{
  "id": "1902.01611",
  "version": "v1",
  "published": "2019-02-05T09:42:34.000Z",
  "updated": "2019-02-05T09:42:34.000Z",
  "title": "The Escape Fraction of Ionizing Photons During the Epoch of Reionization: Observability with the Square Kilometre Array",
  "authors": [
    "Jacob Seiler",
    "Anne Hutter",
    "Manodeep Sinha",
    "Darren Croton"
  ],
  "comment": "14 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables",
  "categories": [
    "astro-ph.GA",
    "astro-ph.CO"
  ],
  "abstract": "One of the most important parameters in characterising the Epoch of Reionization, the escape fraction of ionizing photons, $f_\\mathrm{esc}$, remains unconstrained both observationally and theoretically. With recent work highlighting the impact of galaxy-scale feedback on the instantaneous value of $f_\\mathrm{esc}$, it is important to develop a model reionization is self-consistently coupled to galaxy evolution. In this work, we present such a model and explore how physically motivated functional forms of $f_\\mathrm{esc}$ affect the evolution of ionized hydrogen within the intergalactic medium. Using the $21$cm power spectrum evolution, we investigate the likelihood of observationally distinguishing between a constant $f_\\mathrm{esc}$ and other models that depend upon different forms of galaxy feedback. We find that changing the underlying connection between $f_\\mathrm{esc}$ and galaxy feedback drastically alters the large-scale $21$cm power. The upcoming Square Kilometre Array Low Frequency instrument possesses the sensitivity to differentiate between our models at a fixed optical depth, requiring only $200$ hours of integration time focused on redshift $z = 7.5-8.5$. Generalizing these results to account for a varying optical depth will require multiple $800$ hour observations spanning redshift $z = 7-10$. This presents an exciting opportunity to observationally constrain one of the most elusive parameters during the Epoch of Reionization.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "updated": "2019-02-05T09:42:34.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "keywords": [
      "escape fraction",
      "ionizing photons",
      "low frequency instrument possesses",
      "reionization",
      "square kilometre array low frequency"
    ],
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 14,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable"
    }
  }
}