might have preceded the later Epoch of Reionization (EoR). Here we study the effects on the ionization state and the thermal history of the…
We discuss currently available observational constraints on the reionization history of the intergalactic medium (IGM), and the extent to which accreting black holes (BHs) can help explain these observations. We show new evidence, based on…
We consider the signatures of a population of primordial black holes (PBHs) in future observations of 21cm radiation from neutral hydrogen at high redshift. We focus on PBHs in the mass range $5 \times 10^{10} kg \lesssim M_{PBH} \lesssim…
The first stars and quasars are known sources of hard ionizing radiation in the first billion years of the Universe. We examine the joint effects of X-rays and hard UV radiation from such first-light sources on the hydrogen and helium…
We use cosmological simulations to study the X-ray ionisation and heating of the intergalactic medium by an early population of accreting black holes. By considering observational constraints from the X-ray background, we find an upper…
A population of black holes (BHs) at high redshifts (z>6) that contributes significantly to the ionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM) would be accompanied by the copious production of hard (>10keV) X-ray photons. The resulting hard…
The feasibility of making highly redshifted HI 21-cm (rest frame) measurements from an early epoch of the Universe between the Dark Ages and Reionization (i.e., z>6 and nu<200 MHz) to probe the effects of feedback from the first stars and…
A simple analytical model is used to calculate the X-ray heating of the IGM for a range of black hole masses. This process is efficient enough to decouple the spin temperature of the intergalactic medium from the cosmic microwave background…
Currently the asteroid mass window (mass $\sim 10^{17}- 10^{21}$ grams) remains unconstrained for Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) to make up all of the dark matter content of the universe. Given these PBHs have very small masses, their…
Recent measurements of the cosmic X-ray and radio backgrounds (CXB/CRB, respectively) obtained with Chandra and ARCADE2 report signals in excess of those expected from known sources, suggesting the presence of a yet undiscovered population…
We investigate the effect of accreting primordial black holes (PBHs) on the thermal history of the intergalactic medium (IGM), including the accretion of baryonic matter and dark matter particles. The variations of the thermal history of…
A large population of Intermediate Mass Black Holes (IMBHs) might be produced at early cosmic times as a left over of the evolution of the very massive first stars. Accretion onto IMBHs provides a source of (re)ionizing radiation. We show…
Primordial black holes (PBHs) with mass $10^{16}-10^{17}$ g almost escape constraints from observations so could essentially contribute to dark matter density. Hawking evaporation of such PBHs produces with a steady rate $\gamma$- and…
The discoveries of a number of binary black hole mergers by LIGO and VIRGO has reinvigorated the interest that primordial black holes (PBHs) of tens of solar masses could contribute non-negligibly to the dark matter energy density. Should…
The 21 cm signal produced by non-evaporating primordial black holes (PBHs) is investigated. X-ray photons emitted by accretion of matter onto a PBH ionize and heat the intergalactic medium (IGM) gas near the PBH. Using a simple analytic…