arXiv subjects

Martin Haehnelt

Publications and source records attributed to Martin Haehnelt.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

The impact of cosmic ray feedback during the epoch of reionisation

Galaxies form and evolve via a multitude of complex physics. In this work, we investigate the role of cosmic ray (CR) feedback in galaxy evolution and reionisation, by examining its impact on the escape of ionising radiation from galaxies. For this purpose, we present two Sphinx cosmological radiation-magneto-hydrodynamics simulations, allowing for the first time a study of the impact of CR feedback on thousands of resolved galaxies during the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR). The simulations differ in their feedback prescriptions: one adopts a calibrated strong supernova (SN) feedback, while the other simulation reduces the strength of SN feedback and includes CR feedback instead. We show that both comparably regulate star formation, reasonably match observations of high-redshift UV luminosity functions, and produce a similar amount of hydrogen ionising photons. In contrast to the model with strong SN feedback, the model with CRs lead to incomplete reionisation, which is in strong disagreement with observational estimates of the reionisation history. This is due to CR feedback shaping the ISM differently, filling with gas the low density cavities otherwise carved by SN explosions. As a result, this reduces the escape of ionising photons, at any halo mass, and primarily in the close vicinity of the stars. Our study indicates that CR feedback regulates galaxy growth during the EoR, but negatively affects reionisation, a tension which paves the way for further exploration and refinement of existing galaxy formation and feedback models. Such improvements are crucial in order to capture and understand the process of reionisation and the underlying evolution of galaxies through cosmic time.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

The clustering of C IV and Si IV at the end of reionisation: A perspective from the E-XQR-30 survey

We aim to study the clustering of metal absorption lines and the structures that they arise in as a function of cosmic time. We focus on C IV and Si IV absorption features that are identified along a given quasar sightline. We exploit the two-point correlation function (2PCF) to investigate the clustering of these structures as a function of their separation. We utilise the E-XQR-30 data to perform a novel analysis at z>5. We also draw on literature surveys (including XQ-100) of lower redshift quasars to investigate the possible evolution of this clustering towards cosmic noon (i.e., z~2-3). We find no significant evolution with redshift when considering the separation of absorbers in velocity space. Since we are comparing data across a large interval of cosmic time, we also consider the separation between absorbers in the reference frame of physical distances. In this reference frame, we find that the amplitude of the clustering increases with cosmic time for both C IV and Si IV on the scales of <1500 physical kpc. For the first time, we assess the 2PCF of C IV and Si IV close to the epoch of reionisation utilising the absorber catalogue from the E-XQR-30 survey. We compare this with lower redshift data and find that, on small scales, the clustering of these structures grows with cosmic time. We compare these results to the clustering of galaxies in the GAEA simulations. It appears that the structures traced by C IV are broadly comparable to the galaxies from the considered simulations. The clustering is most similar to that of the galaxies with virial masses M~10^10.5 M_sun. We require tailor-made simulations to investigate the full range of factors contributing to the observed clustering. Future ground-based spectrographs will further facilitate surveys of absorbers at this epoch with increased sensitivity.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Two Modes of LyC Escape From Bursty Star Formation: Implications for [C II] Deficits and the Sources of Reionization

We use the SPHINX$^{20}$ cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulation to study how Lyman Continuum (LyC) photons escape from galaxies and the observational signatures of this escape. We define two classes of LyC leaker: Bursty Leakers and Remnant Leakers, based on their star formation rates (SFRs) that are averaged over 10 Myr (SFR$_{10}$) or 100 Myr (SFR$_{100}$). Both have $f_{\rm esc}>20\%$ and experienced an extreme burst of star formation, but Bursty Leakers have ${\rm SFR_{10}>SFR_{100}}$, while Remnant Leakers have ${\rm SFR_{10} 20\%$ dominate the ionizing photon budget at $z\gtrsim7.5$ but the contribution from galaxies with $f_{\rm esc}<5\%$ becomes significant at the tail-end of reionization.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

LyC escape from SPHINX galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization

We measure escape fractions, $f_{\rm esc}$, of ionizing radiation from galaxies in the SPHINX suite of cosmological radiation-hydrodynamical simulations of reionization, resolving halos with $M_{\rm vir} \gtrapprox 7.5 \times 10^7 \ M_{\odot}$ with a minimum cell width of $\approx 10$ pc. Our new and largest $20$ co-moving Mpc wide volume contains tens of thousands of star-forming galaxies with halo masses up to a few times $10^{11} \ M_{\odot}$. The simulated galaxies agree well with observational constraints of the UV luminosity function in the Epoch of Reionization. The escape fraction fluctuates strongly in individual galaxies over timescales of a few Myrs, due to its regulation by supernova and radiation feedback, and at any given time a tiny fraction of star-forming galaxies emits a large fraction of the ionizing radiation escaping into the inter-galactic medium. Statistically, $f_{\rm esc}$ peaks in intermediate-mass, intermediate-brightness, and low-metallicity galaxies ($M_{*} \approx 10^7 \ M_{\odot}$, $M_{1500} \approx -17$, $Z\lesssim 5 \times 10^{-3} \ Z_{\odot}$), dropping strongly for lower and higher masses, brighter and dimmer galaxies, and more metal-rich galaxies. The escape fraction correlates positively with both the short-term and long-term specific star formation rate. According to SPHINX, galaxies too dim to be yet observed, with $M_{1500} \gtrapprox -17$, provide about $55$ percent of the photons contributing to reionization. The global averaged $f_{\rm esc}$ naturally decreases with decreasing redshift, as predicted by UV background models and low-redshift observations. This evolution is driven by decreasing specific star formation rates over cosmic time.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

MgII in the JWST Era: a Probe of Lyman Continuum Escape?

Limited constraints on the evolution of the Lyman Continuum (LyC) escape fraction represent one of the primary uncertainties in the theoretical determination of the reionization history. Due to the intervening intergalactic medium (IGM), the possibility of observing LyC photons directly in the epoch of reionization is highly unlikely. For this reason, multiple indirect probes of LyC escape have been identified, some of which are used to identify low-redshift LyC leakers (e.g. O32), while others are primarily useful at $z>6$ (e.g. [OIII]/[CII] far infrared emission). The flux ratio of the resonant MgII doublet emission at 2796$\dot{\rm A}$ and 2803$\dot{\rm A}$ as well as the MgII optical depth have recently been proposed as ideal diagnostics of LyC leakage that can be employed at $z>6$ with JWST. Using state-of-the-art cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulations post-processed with CLOUDY and resonant-line radiative transfer, we test whether MgII is indeed a useful probe of LyC leakage. Our simulations indicate that the majority of bright, star-forming galaxies with high LyC escape fractions are expected to be MgII emitters rather than absorbers at $z=6$. However, we find that the MgII doublet flux ratio is a more sensitive indicator of dust rather than neutral hydrogen, limiting its use as a LyC leakage indicator to only galaxies in the optically thin regime. Given its resonant nature, we show that MgII will be an exciting probe of the complex kinematics in high-redshift galaxies in upcoming JWST observations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Predicting LyC emission of galaxies using their physical and Ly$α$ emission properties

The primary difficulty in understanding the sources and processes that powered cosmic reionization is that it is not possible to directly probe the ionizing Lyman Continuum (LyC) radiation at that epoch as those photons have been absorbed by the intervening neutral hydrogen in the IGM on their way to us. It is therefore imperative to build a model to accurately predict LyC emission using other properties of galaxies in the reionization era. In recent years, studies have shown that the LyC emission from galaxies may be correlated to their Lya emission. Here, we study this correlation by analyzing thousands of galaxies at high-z in the SPHINX cosmological simulation. We post-process these galaxies with the Lya radiative transfer code RASCAS and analyze the Lya - LyC connection. We find that the Lya and LyC luminosities are strongly correlated with each other, although with dispersion. There is a positive correlation between Lya and LyC escape fractions in the brightest Lya emitters (>$10^{41}$ erg/s), similar to the recent observational studies. However, when we also include fainter Lya emitters (LAEs), the correlation disappears, which suggests that the observed relationship may be driven by selection effects. We also find that bright LAEs are dominant contributors to reionization ($> 10^{40}$ erg/s galaxies contribute $> 90\%$ of LyC emission). Finally, we build predictive models using multivariate linear regression where we use the physical and the Lya properties of simulated galaxies to predict their intrinsic and escaping LyC luminosities with a high degree of accuracy. We find that the most important galaxy properties to predict the escaping LyC luminosity of a galaxy are its escaping Lya luminosity, gas mass, gas metallicity, and SFR. These models can be very useful to predict LyC emissions from galaxies and can help us identify the sources of reionization.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Cold Atoms in Space: Community Workshop Summary and Proposed Road-Map

We summarize the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with ESA and national space and research funding agencies.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

The correlation of high-redshift galaxies with the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect traces reionization

We explore a potential new probe of reionization: the cross-correlation of high-redshift galaxies with maps of the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect. We consider two types of high redshift galaxies: Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) and Lyman-$α$ emitters (LAEs). LBGs and LAEs will be detected in large numbers at high redshift ($z \approx$ 4 to 7) by ongoing and future surveys. We consider a LBG sample like that expected from the The Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), and a selection of LAEs modelled after the Subaru SILVERRUSH program, but covering a much larger sky fraction. The tSZ effect is sensitive to a line-of-sight integral of the ionized gas pressure, and can be measured across large patches of the sky using multi-frequency CMB surveys. We consider forecast tSZ maps from CMB Stage 4 and more futuristic observations. Using a suite of hydrodynamical simulations, we show that the high-redshift galaxies are correlated with the tSZ signal from reionization, with cross-power amplitude of order $10^{-15}$ at $\ell \sim 1000$. The cross-spectra between LBGs/LAEs with tSZ maps contain information about the reionization history of the Universe, such as the distribution of bubble sizes, and could in principle be used to directly measure the timing of reionization. The amplitude of the signal is small, however, and its detectability is hindered by low-redshift contributions to tSZ maps and by instrumental noise. If the the low-redshift contribution to the observed tSZ signal is suppressed by masking of massive halos, a combination of overlapping futuristic CMB and galaxy surveys could potentially probe this signal.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

HIRES, the high-resolution spectrograph for the ELT

HIRES will be the high-resolution spectrograph of the European Extremely Large Telescope at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. It consists of three fibre-fed spectrographs providing a wavelength coverage of 0.4-1.8 mic (goal 0.35-1.8 mic) at a spectral resolution of ~100,000. The fibre-feeding allows HIRES to have several, interchangeable observing modes including a SCAO module and a small diffraction-limited IFU in the NIR. Therefore, it will be able to operate both in seeing and diffraction-limited modes. ELT-HIRES has a wide range of science cases spanning nearly all areas of research in astrophysics and even fundamental physics. Some of the top science cases will be the detection of bio signatures from exoplanet atmospheres, finding the fingerprints of the first generation of stars (PopIII), tests on the stability of Nature's fundamental couplings, and the direct detection of the cosmic acceleration. The HIRES consortium is composed of more than 30 institutes from 14 countries, forming a team of more than 200 scientists and engineers.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2019

Understanding the escape of LyC and Ly$α$ photons from turbulent clouds

Understanding the escape of Lyman continuum (LyC) and Lyman alpha (Lya) photons from molecular clouds is one of the keys to constraining the reionization history of the Universe and the evolution of galaxies at high redshift. Using a set of radiation-hydrodynamic simulations with adaptive mesh refinement, we investigate how photons propagate and escape from turbulent clouds with different masses, star formation efficiencies (SFEs), and metallicities, as well as with different models of stellar spectra and supernova feedback. We find that the escape fractions in both LyC and Lya are generally increasing with time if the cloud is efficiently dispersed by radiation and supernova feedback. When the total SFE is low (1% of the cloud mass), 0.1-5% of LyC photons leave the metal-poor cloud, whereas the fractions increase to 20-70% in clouds with a 10% SFE. LyC photons escape more efficiently if gas metallicity is lower, if the upper mass limit in the stellar initial mass function is higher, if binary interactions are allowed in the evolution of stars, or if additional strong radiation pressure, such as Lya pressure, is present. As a result, the number of escaping LyC photons can easily vary by a factor of $\sim4$ on cloud scales. The escape fractions of Lya photons are systemically higher (60-80%) than those of LyC photons despite large optical depths at line centre ($τ_0\sim10^6-10^9$). Scattering of Lya photons is already significant on cloud scales, leading to double-peaked profiles with peak separations of $v_{\rm sep}\sim400\,{\rm km\,s^{-1}}$ during the initial stage of the cloud evolution, while it becomes narrower than $v_{\rm sep} \le 150 \, {\rm km\,s^{-1}}$ in the LyC bright phase. Comparisons with observations of low-redshift galaxies suggest that Lya photons require further interactions with neutral hydrogen to reproduce their velocity offset for a given LyC escape fraction.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Electromagnetic Window into the Dawn of Black Holes

Massive 10^6-10^10 Msun black holes (BHs) are ubiquitous in local galactic nuclei. They were common by the time the Universe is several Gyr old, and many of them were in place within the first 1~Gyr after the Big Bang. Their quick assembly has been attributed to mechanisms such as the rapid collapse of gas into the nuclei of early protogalaxies, accretion and mergers of stellar-mass BHs accompanying structure formation at early times, and the runaway collapse of early, ultra-dense stellar clusters. The origin of the early massive BHs remains an intriguing and long-standing unsolved puzzle in astrophysics. Here we discuss strategies for discerning between BH seeding models using electromagnetic observations. We argue that the most direct answers will be obtained through detection of BHs with masses M<10^5 Msun at redshifts z>10, where we expect them to first form. Reaching out to these redshifts and down to these masses is crucial, because BHs are expected to lose the memory of their initial assembly by the time they grow well above 10^5 Msun and are incorporated into higher-mass galaxies. The best way to detect 10^4-10^5 Msun BHs at high redshifts is by a sensitive X-ray survey. Critical constraining power is augmented by establishing the properties and the environments of their host galaxies in deep optical/IR imaging surveys. Required OIR data can be obtained with the JWST and WFIRST missions. The required X-ray flux limits (down to 10^{-19} erg/s/cm^2) are accessible only with a next-generation X-ray observatory which has both high (sub-1") angular resolution and high throughput. A combination of deep X-ray and OIR surveys will be capable of probing several generic markers of the BH seed scenarios, and resolving the long-stanging puzzle of their origin. These electromagnetic observations are also highly synergistic with the information from LISA on high-z BH mergers.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2018

The SPHINX Cosmological Simulations of the First Billion Years: the Impact of Binary Stars on Reionization

We present the SPHINX suite of cosmological adaptive mesh refinement simulations, the first radiation-hydrodynamical simulations to simultaneously capture large-scale reionization and the escape of ionizing radiation from thousands of resolved galaxies. Our $5$ and $10$ co-moving Mpc volumes resolve haloes down to the atomic cooling limit and model the inter-stellar medium with better than $\approx10$ pc resolution. The project has numerous goals in improving our understanding of reionization and making predictions for future observations. In this first paper we study how the inclusion of binary stars in computing stellar luminosities impacts reionization, compared to a model that includes only single stars. Owing to the suppression of galaxy growth via strong feedback, our galaxies are in good agreement with observational estimates of the galaxy luminosity function. We find that binaries have a significant impact on the timing of reionization: with binaries, our boxes are $99.9$ percent ionized by volume at $z\approx 7$, while without them our volumes fail to reionize by $z=6$. These results are robust to changes in volume size, resolution, and feedback efficiency. The escape of ionizing radiation from individual galaxies varies strongly and frequently. On average, binaries lead to escape fractions of $\approx 7-10$ percent, about $3.5$ times higher than with single stars only. The higher escape fraction is a result of a shallower decline in ionizing luminosity with age, and is the primary reason for earlier reionization, although the higher integrated luminosity with binaries also plays a sub-dominant role.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

A Census of the LyC Photons that Form the UV Background During Reionization

We present a new, on-the-fly photon flux and absorption tracer algorithm designed to directly measure the contribution of different source populations to the metagalactic UV background and to the ionisation fraction of gas in the Universe. We use a suite of multifrequency radiation hydrodynamics simulations that are carefully calibrated to reproduce a realistic reionization history and galaxy properties at $z \ge 6$, to disentangle the contribution of photons emitted by different mass haloes and by stars with different metallicities and ages to the UV background during reionization. While at very early cosmic times low mass, metal poor haloes provide most of the LyC photons, their contribution decreases steadily with time. At $z = 6$ it is the photons emitted by massive systems (${\rm M_{halo}}/{\rm M_\odot} > 10^{10} \, {\rm h ^{-1}}$) and by the metal enriched stars ($10^{-3} < Z/Z_{\rm \odot} < 10^{-1.5}$) that provide the largest contribution to the ionising UV background. We demonstrate that there are large variations in the escape fraction depending on the source, with the escape fraction being highest ($\sim 45-60\%$) for photons emitted by the oldest stars that penetrate into the IGM via low opacity channels carved by the ionising photons and supernova from younger stars. Before HII regions begin to overlap, the photoionisation rate strongly fluctuates between different, isolated HII bubbles, depending on the embedded ionising source, which we suggest may result in spatial variations in the properties of dwarf galaxies.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

Driving gas shells with radiation pressure on dust in radiation-hydrodynamic simulations

We present radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of radiatively-driven gas shells launched by bright active galactic nuclei (AGN) in isolated dark matter haloes. Our goals are (1) to investigate the ability of AGN radiation pressure on dust to launch galactic outflows and (2) to constrain the efficiency of infrared (IR) multi-scattering in boosting outflow acceleration. Our simulations are performed with the radiation-hydrodynamic code RAMSES-RT and include both single- and multi-scattered radiation pressure from an AGN, radiative cooling and self-gravity. Since outflowing shells always eventually become transparent to the incident radiation field, outflows that sweep up all intervening gas are likely to remain gravitationally bound to their halo even at high AGN luminosities. The expansion of outflowing shells is well described by simple analytic models as long as the shells are mildly optically thick to IR radiation. In this case, an enhancement in the acceleration of shells through IR multi-scattering occurs as predicted, i.e. a force dP/dt = tau_IR L/c is exerted on the gas. For high optical depths tau_IR > 50, however, momentum transfer between outflowing optically thick gas and IR radiation is rapidly suppressed, even if the radiation is efficiently confined. At high tau_IR, the characteristic flow time becomes shorter than the required trapping time of IR radiation such that the momentum flux dP/dt << tau_IR L/c. We argue that while unlikely to unbind massive galactic gaseous haloes, AGN radiation pressure on dust could play an important role in regulating star formation and black hole accretion in the nuclei of massive compact galaxies at high redshift.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Impact of Lyman alpha pressure on metal-poor dwarf galaxies

Understanding the origin of strong galactic outflows and the suppression of star formation in dwarf galaxies is a key problem in galaxy formation. Using a set of radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of an isolated dwarf galaxy embedded in a $10^{10}\,M_\odot$ halo, we show that the momentum transferred from resonantly scattered Lyman-$α$ (Lya) photons is an important source of stellar feedback which can shape the evolution of galaxies. We find that Lya feedback suppresses star formation by a factor of two in metal-poor galaxies by regulating the dynamics of star-forming clouds before the onset of supernova explosions (SNe). This is possible because each Lya photon resonantly scatters and imparts 10-300 times greater momentum than in the single scattering limit. Consequently, the number of star clusters predicted in the simulations is reduced by a factor of $\sim 5$, compared to the model without the early feedback. More importantly, we find that galactic outflows become weaker in the presence of strong Lya radiation feedback, as star formation and associated SNe become less bursty. We also examine a model in which radiation field is arbitrarily enhanced by a factor of up to 10, and reach the same conclusion. The typical mass loading factors in our metal-poor dwarf system are estimated to be $\sim5-10$ near the mid plane, while it is reduced to $\sim1$ at larger radii. Finally, we find that the escape of ionizing radiation and hence the reionization history of the Universe is unlikely to be strongly affected by Lya feedback.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Interpreting ALMA Observations of the ISM During the Epoch of Reionisation

We present cosmological, radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of galaxy formation during the epoch of reionization in an effort towards modelling the interstellar medium (ISM) and interpreting ALMA observations. Simulations with and without stellar radiation are compared at large (Mpc), intermediate (tens of kpc), and small (sub kpc) scales. At large scales, the dense regions around galaxies reionize first before UV photons penetrate the voids; however, considerable amounts of neutral gas remain present within the haloes. The spatial distribution of neutral gas is highly dynamic and is anti-correlated with the presence of stars older than a few Myrs. For our specific feedback implementation, most of the metals remain inside the virial radii of haloes and they are proportionally distributed over the ionized and neutral medium by mass. For our most massive galaxy with ${\rm M_h}\sim10^{11}$M$_{\odot}$, the majority of the CII and OI mass are associated with cold neutral clumps. NII is more diffuse and arises in warmer gas while OIII arises in hotter gas with a higher ionization parameter, produced by photo-heating and supernovae. If smaller pockets of high metallicity gas exist in the ISM, the emission from these ions may be observable by ALMA while the low metallicity of the galaxy may cause these systems to fall below the local [CII]-SFR relation. The presence of dust can cause spatial offsets between UV/Ly$α$ and [CII] emission as suggested by the recent observations of Maiolino et al. [OIII] may be spatially offset from both of these components since it arises from a different part of density-temperature phase-space.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Feedback-regulated star formation and escape of LyC photons from mini-haloes during reionisation

Reionisation in the early Universe is likely driven by dwarf galaxies. Using cosmological radiation-hydrodynamic simulations, we study star formation and the escape of Lyman continuum (LyC) photons from mini-haloes with $M_{\rm halo} \le 10^8\,M_\odot$. Our simulations include a new thermo-turbulent star formation model, non-equilibrium chemistry, and relevant stellar feedback processes (photoionisation by young massive stars, radiation pressure, and mechanical supernova explosions). We find that feedback reduces star formation very efficiently in mini-haloes, resulting in the stellar mass consistent with the slope and normalisation reported in Kimm \& Cen and the empirical stellar mass-to-halo mass relation derived in the local Universe. Because star formation is stochastic and dominated by a few gas clumps, the escape fraction in mini-haloes is generally determined by radiation feedback (heating due to photo-ionisation), rather than supernova explosions. We also find that the photon number-weighted mean escape fraction in mini-haloes is higher ($\sim20$-$40\%$) than that in atomic-cooling haloes, although the instantaneous fraction in individual haloes varies significantly. The escape fraction from Pop III stars is found to be significant ($\ge10\%$) only when the mass is greater than $\sim$100\,\msun. Based on simple analytic calculations, we show that LyC photons from mini-haloes are, despite their high escape fractions, of minor importance for reionisation due to inefficient star formation. We confirm previous claims that stars in atomic-cooling haloes with masses $10^8\,M_\odot\le M_{\rm halo} \le 10^{11}\,M_\odot$ are likely to be the most important source of reionisation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

Observational Aspects of Galactic Accretion at Redshift 3.3

We investigate the origin of extragalactic continuum emission and its relation to the stellar population of a recently discovered peculiar z=3.344 Lyman alpha emitter. Based on an analysis of the broad-band colors and morphology we find further support for the idea that the underlying galaxy is being fed by a large-scale (L > 35 kpc) accretion stream. Archival HST images show small scale (~5 kpc) tentacular filaments converging near a hot-spot of star-formation, possibly fueled by gas falling in along the filaments. The spectral energy distribution of the tentacles is broadly compatible with either (1) non-ionizing rest-frame far-UV continuum emission from stars formed in an 60 million-year-old starburst; (2) nebular 2-photon-continuum radiation, arising from collisional excitation cooling, or (3) a recombination spectrum emitted by hydrogen fluorescing in response to ionizing radiation escaping from the galaxy. The latter possibility simultaneously accounts for the presence of asymmetric Lyman alpha emission from the large-scale gaseous filament and the nebular continuum in the smaller-scale tentacles as caused by the escape of ionizing radiation from the galaxy. Possible astrophysical explanations for the nature of the tentacles include: a galactic wind powered by the starburst; in-falling gas during cold accretion, or tails of interstellar medium dragged out of the galaxy by satellite halos that have plunged through the main halo. The possibility of detecting extragalactic 2-photon continuum emission in space-based, broad-band images suggests a tool for studying the gaseous environment of high redshift galaxies at much greater spatial detail than possible with Lyman alpha or other resonance line emission.

astro-ph.GA↗