The role of galaxies and AGN in reionizing the IGM – III. IGM–galaxy cross-correlations at <i>z</i> ∼ 6 from eight quasar fields with DEIMOS and <i>MUSE</i>

Meyer, Romain A.; Kakiichi, Koki; Bosman, Sarah E. I.; Ellis, Richard S.; Laporte, Nicolas; Robertson, Brant; Ryan-Weber, E. V.; Mawatari, Ken; Zitrin, Adi

doi:10.1093/mnras/staa746

Cited by 48 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 117 publications

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“…This test that was originally proposed and observationally performed by Kakiichi et al (2018). Subsequently, additional observations, as well as a refinement of the approach itself, have been provided by Meyer et al (2019) and Meyer et al (2020). In particular, Meyer et al (2019) have shown that at 4.5 z 6.3 the transmitted flux displays a broad peak at intermediate distances to galaxies 10 r/[cMpc/h] 30, which has been interpreted as a proximity effect of the latter.…”

Section: The Igm -Galaxy Connectionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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The THESAN project: properties of the intergalactic medium and its connection to Reionization-era galaxies

Garaldi,

Kannan,

Smith

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The high-redshift intergalactic medium (IGM) and the primeval galaxy population are rapidly becoming the new frontier of extra-galactic astronomy. We investigate the IGM properties and their connection to galaxies at z ≥ 5.5 under different assumptions for the ionizing photon escape and the nature of dark matter, employing our novel thesan radiation-hydrodynamical simulation suite, designed to provide a comprehensive picture of the emergence of galaxies in a full reionization context. Our simulations have realistic 'late' reionization histories, match available constraints on global IGM properties and reproduce the recently-observed rapid evolution of the mean free path of ionizing photons. We additionally examine high-z Lyman-α transmission. The optical depth evolution is consistent with data, and its distribution suggests an even-later reionization than simulated, although with a strong sensitivity to the source model. We show that the effects of these two unknowns can be disentangled by characterising the spectral shape and separation of Lyman-α transmission regions, opening up the possibility to observationally constrain both. For the first time in simulations, thesan reproduces the modulation of the Lyman-α flux as a function of galaxy distance, demonstrating the power of coupling a realistic galaxy formation model with proper radiation-hydrodynamics. We find this feature to be extremely sensitive on the timing of reionization, while being relatively insensitive to the source model. Overall, thesan produces a realistic IGM and galaxy population, providing a robust framework for future analysis of the high-z Universe.

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Section: The Igm -Galaxy Connectionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…We begin providing a synthetic version of the observations of Kakiichi et al (2018), Meyer et al (2019) and Meyer et al (2020) in Fig. 14, where we show the transmitted (normalized) flux at z = 5.5 in a random sightline through the thesan-1 box (solid black line and left vertical scale).…”

Section: The Igm -Galaxy Connectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The THESAN project: properties of the intergalactic medium and its connection to Reionization-era galaxies

Garaldi,

Kannan,

Smith

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…In this regard, star-forming complexes (<200 pc size) at high redshift and high mass star clusters (e.g., <30 pc radius) will be accessed and compared to local similar star-forming regions, allowing for detailed studies of (1) star-formation modes (e.g., location and spectral signatures of massive stars); (2) the presence of high-ionization lines and the related ionization photon production efficiency (e.g., Bouwens et al 2016;Amorín et al 2017;Senchyna et al 2017Senchyna et al , 2019Senchyna et al , 2020aChevallard et al 2018;Lam et al 2019); and (3) interactions with the surrounding medium (feedback), including the capacity to modulate the opacity of the interstellar medium to ionizing radiation up to circumgalactic scales (which is key for the escape of ionizing photons, e.g., Erb 2015;Grazian et al 2017;Vanzella et al 2020a;He et al 2020). These are all key ingredients in the pursuit of answers to two of the most pressing questions in current observational cosmology: (i) what sources reionized the Universe (e.g., Robertson et al 2015;Giallongo et al 2015;Meyer et al 2020;Eide et al 2020;Dayal et al 2020); (ii) how globular clusters formed (Renzini et al 2015;Renzini 2017;Pfeffer et al 2018Pfeffer et al , 2019Calura et al 2019;Bastian & Lardo 2018); (iii) and how these two questions might be related to each other (e.g., Ricotti 2002;Schaerer & Charbonnel 2011;Katz & Ricotti 2013;Boylan-Kolchin 2018;Ma et al 2020;He et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The MUSE Deep Lensed Field on the Hubble Frontier Field MACS J0416

Vanzella¹,

Caminha

Rosati

et al. 2021

A&A

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Context. A census of faint and tiny star forming complexes at high redshift is key to improving our understanding of reionizing sources, galaxy growth, and the formation of globular clusters. Aims. We present the MUSE Deep Lensed Field (MDLF) program, which is aimed at unveiling the very faint population of high redshift sources that are magnified by strong gravitational lensing and to significantly increase the number of constraints for the lens model. Methods. We describe Deep MUSE observations of 17.1 h of integration on a single pointing over the Hubble Frontier Field galaxy cluster MACS J0416, providing line flux limits down to 2 × 10−19 erg s−1 cm−2 within 300 km s−1 and continuum detection down to magnitude 26, both at the three sigma level at λ = 7000 Å. For point sources with a magnification (μ) greater than 2.5 (7.7), the MLDF depth is equivalent to integrating more than 100 (1000) h in blank fields, as well as complementing non-lensed studies of very faint high-z sources. The source-plane effective area of the MDLF with μ > 6.3 is < 50% of the image-plane field of view. Results. We confirm spectroscopic redshifts for all 136 multiple images of 48 source galaxies at 0.9 < z < 6.2. Within those galaxies, we securely identify 182 multiple images of 66 galaxy components that we use to constrain our lens model. This makes MACS J0416 the cluster with the largest number of confirmed constraints for any strong lens model to date. We identify 116 clumps belonging to background high-z galaxies; the majority of them are multiple images and span magnitude, size, and redshift intervals of [ − 18, −10], [ ∼ 400 − 3] parsec and 1 < z < 6.6, respectively, with the faintest or most magnified ones probing possible single gravitationally bound star clusters. The multiplicity introduced by gravitational lensing allows us, in several cases, to triple the effective integration time up to ∼51 h exposure per single family, leading to a detection limit for unresolved emission lines of a few 10−20 erg s−1 cm−2, after correction for lensing magnification. Ultraviolet high-ionization metal lines (and He IIλ1640) are detected with S/N > 10 for individual objects down to de-lensed magnitudes between 28 and 30. The median stacked spectrum of 33 sources with a median MUV ≃ −17 and ⟨z⟩ = 3.2 (1.7 < z < 3.9) shows high-ionization lines, suggesting that they are common in such faint sources. Conclusions. Deep MUSE observations, in combination with existing HST imaging, allowed us to: (1) confirm redshifts for extremely faint high-z sources; (2) peer into their internal structure to unveil clumps down to 100 − 200 pc scale; (3) in some cases, break down such clumps into star-forming complexes matching the scales of bound star clusters (< 20 pc effective radius); (4) double the number of constraints for the lens model, reaching an unprecedented set of 182 bona-fide multiple images and confirming up to 213 galaxy cluster members. These results demonstrate the power of JWST and future adaptive optics facilities mounted on the Extremely Large Telescopes (e.g., European-ELT Multi-conjugate Adaptive Optics RelaY, MAORY, coupled with the Multi-AO Imaging CamerA for Deep Observations, MICADO) or Very Large Telescope (e.g., MCAO Assisted Visible Imager and Spectrograph, MAVIS) when combined in studies with gravitational telescopes.

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“…Middle: similar to the left panel, but integrating down to different MUV. Right: the black curve shows fescξion in the fiducial model compared to Lyα forest cross-correlation measurements at z ∼ 5-6 (Meyer et al 2019(Meyer et al , 2020 shown by the horizontal bands and hashes.…”

Section: Implications For Reionization-epoch Galaxiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Predicament of Absorption-Dominated Reionization: Increased Demands on Ionizing Sources

Davies,

Bosman,

Furlanetto

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The reionization epoch concludes when ionizing photons reach every corner of the Universe. Reionization has generally been assumed to be limited primarily by the rate at which galaxies produce ionizing photons, but the recent measurement of a surprisingly short ionizing photon mean free path of 0.75 +0.65 −0.45 proper Mpc at z = 6 by Becker et al. (2021) suggests that absorption by residual neutral hydrogen in the otherwise ionized intergalactic medium may play a much larger role than previously expected. Here we show that consistency between this short mean free path and the coeval dark pixel fraction in the Lyα forest requires a cumulative output of 6.1 +11 −2.4 ionizing photons per baryon by reionization's end. This represents a dramatic increase in the ionizing photon budget over previous estimates, greatly exacerbating the tension with measurements of the ionizing output from galaxies at later times. Translating this constraint into the instantaneous ionizing production from galaxies in our model, we findlog 10 f esc ξ ion /(erg/Hz) −1 = 25.02 +0.45 −0.21 at z ∼ 6. Even with optimistic assumptions about the ionizing production efficiency of early stellar populations, and assuming the galaxy luminosity function extends to extremely faint sources (M UV ≤ −11), complete reionization requires the escape fraction of ionizing photons to exceed 20% across the galaxy population. This is far larger than observed in any galaxy population at lower redshifts, requiring rapid evolution in galaxy properties after the first billion years of cosmic time. This tension cannot be completely relieved within existing observational constraints on the hydrogen neutral fraction and mean free path.

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The role of galaxies and AGN in reionizing the IGM – III. IGM–galaxy cross-correlations at z ∼ 6 from eight quasar fields with DEIMOS and MUSE

Cited by 48 publications

References 117 publications

The THESAN project: properties of the intergalactic medium and its connection to Reionization-era galaxies

The THESAN project: properties of the intergalactic medium and its connection to Reionization-era galaxies

The MUSE Deep Lensed Field on the Hubble Frontier Field MACS J0416

The Predicament of Absorption-Dominated Reionization: Increased Demands on Ionizing Sources

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