Hostname: page-component-54dcc4c588-tfzs5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-01T09:59:32.048Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français
Accepted manuscript

Determining Ideal Fields for Epoch of Reionisation Science Using the 21 cm Line

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2025

E. Jong Open the ORCID record for E. Jong [Opens in a new window] ,
C. M. Trott Open the ORCID record for C. M. Trott [Opens in a new window] ,
C. D. Nunhokee Open the ORCID record for C. D. Nunhokee [Opens in a new window]  and
Q. Zheng
E. Jong*
Affiliation:
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Bentley WA, Australia
C. M. Trott
Affiliation:
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Bentley WA, Australia
C. D. Nunhokee
Affiliation:
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Bentley WA, Australia ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics in 3D (ASTRO 3D), Australia
Q. Zheng
Affiliation:
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai, 200030, P. R. China
*
Author for correspondence: E. Jong, Email: eric.jong@postgrad.curtin.edu.au.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The upcoming Square Kilometre Array Low Frequency (SKA-Low) interferometer will have the required sensitivity to detect the 21 cm line from neutral hydrogen during the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR). In preparation, we investigated the suitability of different fields for EoR science with the 21 cm line, using existing observations of candidate fields from the MurchisonWidefield Array (MWA). Various image and calibration metrics were extracted from archival MWA observations centred on z ∼ 6.8. We explore the usefulness of these metrics and compare their behaviour between different fields of interest. In addition, a theoretical approach to quantifying the impact of different fields on the power spectrum is also provided. Gain uncertainties were calculated based on the positions of the calibrators within the beam. These uncertainties were then propagated into visibilities to produce cylindrical power spectra for various fields. Using these metrics in combination with the power spectra, we confirm that EoR0 (R.A. = 0 deg, Dec = −27.0 deg) is an ideal EoR field and discuss the interesting behaviour of other fields.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia , Accepted manuscript , pp. 1 - 19
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Astronomical Society of Australia