The global history of reionization

Abstract

Using a Bayesian framework, we quantify what current observations imply about the history of the epoch of reionization (EoR). We use a popular, three-parameter EoR model, flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of physically plausible reionization histories. We study the impact of various EoR observations: (i) the optical depth to the CMB measured by Planck 2016; (ii) the dark fraction in the Lyman α and β forests; (iii) the redshift evolution of galactic Lyα emission (so-called 'Lyα fraction'); (iv) the clustering of Lyα emitters; (v) the IGM damping wing imprint in the spectrum of QSO ULASJ1120+0641; (vi) and the patchy kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich signal. Combined, (i) and (ii) already ..