Cosmology with intensity mapping techniques using atomic and molecular lines

We present a systematic study of the intensity mapping (IM) technique using updated models for the different emission lines from galaxies. We identify which ones are more promising for cosmological studies of the post-reionization epoch. We consider the emission of Lyα, Hα, Hβ, optical and infrared oxygen lines, nitrogen lines, C II and the CO rotational lines. We show that Lyα, Hα, O II, C II and the lowest rotational CO lines are the best candidates to be used as IM probes. These lines form a complementary set of probes of the galaxies' emission spectra. We then use reasonable experimental setups from current, planned or proposed experiments to assess the detectability of the power spectrum of each emission line. IM of Lyα emission from z = 2 to 3 will be possible in the near future with Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment, while far-infrared lines require new dedicated experiments. We also show that the proposed SPHEREx satellite can use O II and Hα IM to study the large-scale distribution of matter in intermediate redshifts of 1-4. We find that submillimetre experiments with bolometers can have similar performances at intermediate redshifts using C II and CO(3-2)