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Probing reionization with Lyman α emission lines

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, ISSN: 0035-8711, Vol: 349, Issue: 3, Page: 1137-1152
2004
  • 198
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 36
    Captures
  • 0
    Mentions
  • 0
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Citations
    198
    • Citation Indexes
      198
  • Captures
    36

Article Description

Lyman α emission from high-redshift galaxies may be a powerful probe of the ionization history of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at z > 6; the observed Lyman α emission line is sensitive to the IGM hydrogen neutral fraction over the range 0.1-1. We present calculations of observed Lyman α emission lines from z > 6 galaxies, illustrating the effect of varying the many free parameters associated with the emitting galaxy, its halo and the IGM around the galaxy. In particular, we use a dynamic model of the IGM that includes the effect of IGM infall toward the emitting galaxy. Galactic winds may play a crucial role in determining observed Lyman α line fluxes. We compare our model predictions with observations of two z = 6.5 galaxies and conclude that, if galactic winds are allowed for, existing observations place no constraint on the neutral fraction of the IGM at z = 6.5. Future infrared observations will constrain the importance of galactic winds; if winds are unimportant for the observed z = 6.5 galaxies, our models suggest that the IGM neutral fraction at z = 6.5 is ≲0.1.

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