Predictions for dispersion measures of fast radio bursts through the epoch of reionization using CoDa II

ABSTRACT Dispersion measures (DM) of fast radio bursts (FRBs) probe the density of electrons in the intergalactic medium along their lines of sight, including the average density versus distance to the source and its variations in direction. While previous study focused on low redshift (e.g. $z\lesssim 5$), FRBs are potentially detectable out to high redshift, where their DMs can, in principle, probe the epoch of reionization (EoR) and its patchiness. We combine the cosmic density and ionization fields from large-scale radiation-hydro simulation Cosmic Dawn (CoDa) II of fully coupled galaxy formation and reionization to $z=5.8$ (where reionization ended at $z_{re}\approx 6.1$), with those from N-body simulation CoDa II–Dark Matter for the fully ionized post-EoR, from $z=5.8$ to the present. By calculating the mean and standard deviation of FRB DMs as functions of their source redshift, we are able to quantify the combined effect of self-consistent inhomogeneous density and ionization fields on FRB DMs for the first time. The mean and standard deviation of DM increase with redshift, and, assuming the CoDa reionization history, both reach a plateau by $z(x_{HII}\lesssim 0.25)\gtrsim 8$, i.e. well above $z_{re}$. The mean-DM asymptote $\mathcal {DM}_{\mathrm{ max}} \approx 5900~\mathrm{pc\, cm^{-3}}$ reflects the end of the EoR and its duration. The standard deviation there is $\sigma _{\mathrm{ DM}, \mathrm{ max}}\approx 497 ~\mathrm{pc\, cm^{-3}}$, reflecting inhomogeneities of both patchy reionization and density. Inhomogeneities in ionization during the EoR contribute $\mathcal {O}(1$ per cent) of this value of $\sigma _{\mathrm{ DM},\mathrm{ max}}$ from FRBs at redshifts $z\gtrsim 8$. Current estimates of FRB rates suggest this may be detectable within a few years of observation.

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Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Published
2025-08-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf1308
Citations
1
Primary Topic
GNSS positioning and interference
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article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.99

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article

Predictions for dispersion measures of fast radio bursts through the epoch of reionization using CoDa II

Ilian T. Iliev, Gustavo Yepes, Joshua Ziegler, Kyungjin Ahn et al.
1 citations
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
GNSS positioning and interference
4.99
article

Predictions for dispersion measures of fast radio bursts through the epoch of reionization using CoDa II

Ilian T. Iliev, Gustavo Yepes, Joshua Ziegler, Kyungjin Ahn, Paul R. Shapiro, Katherine Freese, Stefan Gottlöber, Pierre Ocvirk, Joseph S. W. Lewis, Hyunbae Park, Romain Teyssier, Paz Beniamini, Taha Dawoodbhoy, Pawan Kumar, Dominique Aubert, Jenny G. Sorce
article en
1 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Dispersion measures (DM) of fast radio bursts (FRBs) probe the density of electrons in the intergalactic medium along their lines of sight, including the average density versus distance to the source and its variations in direction. While previous study focused on low redshift (e.g. $z\lesssim 5$), FRBs are potentially detectable out to high redshift, where their DMs can, in principle, probe the epoch of reionization (EoR) and its patchiness. We combine the cosmic density and ionization fields from large-scale radiation-hydro simulation Cosmic Dawn (CoDa) II of fully coupled galaxy formation and reionization to $z=5.8$ (where reionization ended at $z_{re}\approx 6.1$), with those from N-body simulation CoDa II–Dark Matter for the fully ionized post-EoR, from $z=5.8$ to the present. By calculating the mean and standard deviation of FRB DMs as functions of their source redshift, we are able to quantify the combined effect of self-consistent inhomogeneous density and ionization fields on FRB DMs for the first time. The mean and standard deviation of DM increase with redshift, and, assuming the CoDa reionization history, both reach a plateau by $z(x_{HII}\lesssim 0.25)\gtrsim 8$, i.e. well above $z_{re}$. The mean-DM asymptote $\mathcal {DM}_{\mathrm{ max}} \approx 5900~\mathrm{pc\, cm^{-3}}$ reflects the end of the EoR and its duration. The standard deviation there is $\sigma _{\mathrm{ DM}, \mathrm{ max}}\approx 497 ~\mathrm{pc\, cm^{-3}}$, reflecting inhomogeneities of both patchy reionization and density. Inhomogeneities in ionization during the EoR contribute $\mathcal {O}(1$ per cent) of this value of $\sigma _{\mathrm{ DM},\mathrm{ max}}$ from FRBs at redshifts $z\gtrsim 8$. Current estimates of FRB rates suggest this may be detectable within a few years of observation.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyVol. 542(2)
Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (SE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Tsukuba (JP), California Polytechnic State University (US), Chosun University (KR), University of Sussex (GB), Open University of Israel (IL), George Washington University (US), Princeton University (US), Université de Lille (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (DE), Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg (FR), Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (FR), AlbaNova (SE), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES), Université de Strasbourg (FR), École Centrale de Lille (FR), The University of Texas at Austin (US)
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, University of Texas at Austin, United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Vetenskapsrådet, Office of Science, High Energy Physics, Astrophysics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
GNSS positioning and interference
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