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Register a new userThe Intergalactic medium transmission towards z>4 galaxies with VANDELS and the impact of dust attenuation
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Aims. Our aim is to estimate the intergalactic medium transmission towards UV-selected star-forming galaxies at redshift 4 and above and study the effect of the dust attenuation on these measurements. Methods. The ultra-violet spectrum of high redshift galaxies is a combination of their intrinsic emission and the effect of the Inter-Galactic medium (IGM) absorption along their line of sight. Using data coming from the unprecedented deep spectroscopy from the VANDELS ESO public survey carried out with the VIMOS instrument we compute both the dust extinction and the mean transmission of the IGM as well as its scatter from a set of 281 galaxies at z>3.87. Because of a degeneracy between the dust content of the galaxy and the IGM, we first estimate the stellar dust extinction parameter E(B-V) and study the result as a function of the dust prescription. Using these measurements as constraint for the spectral fit we estimate the IGM transmission Tr(Lyalpha). Both photometric and spectroscopic SED fitting are done using the SPectroscopy And photometRy fiTting tool for Astronomical aNalysis (SPARTAN) that is able to fit the spectral continuum of the galaxies as well as photometric data. Results. Using the classical Calzettis attenuation law we find that E(B-V) goes from 0.11 at z=3.99 to 0.08 at z=5.15. These results are in very good agreement with previous measurements from the literature. We estimate the IGM transmission and find that the transmission is decreasing with increasing redshift from Tr(Lyalpha)=0.53 at z=3.99 to 0.28 at z=5.15. We also find a large standard deviation around the average transmission that is more than 0.1 at every redshift. Our results are in very good agreement with both previous measurements from AGN studies and with theoretical models.
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We present the results of a new study of dust attenuation at redshifts $3 < z < 4$ based on a sample of $236$ star-forming galaxies from the VANDELS spectroscopic survey. Motivated by results from the First Billion Years (FiBY) simulation project, we argue that the intrinsic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of star-forming galaxies at these redshifts have a self-similar shape across the mass range $8.2 leq$ log$(M_{star}/M_{odot}) leq 10.6$ probed by our sample. Using FiBY data, we construct a set of intrinsic SED templates which incorporate both detailed star formation and chemical abundance histories, and a variety of stellar population synthesis (SPS) model assumptions. With this set of intrinsic SEDs, we present a novel approach for directly recovering the shape and normalization of the dust attenuation curve. We find, across all of the intrinsic templates considered, that the average attenuation curve for star-forming galaxies at $zsimeq3.5$ is similar in shape to the commonly-adopted Calzetti starburst law, with an average total-to-selective attenuation ratio of $R_{V}=4.18pm0.29$. We show that the optical attenuation ($A_V$) versus stellar mass ($M_{star}$) relation predicted using our method is consistent with recent ALMA observations of galaxies at $2<z<3$ in the emph{Hubble} emph{Ultra} emph{Deep} emph{Field} (HUDF), as well as empirical $A_V - M_{star}$ relations predicted by a Calzetti-like law. Our results, combined with other literature data, suggest that the $A_V - M_{star}$ relation does not evolve over the redshift range $0<z<5$, at least for galaxies with log$(M_{star}/M_{odot}) gtrsim 9.5$. Finally, we present tentative evidence which suggests that the attenuation curve may become steeper at log$(M_{star}/M_{odot}) lesssim 9.0$.
We compare a sample of five high-resolution, high S/N Ly$alpha$ forest spectra of bright $6<z lesssim 6.5$ QSOs aimed at spectrally resolving the last remaining transmission spikes at $z>5$ with those obtained from mock absorption spectra from the Sherwood and Sherwood-Relics suites of hydrodynamical simulations of the intergalactic medium (IGM). We use a profile fitting procedure for the inverted transmitted flux, $1-F$, similar to the widely used Voigt profile fitting of the transmitted flux $F$ at lower redshifts, to characterise the transmission spikes that probe predominately underdense regions of the IGM. We are able to reproduce the width and height distributions of the transmission spikes, both with optically thin simulations of the post-reionization Universe using a homogeneous UV background and full radiative transfer simulations of a late reionization model. We find that the width of the fitted components of the simulated transmission spikes is very sensitive to the instantaneous temperature of the reionized IGM. The internal structures of the spikes are more prominant in low temeperature models of the IGM. The width distribution of the observed transmission spikes, which require high spectral resolution ($leq $ 8 km/s) to be resolved, is reproduced for optically thin simulations with a temperature at mean density of $T_0= (11000 pm 1600,10500pm 2100,12000 pm 2200)$ K at $z= (5.4,5.6,5.8)$. This is weakly dependent on the slope of the temperature-density relation, which is favoured to be moderately steeper than isothermal. In the inhomogeneous, late reionization, full radiative transfer simulations where islands of neutral hydrogen persist to $zsim5.3$, the width distribution of the observed transmission spikes is consistent with the range of $T_0$ caused by spatial fluctuations in the temperature-density relation.
Aim. Our aim is to analyse the variance of the Inter-Galactic Medium transmission (IGM) by studying this parameter in the rest-frame UV spectra of a large sample of high redshift galaxies. Method. We make use of the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey and the VANDELS public survey to have an insight into the far UV spectrum of $2.7<z<6$ galaxies. Using the SPARTAN fitting software, we estimate the IGM towards individual galaxies and then divide them in two sub-samples characterized by a transmission above or below the theoretical prescription. We create average spectra of combined VUDS and VANDELS data for each set of galaxies in seven redshift bins. Results. The resulting spectra clearly exhibit the variance of the IGM transmission that can be seen directly from high redshift galaxy observations. Computing the optical depth based on the IGM transmission, we find an excellent agreement with QSOs results. In addition, our measurements seem to suggest that there is a large dispersion of redshift where complete Gunn-Peterson Trough happens, depending on the line of sight.
In the near future galaxy surveys will target Lyman alpha emitting galaxies (LAEs) to unveil the nature of the dark energy. It has been suggested that the observability of LAEs is coupled to the large scale properties of the intergalactic medium. Such coupling could introduce distortions into the observed clustering of LAEs, adding a new potential difficulty to the interpretation of upcoming surveys. We present a model of LAEs that incorporates Lyman-alpha radiative transfer processes in the interstellar and intergalactic medium. The model is implemented in the GALFORM semi-analytic model of galaxy of formation and evolution. We find that the radiative transfer inside galaxies produces selection effects over galaxy properties. In particular, observed LAEs tend to have low metallicities and intermediate star formation rates. At low redshift we find no evidence of a correlation between the spatial distribution of LAEs and the intergalactic medium properties. However, at high redshift the LAEs are linked to the line of sight velocity and density gradient of the intergalactic medium. The strength of the coupling depends on the outflow properties of the galaxies and redshift. This effect modifies the clustering of LAEs on large scales, adding non linear features. In particular, our model predicts modifications to the shape and position of the baryon acoustic oscillation peak. This work highlights the importance of including radiative transfer physics in the cosmological analysis of LAEs.
We analyze intergalactic HI and OVI absorbers with v<5000 km/s in HST and FUSE spectra of 76 AGNs. The baryons traced by HI/OVI absorption are clearly associated with the extended surroundings of galaxies; for impact parameters <400 kpc they are ~5 times more numerous as those inside the galaxies. This large reservoir of matter likely plays a major role in galaxy evolution. We tabulate the fraction of absorbers having a galaxy of a given luminosity within a given impact parameter (rho) and velocity difference (Dv), as well as the fraction of galaxies with an absorber closer than a given rho and Dv. We identify possible void absorbers (rho>3 Mpc to the nearest L* galaxy), although at v<2500 km/s all absorbers are within 1.5 Mpc of an L>0.1 L* galaxy. The absorber properties depend on rho, but the relations are not simple correlations. For four absorbers with rho=50-350 kpc from an edge-on galaxy with known orientation of its rotation, we find no clear relation between absorber velocities and the rotation curve of the underlying galaxy. For rho<350 kpc the covering factor of Ly-alpha (OVI) around L>0.1 L* galaxies is 100% for field galaxies and 65% for group galaxies; 50% of galaxy groups have associated Ly-alpha. All OVI absorbers occur within 550 kpc of an L>0.25 L* galaxy. The properties of three of 14 OVI absorbers are consistent with photoionization, for five the evidence points to collisional ionization; the others are ambiguous. The fraction of broad Ly-alpha lines increases from z=3 to z=0 and with decreasing impact parameter, consistent with the idea that gas inside ~500 kpc from galaxies is heating up, although alternative explanations can not be clearly excluded.
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