Improving the Epoch of Reionization Power Spectrum Results from Murchison Widefield Array Season 1 Observations

Abstract

Measurements of 21 cm Epoch of Reionization (EoR) structure are subject to systematics originating from both the analysis and the observation conditions. Using 2013 data from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), we show the importance of mitigating both sources of contamination. A direct comparison between results from Beardsley et al. and our updated analysis demonstrates new precision techniques, lowering analysis systematics by a factor of 2.8 in power. We then further lower systematics by excising observations contaminated by ultra-faint RFI, reducing by an additional factor of 3.8 in power for the zenith pointing. With this enhanced analysis precision and newly developed RFI mitigation, we calculate a noise-dominated upper limit on the EoR structure of ∆2 ≤ 3.9 × 103 mK2 at k = 0.20 h Mpc-1 and z = 7 using 21 hr of data, improving previous MWA limits by almost an order of magnitude.