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Line-intensity mapping: theory review with a focus on star-formation lines

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Abstract

Line-intensity mapping (LIM) is an emerging approach to survey the Universe, using relatively low-aperture instruments to scan large portions of the sky and collect the total spectral-line emission from galaxies and the intergalactic medium. Mapping the intensity fluctuations of an array of lines offers a unique opportunity to probe redshifts well beyond the reach of other cosmological observations, access regimes that cannot be explored otherwise, and exploit the enormous potential of cross-correlations with other measurements. This promises to deepen our understanding of various questions related to galaxy formation and evolution, cosmology, and fundamental physics. Here, we focus on lines ranging from microwave to optical frequencies, the emission of which is related to star formation in galaxies across cosmic history. Over the next decade, LIM will transition from a pathfinder era of first detections to an early-science era where data from more than a dozen missions will be harvested to yield new insights and discoveries. This review discusses the primary target lines for these missions, describes the different approaches to modeling their intensities and fluctuations, surveys the scientific prospects of their measurement, presents the formalism behind the statistical methods to analyze the data, and motivates the opportunities for synergy with other observables. Our goal is to provide a pedagogical introduction to the field for non-experts, as well as to serve as a comprehensive reference for specialists.

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Notes

  1. This simplified description ignores the role of fainter cooling lines, the dependence of the photo-electric efficiency of dust grains on their charge, and the saturation of the [CII] line at high temperatures and radiation intensities.

  2. This has also been invoked to explain the [CII] deficit in some local galaxies (Herrera-Camus et al. 2018).

  3. The specific intensity is sometimes denoted with \(I_\nu\) to distinguish it from the integrated intensity \(I_\nu {{\mathrm{d}}}\nu\). To simplify the notation, we do not follow this convention and use I to refer to specific intensities throughout this review.

  4. A detailed discussion of a popular model for the CO line can be found in Li et al. (2016).

  5. A log-normal scatter may not describe the whole population distribution accurately. For instance, star-forming and quenched galaxy populations can each introduce their own scatter, typically resulting in a bimodal distribution (Behroozi et al. 2019).

  6. These values correspond to a Salpeter initial mass function and must be multiplied by 0.63 to convert them to the Chabrier initial mass function.

  7. Fitting formulae relating IRX to the spectral index of the UV-continuum emission are also available.

  8. Although there are still significant discrepancies among the gas properties and star-formation efficiencies (see e.g. Mitchell et al. 2018).

  9. Note that this applies for observations that only use the auto-correlation of each antenna. The angular resolution for interferometric observations depends instead on the maximum baseline distance.

  10. The minimum frequency division used in an experiment may be determined by its spectral resolution or by choices related with systematic effects of the analysis and map making.

  11. The instrumental noise for interferometric experiments with simple configurations can be found in Bull et al. (2015).

  12. For other contributions in the context of galaxy positions, see Di Dio et al. (2013).

  13. We do not show the Vera Rubin Observatory, which targets the southern hemisphere, nor Euclid, which will survey the whole sky except for the Milky Way and the Ecliptic.

  14. https://github.com/jl-bernal/lim.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dongwoo Chung, Kirit Karkare, Guilaine Lagache, Olivier Doré, Tzu-Ching Chang, Karto Keating, Joaquin Vieira, Anthony Pullen and Eiichiro Komatsu for providing information necessary to produce Fig. 3. We also thank Karto Keating for assistance with the modeling used in Fig. 5, Selim Hotinli for help with the SO map in Fig. 9 and Reut Kovetz for help with Fig. 2. We are grateful to Donwgoo Chung, Adam Lidz, Maja Lujan Niemeyer, Anthony Pullen, Emmanuel Schaan and Eric Switzer for thoughtful comments on the manuscript. JLB is supported by the Allan C. and Dorothy H. Davis Fellowship. EDK is supported by a faculty fellowship from the Azrieli Foundation.

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Correspondence to Ely D. Kovetz.

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Bernal, J.L., Kovetz, E.D. Line-intensity mapping: theory review with a focus on star-formation lines. Astron Astrophys Rev 30, 5 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00159-022-00143-0

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