Constraining the Tail End of Reionization Using Ly α Transmission Spikes
Abstract
We study Lyα transmission spikes at z > 5 in synthetic quasar spectra and discuss their connection to the properties of the intergalactic medium and their ability to constrain reionization models. We use state-of-the-art radiation-hydrodynamic simulations from the Cosmic Reionization On Computers series to predict the number of transmission spikes as a function of redshift, both in the ideal case of infinite spectral resolution and in a realistic observational setting. Transmission spikes are produced in highly ionized underdense regions located in the vicinity of UV sources. We find that most of the predicted spikes are unresolved by current observations and show that our mock spectra are consistent with observations of the quasar ULAS J1120+0641 in about 15% of the realizations. The spike height correlates with both the gas density and the ionized fraction, but the former link is erased when synthetic spectra are smoothed to realistically achievable spectral resolutions. There exists a linear relationship between spike width and the extent of the associated underdense region, with a slope that is redshift dependent. In agreement with observations, the spike transmitted flux is suppressed at small distance from bright galaxies as these reside in overdense regions. We contest that this anticorrelation can be usedmore »
- Authors:
-
[1];
[3]
- Max Planck Inst. for Astrophysik, Garching (Germany); Univ. of Bonn (Germany)
- Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
- Univ. of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1511706
- Report Number(s):
- arXiv:1902.07713; FERMILAB-PUB-19-087-A
Journal ID: ISSN 1538-4357; 1721114
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-07CH11359
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal (Online)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal (Online); Journal Volume: 876; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 1538-4357
- Publisher:
- Institute of Physics (IOP)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; dark ages; reionization; first stars; high-redshift galaxies; intergalactic medium; numerical methods; quasars absorption lines
Citation Formats
Garaldi, Enrico, Gnedin, Nickolay Y., and Madau, Piero. Constraining the Tail End of Reionization Using Ly α Transmission Spikes. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab12dc.
Garaldi, Enrico, Gnedin, Nickolay Y., & Madau, Piero. Constraining the Tail End of Reionization Using Ly α Transmission Spikes. United States. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab12dc
Garaldi, Enrico, Gnedin, Nickolay Y., and Madau, Piero. Tue .
"Constraining the Tail End of Reionization Using Ly α Transmission Spikes". United States. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab12dc. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1511706.
@article{osti_1511706,
title = {Constraining the Tail End of Reionization Using Ly α Transmission Spikes},
author = {Garaldi, Enrico and Gnedin, Nickolay Y. and Madau, Piero},
abstractNote = {We study Lyα transmission spikes at z > 5 in synthetic quasar spectra and discuss their connection to the properties of the intergalactic medium and their ability to constrain reionization models. We use state-of-the-art radiation-hydrodynamic simulations from the Cosmic Reionization On Computers series to predict the number of transmission spikes as a function of redshift, both in the ideal case of infinite spectral resolution and in a realistic observational setting. Transmission spikes are produced in highly ionized underdense regions located in the vicinity of UV sources. We find that most of the predicted spikes are unresolved by current observations and show that our mock spectra are consistent with observations of the quasar ULAS J1120+0641 in about 15% of the realizations. The spike height correlates with both the gas density and the ionized fraction, but the former link is erased when synthetic spectra are smoothed to realistically achievable spectral resolutions. There exists a linear relationship between spike width and the extent of the associated underdense region, with a slope that is redshift dependent. In agreement with observations, the spike transmitted flux is suppressed at small distance from bright galaxies as these reside in overdense regions. We contest that this anticorrelation can be used to constrain large-scale density modes.},
doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/ab12dc},
journal = {The Astrophysical Journal (Online)},
number = 1,
volume = 876,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Apr 30 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Tue Apr 30 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}
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Works referencing / citing this record:
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