The first direct measurements of the HI intensity mapping power spectrum were recently made using the MeerKAT telescope. These measurements are on nonlinear scales, at redshifts 0.32 and 0.44. We develop a formalism for modelling small-scale power in redshift space, within the context of the mass-weighted HI halo model framework. This model is consistent with the latest findings from surveys on the HI-halo mass relation. In order to model nonlinear scales, we include the 1-halo, shot-noise and finger-of-god effects. Then we apply the model to the MeerKAT auto-correlation data, finding that the model provides a good fit to the data at redshift 0.32, but the data may indicate some evidence for an adjustment at z∼0.44. Such an adjustment can be achieved by an increase in the HI halo model bias.
Reference: The HI intensity mapping power spectrum: insights from recent measurements, Hamsa Padmanabhan (Geneva), Roy Maartens (UWC/Portsmouth), Obinna Umeh (Portsmouth), Stefano Camera (Turin), arXiv:2305.09720