Line intensity mapping quest to solve the (possible!) JWST puzzle

ew data from different kinds of surveys will push our knowledge in all branches of cosmology and astrophysics. Even now, recent JWST data raise a curious puzzle: the large number of candidate-galaxies observed at high redshift suggest possible inaccuracies either in our description of the star formation history or in the cosmological ΛCDM model, that still have to be understood. 

Line intensity mapping (LIM) is poised to become a very promising tool in this framework. The synergy between different lines is capable of probing galaxies and the intergalactic medium across cosmic history. Moreover, LIM collects emissions from both bright and faint sources, hence being sensitive to structure evolution on different scales. 

In this talk, I will present some examples to show how LIM can shed light on our unresolved questions, starting from the JWST puzzle. On one side, I will discuss the detectability of signatures of different star formation models in the 21-cm signal of upcoming surveys. On the other, I will show how the voxel intensity distribution of future CO maps can be used to probe deviations from ΛCDM down to sub-Mpc scales, testing the existence of exotic cosmic components. If we are able to exploit its data in an optimal way, LIM will play a key role in the next step of our understanding of the Universe.