Peering into the dark (ages) with low-frequency space interferometers: Using the 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen from the infant universe to probe fundamental (Astro)physics.

The Dark Ages and Cosmic Dawn are largely unexplored windows on the infant Universe (z ~ 200-10). Observations of the redshifted 21-cm line of neutral hydrogen can provide valuable new insight into fundamental physics and astrophysics during these eras that no other probe can provide, and drives the design of many future ground-based instruments such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA). We review progress in the field of high-redshift 21-cm Cosmology, in particular focussing on what questions can be addressed by probing the Dark Ages at z > 30. We conclude that only a space- or lunar-based radio telescope, shielded from the Earth's radio-frequency interference (RFI) signals and its ionosphere, enable the 21-cm signal from the Dark Ages to be detected. We suggest a generic mission design concept, CoDEX, that will enable this in the coming decades.

Giant magnetized outflows from the centre of the Milky Way.

The nucleus of the Milky Way is known to harbour regions of intense star formation activity as well as a supermassive black hole. Recent observations have revealed regions of γ-ray emission reaching far above and below the Galactic Centre (relative to the Galactic plane), the so-called 'Fermi bubbles'. It is uncertain whether these were generated by nuclear star formation or by quasar-like outbursts of the central black hole and no information on the structures' magnetic field has been reported. Here we report observations of two giant, linearly polarized radio lobes, containing three ridge-like substructures, emanating from the Galactic Centre. The lobes each extend about 60 degrees in the Galactic bulge, closely corresponding to the Fermi bubbles, and are permeated by strong magnetic fields of up to 15 microgauss. We conclude that the radio lobes originate in a biconical, star-formation-driven (rather than black-hole-driven) outflow from the Galaxy's central 200 parsecs that transports a huge amount of magnetic energy, about 10(55) ergs, into the Galactic halo. The ridges wind around this outflow and, we suggest, constitute a 'phonographic' record of nuclear star formation activity over at least ten million years.