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arXiv 0807.4177astro-ph
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星系际不透明度的演化:电离背景、宇宙星形成和类星体活动的意义

Evolution of the Intergalactic Opacity: Implications for the Ionizing Background, Cosmic Star Formation, and Quasar Activity

C. -A. Faucher-Giguere, A. Lidz, L. Hernquist, M. Zaldarriaga

摘要:

我们研究了星系际不透明度对宇宙紫外光密度演化及其来源的影响。我们的主要限制是我们从86个高分辨率类星体光谱中测量了红移2<z<4.2的Lya森林不透明度。此外,我们施加的要求,HI必须再电离的z=6和HeII的z~3,并考虑从HI到HeII柱密度比的电离背景的硬度的估计。推导出的氢光电离率是非常平坦的Lya森林红移范围内覆盖。由于类星体的光度函数在z~2附近有一个强烈的峰值,红移演化的缺乏表明恒星形成星系可能在z>~3时控制光电离率。结合星系紫外光度函数的直接测量,这只需要一小部分f_esc~0.5%的星系氢电离光子逃离星系的源,以单独占整个电离背景。假设银河系的紫外线辐射率跟踪恒星形成率,目前最先进的恒星形成率密度的观测估计似乎低估了z~4处的总光电离率约4倍,与最近的紫外线光度函数的测定相矛盾,如果外推到任意高的红移,则无法将宇宙恢复到z~6。一个理论上的恒星形成历史峰值提前很好地符合Lya森林光电离率,在时间上重新电离宇宙,并且与Swift观测到的z~4伽马射线暴的速率更一致。类星体足以以z~3倍于氦,并且可能在它们的z~2峰处贡献了不可忽略的,也许是主要的氢电离背景部分。[删节]

英文摘要:

We investigate the implications of the intergalactic opacity for the evolution of the cosmic UV luminosity density and its sources. Our main constraint is our measurement of the Lya forest opacity at redshifts 2<z<4.2 from 86 high-resolution quasar spectra. In addition, we impose the requirements that HI must be reionized by z=6 and HeII by z~3, and consider estimates of the hardness of the ionizing background from HI to HeII column density ratios. The derived hydrogen photoionization rate is remarkably flat over the Lya forest redshift range covered. Because the quasar luminosity function is strongly peaked near z~2, the lack of redshift evolution indicates that star-forming galaxies likely dominate the photoionization rate at z>~3. Combined with direct measurements of the galaxy UV luminosity function, this requires only a small fraction f_esc~0.5% of galactic hydrogen ionizing photons to escape their source for galaxies to solely account for the entire ionizing background. Under the assumption that the galactic UV emissivity traces the star formation rate, current state-of-the-art observational estimates of the star formation rate density appear to underestimate the total photoionization rate at z~4 by a factor ~4, are in tension with recent determinations of the UV luminosity function, and fail to reionize the Universe by z~6 if extrapolated to arbitrarily high redshift. A theoretical star formation history peaking earlier fits the Lya forest photoionization rate well, reionizes the Universe in time, and is in better agreement with the rate of z~4 gamma-ray bursts observed by Swift. Quasars suffice to doubly ionize helium by z~3 and likely contribute a non-negligible and perhaps dominant fraction of the hydrogen ionizing background at their z~2 peak. [Abridged]

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