No Arabic abstract
Using results from high-resolution galaxy formation simulations in a standard Lambda-CDM cosmology and a fully conservative multi-resolution radiative transfer code around point sources, we compute the energy-dependent escape fraction of ionizing photons from a large number of star forming regions in two galaxies at five different redshifts from z=3.8 to 2.39. All escape fractions show a monotonic decline with time, from (at the Lyman-limit) ~6-10% at z=3.6 to ~1-2% at z=2.39, due to higher gas clumping at lower redshifts. It appears that increased feedback can lead to higher f_esc at z>3.4 via evacuation of gas from the vicinity of star forming regions and to lower f_esc at z<2.39 through accumulation of swept-up shells in denser environments. Our results agree well with the observational findings of citet{inoue..06} on redshift evolution of f_esc in the redshift interval z=2-3.6.
We investigate radiation hardness within a representative sample of 67 nearby (0.02 $lesssim $z$ lesssim$0.06) star-forming (SF) galaxies using the integral field spectroscopic data from the MaNGA survey. The softness parameter $eta$ = $frac{O^{+}/O^{2+}}{S^{+}/S^{2+}}$ is sensitive to the spectral energy distribution of the ionizing radiation. We study $eta$ via the observable quantity $etaprime$ (=$frac{[OII]/[OIII]}{[SII][SIII]}$) We analyse the relation between radiation hardness (traced by $eta$ and $etaprime$) and diagnostics sensitive to gas-phase metallicity, electron temperature, density, ionization parameter, effective temperature and age of ionizing populations. It is evident that low metallicity is accompanied by low log $etaprime$, i.e. hard radiation field. No direct relation is found between radiation hardness and other nebular parameters though such relations can not be ruled out. We provide empirical relations between log $rmeta$ and strong emission line ratios N$_2$, O$_3$N$_2$ and Ar$_3$O$_3$ which will allow future studies of radiation hardness in SF galaxies where weak auroral lines are undetected. We compare the variation of [O III]/[O II] and [S III]/[S II] for MaNGA data with SF galaxies and H II regions within spiral galaxies from literature, and find that the similarity and differences between different data set is mainly due to the metallicity. We find that predictions from photoionizaion models considering young and evolved stellar populations as ionizing sources in good agreement with the MaNGA data. This comparison also suggests that hard radiation fields from hot and old low-mass stars within or around SF regions might significantly contribute to the observed $eta$ values.
We explore the production and escape of ionizing photons in young galaxies by investigating the ultraviolet and optical emission-line properties of models of ionization-bounded and density-bounded HII regions, active-galactic-nucleus (AGN) narrow-line regions and radiative shocks computed all using the same physically-consistent description of element abundances and depletion on to dust grains down to very low metallicities. We compare these models with a reference sample of metal-poor star-forming galaxies and Lyman-continuum (LyC) leakers at various redshifts, which allows the simultaneous exploration of more spectral diagnostics than typically available at once for individual subsamples. We confirm that current single- and binary-star population synthesis models do not produce hard-enough radiation to account for the high-ionization emission of the most metal-poor galaxies. Introducing either an AGN or radiative-shock component brings models into agreement with observations. A published model including X-ray binaries is an attractive alternative to reproduce the observed rise in HeII4686/Hbeta ratio with decreasing oxygen abundance in metal-poor star-forming galaxies, but not the high observed HeII4686/Hbeta ratios of galaxies with large EW(Hbeta). A source of harder ionizing radiation appears to be required in these extreme objects, such as an AGN or radiative-shock component, perhaps linked to an initial-mass-function bias toward massive stars at low metallicity. This would also account for the surprisingly high [OI]/[OIII] ratios of confirmed LyC leakers relative to ionization-bounded models. We find no simple by-eye diagnostic of the nature of ionizing sources and the escape of LyC photon, which require proper simultaneous fits of several lines to be discriminated against.
We describe a new method for simulating ionizing radiation and supernova feedback in the analogues of low-redshift galactic disks. In this method, which we call star-forming molecular cloud (SFMC) particles, we use a ray-tracing technique to solve the radiative transfer equation for ultraviolet photons emitted by thousands of distinct particles on the fly. Joined with high numerical resolution of 3.8 pc, the realistic description of stellar feedback helps to self-regulate star formation. This new feedback scheme also enables us to study the escape of ionizing photons from star-forming clumps and from a galaxy, and to examine the evolving environment of star-forming gas clumps. By simulating a galactic disk in a halo of 2.3e11 Msun, we find that the average escape fraction from all radiating sources on the spiral arms (excluding the central 2.5 kpc) fluctuates between 0.08% and 5.9% during a ~20 Myr period with a mean value of 1.1%. The flux of escaped photons from these sources is not strongly beamed, but manifests a large opening angle of more than 60 degree from the galactic pole. Further, we investigate the escape fraction per SFMC particle, f_esc(i), and how it evolves as the particle ages. We discover that the average escape fraction f_esc is dominated by a small number of SFMC particles with high f_esc(i). On average, the escape fraction from a SFMC particle rises from 0.27% at its birth to 2.1% at the end of a particle lifetime, 6 Myrs. This is because SFMC particles drift away from the dense gas clumps in which they were born, and because the gas around the star-forming clumps is dispersed by ionizing radiation and supernova feedback. The framework established in this study brings deeper insight into the physics of photon escape fraction from an individual star-forming clump, and from a galactic disk.
In this paper we calculate the escape fraction ($f_{rm esc}$) of ionizing photons from starburst galaxies. Using 2-D axisymmetric hydrodynamic simulations, we study superbubbles created by overlapping supernovae in OB associations. We calculate the escape fraction of ionizing photons from the center of the disk along different angles through the superbubble and the gas disk. After convolving with the luminosity function of OB associations, we show that the ionizing photons escape within a cone of $sim 40 ^circ$, consistent with observations of nearby galaxies. The evolution of the escape fraction with time shows that it falls initially as cold gas is accumulated in a dense shell. After the shell crosses a few scale heights and fragments, the escape fraction through the polar regions rises again. The angle-averaged escape fraction cannot exceed $sim [1- cos (1 , {rm radian})] = 0.5$ from geometrical considerations (using the emission cone opening angle). We calculate the dependence of the time- and angle-averaged escape fraction on the mid-plane disk gas density (in the range $n_0=0.15-50$ cm $^{-3}$) and the disk scale height (between $z_0=10-600$ pc). We find that the escape fraction is related to the disk parameters (the mid-plane disk density and scale height) roughly so that $f_{rm esc}^alpha n_0^2 z_0^3$ (with $alphaapprox 2.2$) is a constant. For disks with a given WNM temperature, massive disks have lower escape fraction than low mass galaxies. For Milky Way ISM parameters, we find $f_{rm esc}sim 5%$, and it increases to $approx 10%$ for a galaxy ten times less massive. We discuss the possible effects of clumpiness of the ISM on the estimate of the escape fraction and the implications of our results for the reionization of the universe.
A large number of high-redshift galaxies have been discovered via their narrow-band Lya line or broad-band continuum colors in recent years. The nature of the escaping process of photons from these early galaxies is crucial to understanding galaxy evolution and the cosmic reionization. Here, we investigate the escape of Lya, non-ionizing UV-continuum (l = 1300 - 1600 angstrom in rest frame), and ionizing photons (l < 912 angstrom) from galaxies by combining a cosmological hydrodynamic simulation with three-dimensional multi-wavelength radiative transfer calculations. The galaxies are simulated in a box of 5^3 h^-3 Mpc^3 with high resolutions using the Aquila initial condition which reproduces a Milky Way-like galaxy at redshift z=0. We find that the escape fraction (fesc) of these different photons shows a complex dependence on redshift and galaxy properties: fesc(Lya) and fesc(UV) appear to evolve with redshift, and they show similar, weak correlations with galaxy properties such as mass, star formation, metallicity, and dust content, while fesc(Ion) remains roughly constant at ~ 0.2 from z ~ 0 - 10, and it does not show clear dependence on galaxy properties. fesc(Lya) correlates more strongly with fesc(UV) than with fesc(Ion). In addition, we find a relation between the emergent Lya luminosity and the ionizing photon emissivity of Lyman Alpha Emitters (LAEs). By combining this relation with the observed luminosity functions of LAEs at different redshift, we estimate the contribution from LAEs to the reionization of intergalactic medium (IGM). Our result suggests that ionizing photons from LAEs alone are not sufficient to ionize IGM at z > 6, but they can maintain the ionization of IGM at z ~ 0 - 5.