JAMES BOLTON James.Bolton@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Astrophysics
A closer look at using quasar near-zones as a probe of neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium
S. Bolton, James; G. Haehnelt, Martin
Authors
Martin G. Haehnelt
Abstract
We examine a large set of synthetic quasar spectra to realistically assess the potential of using the relative sizes of highly ionized near-zones in the Lya and Lyb forest as a probe of the neutral hydrogen content of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at z>6. The scatter in the relative near-zone size distribution, induced by underlying fluctuations in the baryonic density field and the filtering of ionizing radiation, is considerable even for fixed assumptions about the IGM neutral fraction. As a consequence, the current observational data cannot distinguish between an IGM which is significantly neutral or highly ionized just above z=6. Under standard assumptions for quasar ages and ionizing luminosities, a future sample of several tens of high resolution Lya and Lyb near-zone spectra should be capable of distinguishing between a volume weighted neutral hydrogen fraction in the IGM which is greater or less than 10 per cent.
Citation
S. Bolton, J., & G. Haehnelt, M. (2007). A closer look at using quasar near-zones as a probe of neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 381(1), L35-L39. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3933.2007.00361.x
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Jul 5, 2007 |
Publication Date | 2007-10 |
Deposit Date | Sep 16, 2019 |
Electronic ISSN | 1745-3933 |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 381 |
Issue | 1 |
Pages | L35-L39 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3933.2007.00361.x |
Keywords | Astrophysics |
Public URL | https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2462358 |
Publisher URL | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-3933.2007.00361.x |
This file is under embargo due to copyright reasons.
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