Relative contribution of the hydrogen 2S two-photon decay and Lyman-alpha escape channels during the epoch of cosmological recombination

Abstract

We discuss the evolution of the ratio in number of recombinations due to 2s two photon escape and due to the escape of Lyman-$\alpha$ photons from the resonance during the epoch of cosmological recombination, within the width of the last scattering surface and near its boundaries. We discuss how this ratio evolves in time, and how it defines the profile of the Lyman-$\alpha$ line in the spectrum of CMB. One of the key reasons for explaining its time dependence is the strong overpopulation of the 2p level relative to the 2s level at redshifts $z \la 750$.