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Register a new userLarge Opacity Variations in the High-Redshift Lyman-alpha Forest: the Signature of Relic Temperature Fluctuations from Patchy Reionization
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Recent observations of the Lyman-alpha forest show large-scale spatial variations in the intergalactic Lyman-alpha opacity that grow rapidly with redshift at z>5, far in excess of expectations from empirically motivated models. Previous studies have attempted to explain this excess with spatial fluctuations in the ionizing background, but found that this required either extremely rare sources or problematically low values for the mean free path of ionizing photons. Here we report that much -- or potentially all -- of the observed excess likely arises from residual spatial variations in temperature that are an inevitable byproduct of a patchy and extended reionization process. The amplitude of opacity fluctuations generated in this way depends on the timing and duration of reionization. If the entire excess is due to temperature variations alone, the observed fluctuation amplitude favors a late-ending but extended reionization process that was roughly half complete by z~9 and that ended at z~6. In this scenario, the highest opacities occur in regions that reionized earliest, since they have had the most time to cool, while the lowest opacities occur in the warmer regions that reionized most recently. This correspondence potentially opens a new observational window into patchy reionization.
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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 galaxys halo (or stellar) mass.
The lya forest at high redshifts is a powerful probe of reionization. Modeling and observing this imprint comes with significant technical challenges: inhomogeneous reionization must be taken into account while simultaneously being able to resolve the web-like small-scale structure prior to reionization. In this work we quantify the impact of inhomogeneous reionization on the lya forest at lower redshifts ($2 < z < 4$), where upcoming surveys such as DESI will enable precision measurements of the flux power spectrum. We use both small box simulations capable of handling the small-scale structure of the lya forest and semi-numerical large box simulations capable of representing the effects of inhomogeneous reionization. We find that inhomogeneous reionization could produce a measurable effect on the lya forest power spectrum. The deviation in the 3D power spectrum at $z_{rm obs} = 4$ and $k = 0.14 rm{Mpc}^{-1}$ ranges from $19 - 36%$, with a larger effect for later reionization. The corrections decrease to $2.0 - 4.1%$ by $z_{rm obs} = 2$. The impact on the 1D power spectrum is smaller, and ranges from $3.3 - 6.5%$ at $z_{rm obs}=4$ to $0.35 - 0.75%$ at $z_{rm obs}=2$, values which are comparable to the statistical uncertainties in current and upcoming surveys. Furthermore, we study how can this systematic be constrained with the help of the quadrupole of the 21 cm power spectrum.
In La Plante et al. (2017), we presented a new suite of hydrodynamic simulations with the aim of accurately capturing the process of helium II reionization. In this paper, we discuss the observational signatures present in the He II Ly$alpha$ forest. We show that the effective optical depth of the volume $tau_mathrm{eff}$ is not sufficient for capturing the ionization state of helium II, due to the large variance inherent in sightlines. However, the He II flux PDF can be used to determine the timing of helium II reionization. The amplitude of the one-dimensional flux power spectrum can also determine the ionization state of helium II. We show that even given the currently limited number of observations ($sim$50 sightlines), measurements of the flux PDF can yield information about helium II reionization. Further, measurements using the one-dimensional power spectrum can provide clear indications of the timing of reionization, as well as the relative bias of sources of ionizing radiation.
We present an analysis of the evolution of the Lyman-series forest into the epoch of reionization using cosmological radiative transfer simulations in a scenario where reionization ends late. We explore models with different midpoints of reionization and gas temperatures. We find that once the simulations have been calibrated to match the mean flux of the observed Lyman-$alpha$ forest at $4 < z < 6$, they also naturally reproduce the distribution of effective optical depths of the Lyman-$beta$ forest in this redshift range. We note that the tail of the largest optical depths that is most challenging to match corresponds to the long absorption trough of ULAS J0148+0600, which we have previously shown to be rare in our simulations. We consider the evolution of the Lyman-series forest out to higher redshifts, and show that future observations of the Lyman-$beta$ forest at $z>6$ will discriminate between different reionization histories. The evolution of the Lyman-$alpha$ and Lyman-$gamma$ forests are less promising as a tool for pushing studies of reionization to higher redshifts due to the stronger saturation and foreground contamination, respectively.
We report results from a programme aimed at investigating the temperature of neutral gas in high-redshift damped Lyman-$alpha$ absorbers (DLAs). This involved (1) HI 21cm absorption studies of a large DLA sample, (2) VLBI studies to measure the low-frequency quasar core fractions, and (3) optical/ultraviolet spectroscopy to determine DLA metallicities and velocity widths. Including literature data, our sample consists of 37 DLAs with estimates of the spin temperature $T_s$ and the covering factor. We find a strong $4sigma$) difference between the $T_s$ distributions in high-z (z>2.4) and low-z (z<2.4) DLA samples. The high-z sample contains more systems with high $T_s$ values, $gtrsim 1000$ K. The $T_s$ distributions in DLAs and the Galaxy are also clearly (~$6sigma$) different, with more high-$T_s$ sightlines in DLAs than in the Milky Way. The high $T_s$ values in the high-z DLAs of our sample arise due to low fractions of the cold neutral medium. For 29 DLAs with metallicity [Z/H] estimates, we confirm the presence of an anti-correlation between $T_s$ and [Z/H], at $3.5sigma$ significance via a non-parametric Kendall-tau test. This result was obtained with the assumption that the DLA covering factor is equal to the core fraction. Monte Carlo simulations show that the significance of the result is only marginally decreased if the covering factor and the core fraction are uncorrelated, or if there is a random error in the inferred covering factor. We also find evidence for redshift evolution in DLA $T_s$ values even for the z>1 sub-sample. Since z>1 DLAs have angular diameter distances comparable to or larger than those of the background quasars, they have similar efficiency in covering the quasars. Low covering factors in high-z DLAs thus cannot account for the observed redshift evolution in spin temperatures. (Abstract abridged.)
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