The Alcock-Paczynski test in redshifted twenty one centimeter maps

Abstract

We examine the possibility of constraining the cosmological mean mass and dark energy densities by an application of the Alcock-Paczynski test on redshifted 21-cm maps of the epoch of reionization. The 21-cm data will be provided as a function of frequency and angular positions on the sky. The ratio of the frequency to angular distance scales can be determined by inspecting the anisotropy pattern of the correlation function of brightness temperature. We assess the sensitivity of the distance ratio to the cosmological parameters and present a technique for disentangling geometrical distortions from redshift space distortions caused by peculiar motions.