Measuring light from the epoch of reionization with CIBER, the cosmic infrared background experiment

Abstract

Ultraviolet emission from the first generation of stars in the Universe ionized the intergalactic medium in a process which was completed by z • 6; the wavelength of these photons has been redshifted by (1+z) into the near infrared today and can be measured using instruments situated above the Earth's atmosphere. First flown in February 2009, the Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment (CIBER) comprises four instruments housed in a single reusable sounding rocket borne payload. CIBER has measured spatial anisotropies in the extragalactic IR background caused by cosmological structure from the epoch of reionization using two broadband imaging instruments, make a detailed characterization of the spectral shape of the IR background using a low resolution spectrometer, and measure the absolute brightness of the Zodical light foreground with a high resolution spectrometer in each of our six science fields. This paper presents the scientific motivation for CIBER and details of its first two flights, including a review of the published scientific results from the first flight and an outlook for future reionization science with CIBER data.