CaltechAUTHORS
Published July 10, 2022 | Version Submitted + Published
Journal Article Open

COMAP Early Science. I. Overview

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 2. ROR icon University of Oslo
  • 3. ROR icon New York University
  • 4. ROR icon Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics
  • 5. ROR icon University of Toronto
  • 6. ROR icon Stanford University
  • 7. ROR icon University of Manchester
  • 8. ROR icon University of Miami
  • 9. ROR icon University of Maryland, College Park
  • 10. ROR icon University of California, Berkeley
  • 11. ROR icon University of Geneva
  • 12. ROR icon Jet Propulsion Lab
  • 13. ROR icon National Radio Astronomy Observatory
  • 14. ROR icon University of Concepción
  • 15. ROR icon Princeton University
  • 16. ROR icon Infrared Processing and Analysis Center
  • 17. ROR icon Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam

Abstract

The CO Mapping Array Project (COMAP) aims to use line-intensity mapping of carbon monoxide (CO) to trace the distribution and global properties of galaxies over cosmic time, back to the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). To validate the technologies and techniques needed for this goal, a Pathfinder instrument has been constructed and fielded. Sensitive to CO(1–0) emission from z = 2.4–3.4 and a fainter contribution from CO(2–1) at z = 6–8, the Pathfinder is surveying 12 deg² in a 5 yr observing campaign to detect the CO signal from z ∼ 3. Using data from the first 13 months of observing, we estimate P_(CO)(k) = −2.7 ± 1.7 × 10⁴ μK² Mpc³ on scales k = 0.051 −0.62 Mpc⁻¹, the first direct three-dimensional constraint on the clustering component of the CO(1–0) power spectrum. Based on these observations alone, we obtain a constraint on the amplitude of the clustering component (the squared mean CO line temperature bias product) of ⟨Tb⟩² < 49 μK², nearly an order-of-magnitude improvement on the previous best measurement. These constraints allow us to rule out two models from the literature. We forecast a detection of the power spectrum after 5 yr with signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) 9–17. Cross-correlation with an overlapping galaxy survey will yield a detection of the CO–galaxy power spectrum with S/N of 19. We are also conducting a 30 GHz survey of the Galactic plane and present a preliminary map. Looking to the future of COMAP, we examine the prospects for future phases of the experiment to detect and characterize the CO signal from the EoR.

Additional Information

© 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. Received 2021 November 19; revised 2022 February 24; accepted 2022 April 1; published 2022 July 13. Focus on Early Science Results from the CO Mapping Array Project (COMAP). This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant Nos. 1517108, 1517288, 1517598, 1518282, and 1910999, and by the Keck Institute for Space Studies under "The First Billion Years: A Technical Development Program for Spectral Line Observations." Parts of the work were carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and funded through the internal Research and Technology Development program. DTC is supported by a CITA/Dunlap Institute postdoctoral fellowship. The Dunlap Institute is funded through an endowment established by the David Dunlap family and the University of Toronto. C.D. and S.H. acknowledge support from an STFC Consolidated grant (ST/P000649/1). J.B., H.K.E., M.K.F., H.T.I., J.G.S.L., M.R., N.O.S., D.W., and I.K.W. acknowledge support from the Research Council of Norway through grant Nos. 251328 and 274990, and from the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (grant agreement No. 819478, Cosmoglobe). J.G. acknowledges support from the University of Miami and is grateful to Hugh Medrano for assistance with cryostat design. L.K. was supported by the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 885990. J.K. is supported by a Robert A. Millikan Fellowship from Caltech. At JPL, we are grateful to Mary Soria for assembly work on the amplifier modules and to Jose Velasco, Ezra Long, and Jim Bowen for the use of their amplifier test facilities. H.P. acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science Foundation through Ambizione Grant PZ00P2_179934. P.C.B. is supported by the James Arthur Postdoctoral Fellowship. R.R. acknowledges support from ANID-FONDECYT grant No. 1181620. L.B. was supported by ANID-PFCHA/DOCTORADO NACIONAL 2019-21192138. M.V. acknowledges support from the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology. We thank Isu Ravi for her contributions to the warm electronics and antenna drive characterization. Finally, we thank the anonymous referee, whose comments and suggestions have helped to improve and clarify this manuscript.

Attached Files

Published - Cleary_2022_ApJ_933_182.pdf

Submitted - 2111.05927.pdf

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2111.05927.pdf

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Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
113986
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20220322-205028700

Related works

Describes
https://arxiv.org/abs/2111.05927 (URL)

Funding

NSF
AST-1517108
NSF
AST-1517288
NSF
AST-1517598
NSF
AST-1518282
NSF
AST-1910999
Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS)
NASA/JPL/Caltech
JPL Research and Technology Development Fund
Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics
Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics
University of Toronto
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
ST/P000649/1
Research Council of Norway
251328
Research Council of Norway
274990
European Research Council (ERC)
819478
Marie Curie Fellowship
885990
Robert A. Millikan Fellowship
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
PZ00P2_179934
American Astronomical Society
Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT)
1181620
Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (ANID)
2019-21192138
Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology

Dates

Created
2022-03-23
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2022-07-29
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Astronomy Department, Keck Institute for Space Studies, Owens Valley Radio Observatory