Gianni Bernardi | Prospects for CO intensity mapping observations at z ≥ 6 with MeerKAT (band 5)

Line intensity mapping has been emerging as a promising observing method to map large cosmic volumes and, therefore, provide a measure of the large scale structure of the Universe. HI intensity mapping, for example, is being actively pursued to measure the HI evolution at z below 1.5. Among other lines considered for intensity mapping observations, CO is one of the most promising ones due to its cosmic abundance and because it is a tracer of cold molecular gas, the fuel of star formation. In this talk I will describe the prospects to observe CO emission from galaxies at the epoch of reionization using the upcoming band 5 receivers to be installed on the MeerKAT array to cover the 8.3-15.4 GHz range. Using the intensity mapping technique, I will show that it is possible to map a sufficiently large cosmic volume and achieve a detection of the CO 1-0 power spectrum at 7 ≤ z ≤ 8 in 2000 hours - assuming an optimistic scenario for the star formation rate and the CO luminosity. I will also discuss the unique possibility to cross correlate MeerKAT CO intensity mapping observations with observations of the redshifted 21 cm line taken at the same redshift with SKA-low.