Identifying the Reionization Redshift from the Cosmic Star Formation Rate
نویسندگان
چکیده
We show that the cosmic star formation rate per comoving volume should exhibit a distinct drop around the reionization redshift, when the H II regions in the intergalactic medium around individual ionizing sources first overlapped. The drop results from the increase in the temperature of the intergalactic medium as it was photo-ionized, and the consequent suppression of the formation of low-mass galaxies. We show quantitatively that the detection of this drop should become feasible over the coming decade with the Next Generation Space Telescope. Subject headings: cosmology: theory — galaxies: formation Submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2000
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