Margherita Molaro
Possible evidence for a large-scale enhancement in the Lyman-α forest power spectrum at redshift z ≥ 4
Molaro, Margherita; Iršič, Vid; Bolton, James S.; Lieu, Maggie; Keating, Laura C.; Puchwein, Ewald; Haehnelt, Martin G; Viel, Matteo
Authors
Vid Iršič
JAMES BOLTON James.Bolton@nottingham.ac.uk
Associate Professor
MAGGIE LIEU Maggie.Lieu@nottingham.ac.uk
Research Fellow
Laura C. Keating
Ewald Puchwein
Martin G Haehnelt
Matteo Viel
Abstract
Inhomogeneous reionization enhances the 1D Ly α forest power spectrum on large scales at redshifts z ≥ 4. This is due to coherent fluctuations in the ionized hydrogen fraction that arise from large-scale variations in the post-reionization gas temperature, which fade as the gas cools. It is therefore possible to use these relic fluctuations to constrain inhomogeneous reionization with the power spectrum at wavenumbers log10(k/km−1 s) ≾ −1.5. We use the Sherwood-Relics suite of hybrid radiation hydrodynamical simulations to perform a first analysis of new Ly α forest power spectrum measurements at 4.0 ≤ z ≤ 4.6. These data extend to wavenumbers log10(k/km−1 s) ≃ −3, with a relative uncertainty of 10–20 per cent in each wavenumber bin. Our analysis returns a 2.7σ preference for an enhancement in the Ly α forest power spectrum at large scales, in excess of that expected for a spatially uniform ultraviolet background. This large-scale enhancement could be a signature of inhomogeneous reionization, although the statistical precision of these data is not yet sufficient for obtaining a robust detection of the relic post-reionization fluctuations. We show that future power spectrum measurements with relative uncertainties of ≾ 2.5 per cent should provide unambiguous evidence for an enhancement in the power spectrum on large scales.
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Feb 22, 2023 |
Online Publication Date | Mar 2, 2023 |
Publication Date | May 1, 2023 |
Deposit Date | Mar 6, 2023 |
Publicly Available Date | Mar 2, 2023 |
Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Print ISSN | 0035-8711 |
Electronic ISSN | 1365-2966 |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 521 |
Issue | 1 |
Pages | 1489–1501 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad598 |
Keywords | Methods: numerical, intergalactic medium, quasars: absorption lines, large-scale structure of Universe |
Public URL | https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/18200583 |
Publisher URL | https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/521/1/1489/7068093 |
Additional Information | ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( https://cr eativecommons.or g/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
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