Dissecting the high-z interstellar medium through intensity mapping
  cross-correlations
  We explore the detection, with upcoming spectroscopic surveys, of
three-dimensional power spectra of emission line fluctuations produced in
different phases of the Interstellar Medium (ISM) by ionized carbon, ionized
nitrogen and neutral oxygen at redshift z>4. The emission line [CII] from
ionized carbon at 157.7 micron, and multiple emission lines from carbon
monoxide, are the main targets of planned ground-based surveys, and an
important foreground for future space-based surveys like the Primordial
Inflation Explorer (PIXIE). However, the oxygen [OI] (145.5 micron) line, and
the nitrogen [NII] (121.9 micron and 205.2 micron) lines, might be detected in
correlation with [CII] with reasonable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). These lines
are important coolants of both the neutral and the ionized medium, and probe
multiple phases of the ISM. We compute predictions of the three-dimensional
power spectra for two surveys designed to target the [CII] line, showing that
they have the required sensitivity to detect cross-power spectra with the [OI]
line, and the [NII] lines with sufficient SNR. The importance of
cross-correlating multiple lines is twofold. On the one hand, we will have
multiple probes of the different phases of the ISM, which is key to understand
the interplay between energetic sources, the gas and dust at high redshift.
This kind of studies will be useful for a next-generation space observatory
such as the NASA Far-IR Surveyor. On the other end, emission lines from
external galaxies are an important foreground when measuring spectral
distortions of the Cosmic Microwave Background spectrum with future space-based
experiments like PIXIE; measuring fluctuations in the intensity mapping regime
will help constraining the mean amplitude of these lines, and will allow us to
better handle this important foreground.
