Nonlinear generation of sound waves in the pre-galactic epoch and 21 cm absorption

Abstract

The structure of the sound waves generated in baryonic gas during the evolution of dark matter halos with masses less than the Jeans mass is calculated. In this case, the source of the gravitational field that creates the wave can be either at a linear stage (an evolving perturbation in dark matter) or at a nonlinear stage (detached and virialized objects). The peculiar velocity of baryons in the sound wave in the second order of velocity cause absorption of the relic radiation in the 21 cm line. It is shown that this additional absorption at sound waves ranges from fractions of a percent (at the redshifts z~15-20) to about percent (at z~7-15) of the absorption value in a homogeneous Universe, however, additional absorption may be larger in the case of a non-standard spectrum of small scale cosmological perturbations.