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Main Authors: Sun, Shijie, Xu, Jiaqin, Zhou, Minquan, Xu, Shenzhe, Wu, Fengquan, Zhang, Haoran, Zhang, Juyong, Ma, Bin, Shang, Zhaohui, Chen, Xuelei
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.07198
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author Sun, Shijie
Xu, Jiaqin
Zhou, Minquan
Xu, Shenzhe
Wu, Fengquan
Zhang, Haoran
Zhang, Juyong
Ma, Bin
Shang, Zhaohui
Chen, Xuelei
author_facet Sun, Shijie
Xu, Jiaqin
Zhou, Minquan
Xu, Shenzhe
Wu, Fengquan
Zhang, Haoran
Zhang, Juyong
Ma, Bin
Shang, Zhaohui
Chen, Xuelei
contents The redshifted 21 cm line, arising from neutral hydrogen, offers a unique probe into the intergalactic medium and the first stars and galaxies formed in the early universe. However, detecting this signal is a challenging task because of artificial radio-frequency interference (RFI) and systematic errors such as ground effects. The interior of the Antarctic continent provides an excellent location to make such observations, with minimal RFI and relatively stable foreground signals. Moreover, a flat plateau in central Antarctica, with an ice cap over 2000 m deep, will show less ground reflection of radio waves, reducing the signal complexity in the area around the probing antenna. It may be advantageous to perform cosmological 21 cm experiments in Antarctica, and a 21 cm Antarctic global spectrum experiment can potentially be deployed on the Antarctic ice cap. We have performed preliminary instrumental design, system calibration, and implementation of such an instrument optimized for extreme cold and capable of long-term autonomous operation. This system shows the ability to effectively detect the 21~cm signal, confirming Antarctica as an excellent observational site for radio cosmology.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_07198
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Probing the cosmological 21~cm global signal from the Antarctic ice sheet
Sun, Shijie
Xu, Jiaqin
Zhou, Minquan
Xu, Shenzhe
Wu, Fengquan
Zhang, Haoran
Zhang, Juyong
Ma, Bin
Shang, Zhaohui
Chen, Xuelei
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
The redshifted 21 cm line, arising from neutral hydrogen, offers a unique probe into the intergalactic medium and the first stars and galaxies formed in the early universe. However, detecting this signal is a challenging task because of artificial radio-frequency interference (RFI) and systematic errors such as ground effects. The interior of the Antarctic continent provides an excellent location to make such observations, with minimal RFI and relatively stable foreground signals. Moreover, a flat plateau in central Antarctica, with an ice cap over 2000 m deep, will show less ground reflection of radio waves, reducing the signal complexity in the area around the probing antenna. It may be advantageous to perform cosmological 21 cm experiments in Antarctica, and a 21 cm Antarctic global spectrum experiment can potentially be deployed on the Antarctic ice cap. We have performed preliminary instrumental design, system calibration, and implementation of such an instrument optimized for extreme cold and capable of long-term autonomous operation. This system shows the ability to effectively detect the 21~cm signal, confirming Antarctica as an excellent observational site for radio cosmology.
title Probing the cosmological 21~cm global signal from the Antarctic ice sheet
topic Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.07198