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Title: IGM CONSTRAINTS FROM THE SDSS-III/BOSS DR9 Lyα FOREST TRANSMISSION PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION

Abstract

The Lyα forest transmission probability distribution function (PDF) is an established probe of the intergalactic medium (IGM) astrophysics, especially the temperature-density relationship of the IGM. We measure the transmission PDF from 3393 Baryon Oscillations Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) quasars from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 9, and compare with mock spectra that include careful modeling of the noise, continuum, and astrophysical uncertainties. The BOSS transmission PDFs, measured at (z) = [2.3, 2.6, 3.0], are compared with PDFs created from mock spectra drawn from a suite of hydrodynamical simulations that sample the IGM temperature-density relationship, γ, and temperature at mean density, T {sub 0}, where T(Δ) = T {sub 0}Δ{sup γ} {sup –} {sup 1}. We find that a significant population of partial Lyman-limit systems (LLSs) with a column-density distribution slope of β{sub pLLS} ∼ – 2 are required to explain the data at the low-transmission end of transmission PDF, while uncertainties in the mean Lyα forest transmission affect the high-transmission end. After modeling the LLSs and marginalizing over mean transmission uncertainties, we find that γ = 1.6 best describes the data over our entire redshift range, although constraints on T {sub 0} are affected by systematic uncertainties. Within our modelmore » framework, isothermal or inverted temperature-density relationships (γ ≤ 1) are disfavored at a significance of over 4σ, although this could be somewhat weakened by cosmological and astrophysical uncertainties that we did not model.« less

Authors:
;  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6]; ; ;  [7];  [8];  [9]; ;  [10];  [11]
  1. Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany)
  2. Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)
  3. Department of Astronomy and Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)
  4. Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, Meyer Hall of Physics, New York, NY 10003 (United States)
  5. INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, I-34131 Trieste (Italy)
  6. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD (United Kingdom)
  7. E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
  8. Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Dennis Sciama Building, Portsmouth PO1 3FX (United Kingdom)
  9. Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States)
  10. CEA, Centre de Saclay, Irfu/SPP, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)
  11. Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IPMU), The University of Tokyo, Kashiwano-ha 5-1-5, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba (Japan)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22364324
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 799; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; ABSORPTION SPECTRA; ASTROPHYSICS; BARYONS; COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS; DATA ANALYSIS; DENSITY; DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS; INTERGALACTIC SPACE; LIMITING VALUES; LYMAN LINES; NOISE; OSCILLATIONS; PROBABILITY; QUASARS; RED SHIFT; UNIVERSE

Citation Formats

Lee, Khee-Gan, Hennawi, Joseph F., Spergel, David N., Weinberg, David H., Hogg, David W., Viel, Matteo, Bolton, James S., Bailey, Stephen, Carithers, William, Schlegel, David J., Pieri, Matthew M., Lundgren, Britt, Palanque-Delabrouille, Nathalie, Yèche, Christophe, Suzuki, Nao, and Schneider, Donald P., E-mail: lee@mpia.de. IGM CONSTRAINTS FROM THE SDSS-III/BOSS DR9 Lyα FOREST TRANSMISSION PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/799/2/196.
Lee, Khee-Gan, Hennawi, Joseph F., Spergel, David N., Weinberg, David H., Hogg, David W., Viel, Matteo, Bolton, James S., Bailey, Stephen, Carithers, William, Schlegel, David J., Pieri, Matthew M., Lundgren, Britt, Palanque-Delabrouille, Nathalie, Yèche, Christophe, Suzuki, Nao, & Schneider, Donald P., E-mail: lee@mpia.de. IGM CONSTRAINTS FROM THE SDSS-III/BOSS DR9 Lyα FOREST TRANSMISSION PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/799/2/196
Lee, Khee-Gan, Hennawi, Joseph F., Spergel, David N., Weinberg, David H., Hogg, David W., Viel, Matteo, Bolton, James S., Bailey, Stephen, Carithers, William, Schlegel, David J., Pieri, Matthew M., Lundgren, Britt, Palanque-Delabrouille, Nathalie, Yèche, Christophe, Suzuki, Nao, and Schneider, Donald P., E-mail: lee@mpia.de. 2015. "IGM CONSTRAINTS FROM THE SDSS-III/BOSS DR9 Lyα FOREST TRANSMISSION PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/799/2/196.
@article{osti_22364324,
title = {IGM CONSTRAINTS FROM THE SDSS-III/BOSS DR9 Lyα FOREST TRANSMISSION PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION},
author = {Lee, Khee-Gan and Hennawi, Joseph F. and Spergel, David N. and Weinberg, David H. and Hogg, David W. and Viel, Matteo and Bolton, James S. and Bailey, Stephen and Carithers, William and Schlegel, David J. and Pieri, Matthew M. and Lundgren, Britt and Palanque-Delabrouille, Nathalie and Yèche, Christophe and Suzuki, Nao and Schneider, Donald P., E-mail: lee@mpia.de},
abstractNote = {The Lyα forest transmission probability distribution function (PDF) is an established probe of the intergalactic medium (IGM) astrophysics, especially the temperature-density relationship of the IGM. We measure the transmission PDF from 3393 Baryon Oscillations Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) quasars from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 9, and compare with mock spectra that include careful modeling of the noise, continuum, and astrophysical uncertainties. The BOSS transmission PDFs, measured at (z) = [2.3, 2.6, 3.0], are compared with PDFs created from mock spectra drawn from a suite of hydrodynamical simulations that sample the IGM temperature-density relationship, γ, and temperature at mean density, T {sub 0}, where T(Δ) = T {sub 0}Δ{sup γ} {sup –} {sup 1}. We find that a significant population of partial Lyman-limit systems (LLSs) with a column-density distribution slope of β{sub pLLS} ∼ – 2 are required to explain the data at the low-transmission end of transmission PDF, while uncertainties in the mean Lyα forest transmission affect the high-transmission end. After modeling the LLSs and marginalizing over mean transmission uncertainties, we find that γ = 1.6 best describes the data over our entire redshift range, although constraints on T {sub 0} are affected by systematic uncertainties. Within our model framework, isothermal or inverted temperature-density relationships (γ ≤ 1) are disfavored at a significance of over 4σ, although this could be somewhat weakened by cosmological and astrophysical uncertainties that we did not model.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/799/2/196},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22364324}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
issn = {0004-637X},
number = 2,
volume = 799,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}