We present results of our large-area survey for z'-band dropout galaxies at z=7 in a 1568 arcmin^2 sky area covering the SDF and GOODS-N fields. Combining our ultra-deep Subaru/Suprime-Cam z'- and y-band (lambda_eff=1um) images with legacy data of Subaru and HST, we have identified 22 bright z-dropout galaxies down to y=26, one of which has a spectroscopic redshift of z=6.96 determined from Lya emission. The z=7 luminosity function (LF) yields the best-fit Schechter parameters of phi*=0.69 +2.62/-0.55 x10^(-3) Mpc^(-3), Muv*=-20.10 +/-0.76 mag, and alpha=-1.72 +/-0.65, and indicates a decrease from z=6 at a >95% confidence level. This decrease is beyond the cosmic variance in our two fields, which is estimated to be a factor of <~2. We have found that the cosmic star formation rate density drops from the peak at z=2-3 to z=7 roughly by a factor of ~10 but not larger than ~100. A comparison with the reionization models suggests either that the Universe could not be totally ionized by only galaxies at z=7, or more likely that properties of galaxies at z=7 are different from those at low redshifts having, e.g., a larger escape fraction (>~0.2), and/or a flatter IMF. Our SDF z-dropout galaxies appear to form 60-Mpc long filamentary structures, and the z=6.96 galaxy with Lya emission is located at the center of an overdense region consisting of four UV bright dropout candidates, which might suggest an existence of a well-developed ionized bubble at z=7.
HST Spectral Observations near the He II Ly-alpha Break: Implications for He II Reionization
能够研究IGM He II的类星体非常罕见,因为它们必须沿着没有大量氢吸收的视线处于高红移,但最近的工作显着扩大了已知的此类类星体的数量。我们分析了24个来自HST的高红移(z=3.1-3.9)低分辨率He II类星体的光谱,发现它们的He II Gunn-Peterson槽表明排除了非常早和非常晚的再电离模型,支持z~3的再电离红移。虽然数据的质量是不足以揭示细节,如预期的红移演变的氦不透明度,我们得到的第一个合奏措施的氦不透明度在高红移平均在许多视线:τ =4.90在z~3.3。我们还发现,从He II再电离开始观察IGM红翼吸收是非常困难的,但取决于再电离的红移和电离区的大小,用当前一代的紫外光谱仪在某些物体中可能这样做。
An emulator for the ionizing photon mean free path in ultra-high resolution simulations: the implications of mean free path measurements for the reionization history
University of Washington(华盛顿大学);Arizona State University(亚利桑那州立大学);University of California Riverside(加州大学河滨分校)
Our understanding of the intergalactic medium at redshifts $z=5$-$6$ has improved considerably in the last few years due to the discovery of quasars with $z>6$ that enable Lyman-$α$ forest studies at these redshifts. A realisation from this has been that hydrogen reionization could end much later than previously thought, so that large "islands" of cold, neutral hydrogen could exist in the IGM at redshifts $z=5$-$6$. By using radiative transfer simulations of the IGM, we consider the implications of the presence of these neutral hydrogen islands for the 21-cm power spectrum signal and its poten…
Interpreting 21cm measurements from current and upcoming experiments like HERA and the SKA will provide new scientific insights and exciting implications for astrophysics and cosmology regarding the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). Several recent works have proposed using machine learning methods, such as convolutions neural networks (CNNs), to analyze images of reionization generated by these experiments since they could take full advantage of information contained in the image. Generally, these studies have used only a single semi-numeric method to generate the input 21cm data. In this work, we …
The detection of Lyman-$α$ emitting galaxies (LAEs) puts severe constraints on the reionization history. In this Paper we derive the properties of very high-$z$ LAEs predicted in the only two reionization scenarios shown in a previous Paper to be consistent with current data on 15 independent evolving global (or averaged) cosmic properties regarding luminous objects and the intergalactic medium and the optical depth to electron scattering of ionized hydrogen to CMB photons: one with a monotonic behavior, which is completed by $z=6$, as commonly considered, and another one with a non-monotonic …
We present Keck spectroscopic observations of z>6 Lyman-break galaxy (LBG) candidates in the Subaru Deep Field (SDF). The candidates were selected as i'-dropout objects down to z'=27 AB magnitudes from an ultra-deep SDF z'-band image. With the Keck spectroscopy we identified 19 LBGs with prominent Ly_alpha emission lines at 6< z < 6.4. The median value of the Ly_alpha rest-frame equivalent widths (EWs) is ~50 A, with four EWs >100 A. This well-defined spectroscopic sample spans a UV-continuum luminosity range of -21.8< M_{UV}<-19.5 (0.6~5 L*_{UV}) and a Ly_alpha luminosity range of (0.3~3) x 1…
Galaxies forming in low-mass halos are thought to be primarily responsible for reionizing the Universe during the first billion years after the Big Bang. Yet, these halos are extremely inefficient at forming stars in the nearby Universe. In this work, we address this apparent tension, and ask whether a physically motivated model of galaxy formation that reproduces the observed abundance of faint galaxies in the nearby Universe is also consistent with available observational constraints on the reionization history. By interfacing the Santa Cruz semi-analytic model for galaxy formation with an a…
Recent measurements of the ionizing photon mean free path ($λ_{912}^{\rm mfp}$) at $5 < z < 6$ suggest that the IGM was rapidly evolving at those times. We use radiative transfer simulations to explore the implications for reionization, with a focus on the short value of $λ_{912}^{\rm mfp} = 3.57^{+3.09}_{-2.14}$ cMpc/$h$ at $z=6$. We introduce a model for sub-resolution ionizing photon sinks based on radiative hydrodynamics simulations of small-scale IGM clumping. We argue that the rapid evolution in $λ_{912}^{\rm mfp}$ at $z=5-6$, together with constraints on the metagalactic ionizing backgr…
Precise instrument calibration is critical to the success of 21 cm Cosmology experiments. Unmitigated errors in calibration contaminate the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) signal, precluding a detection. Barry et al. 2016 characterizes one class of inherent errors that emerge from calibrating to an incomplete sky model, however it has been unclear if errors in the sky model affect the calibration of redundant arrays. In this paper, we show that redundant calibration is vulnerable to errors from sky model incompleteness even in the limit of perfect antenna positioning and identical beams. These err…
The nature of dark matter remains unknown, but upcoming measurements probing the high-redshift Universe may provide invaluable insight. In the presence of dark matter-baryon scattering, the suppression in the matter power spectrum and the colder mean gas temperature are expected to modify the evolution of cosmic dawn and reionization. However, the contributions from such interactions to the baryon and dark matter temperature perturbations have been neglected thus far. In this work, we derive these contributions, evolve the cosmological perturbations until the end of the dark ages and show that…
The reionization of hydrogen is closely linked to the first structures in the universe, so understanding the timeline of reionization promises to shed light on the nature of these early objects. In particular, transmission of Lyman alpha (Ly$α$) from galaxies through the intergalactic medium (IGM) is sensitive to neutral hydrogen in the IGM, so can be used to probe the reionization timeline. In this work, we implement an improved model of the galaxy UV luminosity to dark matter halo mass relation to infer the volume-averaged fraction of neutral hydrogen in the IGM from Ly$α$ observations. Many…
Upcoming galaxy surveys and 21-cm experiments targeting high redshifts $z\gtrsim 6$ are highly complementary probes of galaxy formation and reionization. However, in order to expedite the large volume simulations relevant for 21-cm observations, many models of galaxies within reionization codes are entirely subgrid and/or rely on halo abundances only. In this work, we explore the extent to which resolving and modeling individual galaxy formation histories affects predictions both for the galaxy populations detectable by upcoming surveys and the signatures of reionization accessible to upcoming…