I developed and constrained a data-driven model for the evolution of carbon monoxide (CO) in the redshift 2-4 universe, which plays a major role in star-forming galaxies. Being the second most abundant molecule in the universe (after molecular hydrogen) and much easier to detect from ground-based experiments, CO intensity mapping promises to provide stringent constraints on the spatial distribution of star formation at its peak.
I am a member of the CO Mapping Array Project (COMAP) collaboration, which seeks to map the distribution of CO both dring the peak of star formation and at the Epoch of Reionization of the universe.
In November 2021, the COMAP Pathfinder (whose science observations began in 2019 using the 10.4 metre Owens Valley Radio Observatory dish in the 26-34 GHz regime) released the first direct 3D measurement of the CO power spectrum on large scales, nearly an order of magnitude improvement compared to the previous best measurement.
My analysis formed the basis of an updated model developed by the COMAP team for the analysis and interpretation of their intensity mapping observations, allowing for stringent constraints on the evolution of the cosmic molecular gas density.
My CO model is available as a part of the public code LimLam Mocker developed by George Stein, Dongwoo Chung and members of the COMAP collaboration. Both during and after reionization, studies of the 158 micron transiton of ionized carbon [CII] promise exciting insights into the nature and evolution of star-forming galaxies. Combining a recent tentative detection of [CII] in intensity mapping at z ~ 2 with studies of individual [CII] galaxies at lower redshifts, I developed a data-driven model to predict the power spectrum of the [CII] 158 micron transition, with forecasts for its detection by current and future experiments. This will lead to novel synergies between 21 cm surveys, e.g. with the SKA-LOW and its pathfinder, the Murchinson Widefield Array (MWA), and CII lines at the epoch of reionization.