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arXiv · 2101.09033

Reionization and galaxy inference from the high-redshift Ly{\alpha} forest

Yuxiang Qin·Andrei Mesinger·Sarah E. I. Bosman·Matteo Viel
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Abstract

The transmission of Lyman-{\alpha} (Ly{\alpha}) in the spectra of distant quasars depends on the density, temperature, and ionization state of the intergalactic medium (IGM). Therefore, high-redshift (z > 5) Ly{\alpha} forests could be invaluable in studying the late stages of the epoch of reionization (EoR), as well as properties of the sources that drive it. Indeed, high-quality quasar spectra have now firmly established the existence of large-scale opacity fluctuations at z > 5, whose physical origins are still debated. Here we introduce a Bayesian framework capable of constraining the EoR and galaxy properties by forward-modelling the high-z Ly{\alpha} forest. Using priors from galaxy and CMB observations, we demonstrate that the final overlap stages of the EoR (when >95% of the volume was ionized) should occur at z < 5.6, in order to reproduce the large-scale opacity fluctuations seen in forest spectra. However, it is the combination of patchy reionization and the inhomogeneous UV background that produces the longest Gunn-Peterson troughs. Ly{\alpha} forest observations tighten existing constraints on the characteristic ionizing escape fraction of galaxies, with the combined observations suggesting f_{\rm esc} \approx 7^4_3%, and disfavoring a strong evolution with the galaxy's halo (or stellar) mass.

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Yuxiang Qin, Andrei Mesinger, Sarah E. I. Bosman, Matteo Viel. 2021-01-22. Reionization and galaxy inference from the high-redshift Ly{\alpha} forest. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab1833

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