He II → He I recombination of primordial helium plasma including the effect of neutral hydrogen

Abstract

The He II → He I recombination of primordial helium plasma (z ≃ 1500–3000) is considered in terms of the standard cosmological model. This process affects the formation of cosmic microwave background anisotropy and spectral distortions. We investigate the effect of neutral hydrogen on the He II → He I recombination kinetics with partial and complete redistributions of radiation in frequency in the He I resonance lines. We show that to properly compute the He II → He I recombination kinetics, it is important to take into account not only the wings in the absorption and emission profiles of the He I resonance lines, but also the mechanism of the redistribution of resonance photons in frequency. Thus, for example, the relative difference in the numbers of free electrons for the model using Doppler absorption and emission profiles and the model using a partial redistribution in frequency is 1–1.3% for the epoch z = 1770–1920. The relative difference in the numbers of free electrons for the model using a partial redistribution in frequency and the model using a complete redistribution in frequency is 1–3.8% for the epoch z = 1750–2350.