Synthetic observations using a robust end-to-end radiative transfer modeling pipeline

Abstract

he Epoch or Reionization (EoR; 15 > z > 6) is currently the farthest into the Universe the current generation of infrared space telescopes can observe. Though cosmological simulations are often run to low redshift by making trade offs on feedback routines or scale, the EoR is currently the furthest forward large-box, radiative-transfer cosmological simulations can calculate. This generates a thin envelope within which simulated objects and observational targets may be contemporaneously studied with the benefit of a full physics prescription. The convergence of the two fields on the EoR is especially compelling as it is host to a large number of theoretically and numerically predicted phenomena that have yet to be empirically constrained. These include metal-free Population III stars, possible progenitors of supermassive black holes such as direct collapse black holes (DCBH), the early Universe luminosity functions, galaxy morphologies, the nature of the early intergalactic medium (IGM), interstellar medium (ISM) enrichment, and the radiative engines of reionization. With the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) becoming operational soon, work by Barrow et al. on robustly producing representative synthetic observations and predictions is timely. By emphasizing applicability to generalized scenarios in the construction of the radiative transfer technique, a bevy of astrophysical phenomena are modeled, studied, and compared with observation, producing several novel predictions