Widdekind Posted December 1, 2012 Posted December 1, 2012 i understand, that the detection of (partial) polarization, in CMB photons, by the WMAP, implies a high column density, of (ions &) electrons, along the LOS to earth. So, the conclusion has been reached, that Reionization "must" have occurred early (z~(30-10)) so as to force CMB photons to propagate through hundreds of millions of years more ionized plasma, as compared to Quasar spectra, which date Reionization to later epochs (z~6). Column density is the (integrated) product of number density times path length. Would a higher baryon density ([math]\Omega_B \rightarrow 1[/math]) admit a lower Reionization redshift, i.e. shorter path length, so reconciling WMAP to Quasar spectra?
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