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arXiv 0812.3411astro-ph
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氦再电离过程中和再电离后电离本底的涨落

Fluctuations in the Ionizing Background During and After Helium Reionization

Steven Furlanetto

摘要:

氦II电离边缘以上的辐射背景在氦再电离期间和之后变化很大,因为这些光子的衰减长度相对较短(<40 Mpc),而且电离源(类星体)很少。在这里,我们构建分析和蒙特卡罗模型来研究这些波动,包括第一次,在再电离时代本身。在协议详细的数值模拟,我们的分析模型后再电离宇宙预测的数量级波动的氦II电离率。HeII/HI之间的硬度比的观测显示甚至更大的波动,这可能是由于更复杂的辐射转移效应。在再电离期间,波动甚至更强。与氢再电离相反,我们的模型预测,即使在再电离的开始阶段,由于明亮的类星体的强烈照明,具有强HeII莱曼α森林传输的区域也应该是相当常见的。部分由于这一点,平均电离背景并没有强烈演变过程中和之后的氦再电离,它是大致成比例的填充分数的氦III区。另一方面,充满HeII的区域以及不含(或很少含)活性源的“化石”电离区域表现为强IGM吸收体。它们的存在夸大了硬度比的演化,使其在再电离时代的演化速度比天真的预期要快。

英文摘要:

The radiation background above the ionization edge of HeII varies strongly during and after helium reionization, because the attenuation length of such photons is relatively short (<40 Mpc) and because the ionizing sources (quasars) are rare. Here we construct analytic and Monte Carlo models to examine these fluctuations, including, for the first time, those during the reionization era itself. In agreement with detailed numerical simulations, our analytic model for the post-reionization Universe predicts order-of-magnitude fluctuations in the HeII ionization rate. Observations of the hardness ratio between HeII/HI show even larger fluctuations, which may be due to more complicated radiative transfer effects. During reionization, the fluctuations are even stronger. In contrast to hydrogen reionization, our model predicts that regions with strong HeII Lyman-alpha forest transmission should be reasonably common even during the beginning stages of reionization, because of strong illumination from bright quasars. Partly due to this, the mean ionizing background does not evolve strongly during and after helium reionization; it is roughly proportional to the filling fraction of HeIII regions. On the other hand, regions full of HeII and also "fossil" ionized regions that contain no (or few) active sources appear as strong IGM absorbers. Their presence exaggerates the evolution of the hardness ratio, making it evolve faster than naively expected during the reionization era.

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