Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2007-03-13
Astrophys.J.663:1-9,2007
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
25 pages, 9 figures, accepted by ApJ
Scientific paper
10.1086/518208
We investigate the 21 cm signals from the UV ionizing sources in the reionization epoch. The formation and evolution of 21 cm emission and absorption regions depend essentially on the kinetics of photons in the physical and frequency spaces. To solve the radiative transfer equation, we use the WENO algorithm, which is effective to capture the sharp ionization profile and the cut-off at the front of light $(r=ct)$ and to handle the small fraction of neutral hydrogen and helium in the ionized sphere. We show that a spherical shell of 21 cm emission and absorption will develop around a point source once the speed of the ionization front (I-front) is significantly lower than the speed of light. The 21 cm shell extends from the I-front to the front of light; its inner part is the emission region and its outer part is the absorption region. The 21 cm emission region depends strongly on the intensity, frequency-spectrum and life-time of the UV ionizing source. For a source of short life-time, no 21 cm emission region can be formed if the source dies out before the I-front speed is significantly lower than the speed of light. Yet, a 21 cm absorption region can form and develop even after the emission of the source ceases.
Fang Li-zhi
Feng Long-Long
Liu Jiren
Qiu Jing-Mei
Shu Chi-Wang
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