Theory 97/Cosmic/Reionisation
Reionisation Is Photons Against Recombination
The claim
The timing of cosmic reionisation is set by the ratio of ionising photon production to recombination rate, so a higher escape fraction reionises earlier.
01Mechanism
Ionisation requires photons to outpace recombinations in the intergalactic medium; the ratio sets when that balance is crossed.
02Prediction
Timing should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Timing tracking star formation alone would remove recombination.