Antisymmetric cross-correlation of line-intensity maps as a probe of reionization

We present a new estimator for the cross-correlation signal between line-intensity maps to probe the epoch of reionization. The proposed estimator is the hitherto neglected antisymmetric component of the cross-correlation, under the exchange of line-of-sight positions. We consider the cross-correlation between neutral hydrogen and carbon monoxide fluctuations and forecast the improvement in precision on reionization parameters when the antisymmetric contribution is accounted for. As a way to break the degeneracy between astrophysics and cosmology in the intensity mapping power spectrum, we study the ratio between the antisymmetric and symmetric components. While our results depend on the highly uncertain astrophysical modeling, we show that in most standard scenarios including the antisymmetric contribution as a complementary probe can lead to a significant gain in information.