Hydrogen Lyman-$α$ (Ly$α$) emission has been one of the major observational probes for the high redshift universe, since the first discoveries of high-$z$ Ly$α$ emitting galaxies in the late 1990s. Due to the strong Ly$α$ emission originated by resonant scattering and recombination of the most-abundant element, Ly$α$ observations witness not only HII regions of star formation and AGN but also diffuse HI gas in the circum-galactic medium (CGM) and the inter-galactic medium (IGM). Here we review Ly$α$ sources, and present theoretical interpretations reached to date. We conclude that: 1) A typical Ly$α$ emitter (LAE) at $z\gtrsim 2$ with a $L^*$ Ly$α$ luminosity is a high-$z$ counterpart of a local dwarf galaxy, a compact metal-poor star-forming galaxy (SFG) with an approximate stellar (halo) mass and star-formation rate of $10^{8-9} M_\odot$ ($10^{10-11} M_\odot$) and $1-10 M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, respectively; 2) High-$z$ SFGs ubiquitously have a diffuse Ly$α$ emitting halo in the CGM extending to the halo virial radius and beyond; 3) Remaining neutral hydrogen at the epoch of reionization makes a strong dimming of Ly$α$ emission for galaxies at $z>6$ that suggest the late reionization history. The next generation large telescope projects will combine Ly$α$ emission data with HI Ly$α$ absorptions and 21cm radio data that map out the majority of hydrogen (HI+HII) gas, uncovering the exchanges of i) matter by outflow/inflow and ii) radiation, relevant to cosmic reionization, between galaxies and the CGM/IGM.
The Lyman Continuum photon production efficiency ($ξ_{\rm ion}$) is a critical ingredient for inferring the number of photons available to reionise the intergalactic medium. To estimate the theoretical production efficiency in the high-redshift Universe we couple the BlueTides cosmological hydrodynamical simulation with a range of stellar population synthesis models. We find Lyman Continuum photon production efficiencies of $\log_{10}(ξ_{\rm ion}/{\rm erg^{-1}\, Hz})\approx 25.1-25.5$ depending on the choice of stellar population synthesis model. These results are broadly consistent with recen…
The epoch of reionization (6 < z < 10) marks the period in our universe when the first large galaxies grew to fruition, and began to affect the universe around them. Massive stars, and potentially accreting supermassive black holes, filled the universe with ionizing radiation, burning off the haze of neutral gas that had filled the intergalactic medium (IGM) since recombination (z~1000). The evolution of this process constrains key properties of these earliest luminous sources, thus observationally constraining reionization is a key science goal for the next decade. The measurement of Lyman-al…
The size, mass, luminosity, and space density of Lyman-alpha emitting (LAE) galaxies observed at intermediate to high redshift agree with expectations for the properties of galaxies that formed metal-poor halo globular clusters (GCs). The low metallicity of these clusters is the result of their formation in low-mass galaxies. Metal-poor GCs could enter spiral galaxies along with their dwarf galaxy hosts, unlike metal-rich GCs which form in the spirals themselves. Considering an initial GC mass larger than the current mass to account for multiple stellar populations, and considering the additio…
The discovery of the interstellar medium and the early work of Lyman Spitzer, Jr. are reviewed here in the context of the remarkable observation in the early 1950's that star formation continues in the present age. Prior to this observation, stars were thought to have formed only at the beginning of the universe. The main debate in the 1930's was whether stars had the young age of ~3 Gyr suggested by the expansion of the universe and the meteorites, or the old age of 10^{13} yr suggested by thermalized stellar motions. The adoption of Ambartsumian's claim of modern-day star formation was slow …
We use the large cosmological hydro-dynamic simulation BlueTides to predict the photometric properties of galaxies during the epoch of reionisation ($z=8-15$). These properties include the rest-frame UV to near-IR broadband spectral energy distributions, the Lyman continuum photon production, the UV star formation rate calibration, and intrinsic UV continuum slope. In particular we focus on exploring the effect of various modelling assumptions, including the assumed choice of stellar population synthesis model, initial mass function, and the escape fraction of Lyman continuum photons, upon the…
Using adaptive mesh-refinement cosmological hydrodynamic simulations with a physically motivated supernova feedback prescription we show that the standard cold dark matter model can account for extant observed properties of damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs). We then examine the properties of DLA host galaxies. We find: (1) While DLA hosts roughly trace the overall population of galaxies at all redshifts, they are always gas rich. (2) The history of DLA evolution reflects primarily the evolution of the underlying cosmic density, galaxy size and galaxy interactions. With higher density and more …
The Lya emission line of HI is intrinsically the brightest feature in the spectrum of astrophysical nebulae, making it a very attractive observational tool with which to survey galaxies. Moreover as a UV resonance line, Lya possesses several unique characteristics that make it useful to study the ISM and ionizing stellar population at all cosmic epochs. In this review I present a summary of Lya observations of galaxies in the nearby universe. At UV magnitudes reachable with current facilities, only ~5% of the local galaxy population shows a Lya equivalent width (EW_Lya) that exceeds 20Å. This …
Measurements of QSO clustering in the SDSS show that $\mathrm{z}>4$ QSOs are some of the most highly biased objects in the universe. Their large correlation lengths of $r_0 \sim 20h^{-1}$Mpc are comparable to the most massive clusters of galaxies in the universe today and suggest that these QSOs may mark the locations of massive cluster progenitors at high redshift. We report the discovery of an overdensity of LBGs around QSO SDSSJ114514.18+394715.9 as part of our survey to identify Lyman-Break galaxies (LBGs) around luminous $\mathrm{z}\sim4$ QSOs. In this field three of the eight LBGs with s…
Faint star-forming galaxies at $z\sim 2-3$ can be used as alternative background sources to probe the Lyman-$α$ forest in addition to quasars, yielding high sightline densities that enable 3D tomographic reconstruction of the foreground absorption field. Here, we present the first data release from the COSMOS Lyman-Alpha Mapping And Mapping Observations (CLAMATO) Survey, which was conducted with the LRIS spectrograph on the Keck-I telescope. Over an observational footprint of 0.157$\mathrm{deg}^2$ within the COSMOS field, we used 240 galaxies and quasars at $2.17<z<3.00$, with a mean comoving …
The intensity of the Cosmic UV background (UVB), coming from all sources of ionising photons such as star-forming galaxies and quasars, determines the thermal evolution and ionization state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) and is, therefore, a critical ingredient for models of cosmic structure formation. Most of the previous estimates are based on the comparison between observed and simulated Lyman-$α$ forest. We present the results of an independent method to constrain the product of the UVB photoionisation rate and the covering fraction of Lyman limit systems (LLSs) by searching for the flu…
We present the results of clustering analyses of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at $z\sim3$, $4$, and $5$ using the final data release of the Canada--France--Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS). Deep- and wide-field images of the CFHTLS Deep Survey enable us to obtain sufficiently accurate two-point angular correlation functions to apply a halo occupation distribution analysis. Mean halo masses, calculated as $\langle M_{h} \rangle=10^{11.7}-10^{12.8}h^{-1}M_{\odot}$, increase with stellar-mass limit of LBGs. The threshold halo mass to have a central galaxy follows the same increasing trend w…
The intrinsic escape fraction of ionizing Lyman continuum photons ($f_{esc}$) is crucial to understand whether galaxies are capable of reionizing the neutral hydrogen in the early universe at z>6. Unfortunately, it is not possible to access $f_{esc}$ at z>4 with direct observations and the handful of measurements from low redshift galaxies consistently find $f_{esc}$ < 10%, while at least $f_{esc}$ ~ 10% is necessary for galaxies dominate reionization. Here, we present the first empirical prediction of $f_{esc}$ at z>6 by combining the (sparsely populated) relation between [OIII]/[OII] and $f_…
Distant luminous Lyman-alpha emitters are excellent targets for detailed observations of galaxies in the epoch of reionisation. Spatially resolved observations of these galaxies allow us to simultaneously probe the emission from young stars, partially ionised gas in the interstellar medium and to constrain the properties of the surrounding hydrogen in the circumgalactic medium. We review recent results from (spectroscopic) follow-up studies of the rest-frame UV, Lyman-alpha and [CII] emission in luminous galaxies observed ~500 Myr after the Big Bang with ALMA, HST/WFC3 and VLT/X-SHOOTER. These…
We have recently reported the discovery of five low redshift Lyman continuum (LyC) emitters (LCEs, hereafter) with absolute escape fractions fesc(LyC) ranging from 6 to 13%, higher than previously found, and which more than doubles the number of low redshift LCEs.We use these observations to test theoretical predictions about a link between the characteristics of the Lyman-alpha (Lya) line from galaxies and the escape of ionising photons. We analyse the Lya spectra of eight LCEs of the local Universe observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (our five lea…
Sub-damped Lyman alpha systems (subDLAs; HI column densities of 19.0<=logN(HI)<20.3) are rarely included in the cosmic HI census performed at redshifts z>=1.5, yet are expected to contribute significantly to the overall HI mass budget of the Universe. In this paper, we present a blindly selected sample of 155 subDLAs found along 100 quasar sightlines (with a redshift path length X=475) in the XQ-100 survey to investigate the contribution of subDLAs to the HI mass density of the Universe. The impact of X-Shooter's spectral resolution on sub-DLA identification is evaluated, and found to be suffi…
By studying the large-scale structure of the bright high-redshift Lyman-break galaxy (LBG) population it is possible to gain an insight into the role of environment in galaxy formation physics in the early Universe. We measure the clustering of a sample of bright (-22.7<M_UV<-21.125) LBGs at z~6 and use a halo occupation distribution (HOD) model to measure their typical halo masses. We find that the clustering amplitude and corresponding HOD fits suggests that these sources are highly biased (b~8) objects in the densest regions of the high-redshift Universe. Coupled with the observed rapid evo…
All galaxies once passed through a hyperluminous quasar phase powered by accretion onto a supermassive black hole. But because these episodes are brief, quasars are rare objects typically separated by cosmological distances. In a survey for Lyman-alpha emission at redshift z ~ 2, we discovered a physical association of four quasars embedded in a giant nebula. Located within a substantial overdensity of galaxies, this system is probably the progenitor of a massive galaxy cluster. The chance probability of finding a quadruple quasar is estimated to be ~10^-7, implying a physical connection betwe…
Distant luminous Lyman-alpha emitters (LAEs) are excellent targets for spectroscopic observations of galaxies in the epoch of reionisation (EoR). We present deep high-resolution (R=5000) VLT/X-SHOOTER observations, along with an extensive collection of photometric data of `COLA1', a proposed double peaked LAE at z=6.6 (Hu et al. 2016). We rule out that COLA1's emission line is an [OII] doublet at z=1.475 on the basis of i) the asymmetric red line-profile and flux ratio of the peaks (blue/red=$0.31\pm0.03$) and ii) an unphysical [OII]/Ha ratio ([OII]/Ha > 22). We show that COLA1's observed B-ba…
Escaping Lyman continuum photons from galaxies likely reionized the intergalactic medium at redshifts $z\gtrsim6$. However, the Lyman continuum is not directly observable at these redshifts and secondary indicators of Lyman continuum escape must be used to estimate the budget of ionizing photons. Observationally, at redshifts $z\sim2-3$ where the Lyman continuum is observationally accessible, surveys have established that many objects that show appreciable Lyman continuum escape fractions $f_{esc}$ also show enhanced [OIII]/[OII] (O$_{32}$) emission line ratios. Here, we use radiative transfer…
The source responsible for the reionization of the Universe is believed to be the population of star-forming galaxies at $z\sim6$ to 12. The biggest uncertainty concerns the fraction of Lyman-continuum photons that actually escape from the galaxies. In recent years, several relatively small samples of "leaky" galaxies have been uncovered, and clues have begun to emerge as to both the indirect signposts of leakiness and of the conditions/processes that enable the escape of ionizing radiation. In this paper we present the results of a pilot program aimed to test a new technique for finding leaky…
We have recently discovered five Lyman continuum leaking galaxies at z~0.3, selected for their compactness, intense star-formation, and high [OIII]/[OII] ratio (Izotov et al. 2016ab). Here we derive their ionizing photon production efficiency, a fundamental quantity for inferring the number of photons available to reionize the Universe, for the first time for galaxies with confirmed strong Lyman continuum escape (fesc~6-13%). We find an ionizing photon production per unit UV luminosity, which is a factor 2-6 times higher than the canonical value when reported to their observed UV luminosity. A…
One of the key questions in observational cosmology is the identification of the sources responsible for ionisation of the Universe after the cosmic Dark Ages, when the baryonic matter was neutral. The currently identified distant galaxies are insufficient to fully reionise the Universe by redshift z~6, but low-mass star-forming galaxies are thought to be responsible for the bulk of the ionising radiation. Since direct observations at high redshift are difficult for a variety of reasons, one solution is to identify local proxies of this galaxy population. However, starburst galaxies at low red…
Galaxies at high redshifts provide a valuable tool to study cosmic dawn, and therefore it is crucial to reliably identify these galaxies. Here, we present an unambiguous and first simultaneous detection of both the Lyman-alpha emission and the Lyman break from a z = 7.512+/- 0.004 galaxy, observed in the Faint Infrared Grism Survey (FIGS). These spectra, taken with G102 grism on Hubble Space Telescope (HST), show a significant emission line detection (6 sigma) in multiple observational position angles (PA), with total integrated Lyα line flux of 1.06+/- 0.12 e10-17erg s-1cm-2. The line flux is…
The leakage of Lyman continuum photons from star forming galaxies is an elusive parameter. When observed, it provides a wealth of information on star formation in galaxies and the geometry of the interstellar medium, and puts constraints on the role of star forming galaxies in the reionization of the universe. H-alpha-selected galaxies at z~2 trace the highest star formation population at the peak of cosmic star formation history, providing a base for directly measuring Lyman continuum escape. Here we present this method, and highlight its benefits as well as caveats. We also use the method on…
The evolution of dust at redshifts z>9, and consequently the dust properties, differs greatly from that in the local universe. In contrast to the local universe, core collapse supernovae (CCSNe) are the only source of thermally-condensed dust. Because of the low initial dust-to-gas mass ratio, grain destruction rates are low, so that CCSNe are net producers of interstellar dust. Galaxies with large initial gas mass or high mass infall rate will therefore have a more rapid net rate of dust production comported to galaxies with lower gas mass, even at the same star formation rate. The dust compo…
We present the two-point cross-correlation function between Lyman $α$ absorbers and HI galaxies in the nearby Universe ($0.01 \le z \le 0.057$). We use absorbers from 21 QSO sightlines from the Survey of the Low-Redshift Intergalactic Medium with HST/COS and the galaxy catalogs from the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA survey and the New York University Value-Added Galaxy Catalog. We find that Lyman $α$ absorbers are strongly correlated to Lyman $α$ galaxies at a projected separation of $\le$0.5 Mpc and velocity separation of $\le 50~km~s^{-1}$. Lyman $α$ absorbers are 7.6 times more likely to be foun…
It has been well established in the local universe that galaxy properties differ based on the large-scale environment in which they reside. As luminous Lyman-alpha nebulae have been shown to trace overdense environments at z~2-3, comparing the properties of galaxies within Lyman-alpha nebulae systems to those in the field can provide insight into how and when locally-observed trends between galaxy properties and environment emerged. Six Lyman-alpha nebulae were discovered at z~2.3 in a blind search of the GOODS-S extragalactic field, a region also covered by the 3D-HST spectroscopic survey. Ut…
The discovery of habitable zone (HZ) planets around low-mass stars has highlighted the need for a comprehensive understanding of the radiation environments in which such planets reside. Of particular importance is knowledge of the far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation, as low-mass stars are typically much more active than solar-type stars and the proximity of their HZs can be one tenth the distance. The vast majority of the flux emitted by low-mass stars at FUV wavelengths occurs in the Lyman-$α$ line at 1216 Angstroms. However, measuring a low-mass star's Lyman-$α$ emission directly is almost alway…
High redshift star-forming galaxies are likely responsible for the reionization of the Universe, yet direct detection of their escaping ionizing (Lyman continuum) photons has proven to be extremely challenging. In this study, we search for escaping Lyman continuum of the Cosmic Horseshoe, a gravitationally lensed, star-forming galaxy at z=2.38 with a large magnification of $\sim24$. Transmission at wavelengths of low ionization interstellar absorption lines in the rest-frame ultraviolet suggest a patchy, partially transparent interstellar medium. This makes it an ideal candidate for direct det…
Protoclusters, the progenitors of the most massive structures in the Universe, have been identified at redshifts of up to 6.6. Besides exploring early structure formation, searching for protoclusters at even higher redshifts is particularly useful to probe the reionization. Here we report the discovery of the protocluster LAGER-z7OD1 at a redshift of 6.93, when the Universe was only 770 million years old and could be experiencing rapid evolution of the neutral hydrogen fraction in the intergalactic medium. The protocluster is identified by an overdensity of 6 times the average galaxy density, …
Subaru/SuprimeCam narrowband photometry of the SSA22 field reveals the presence of four Lyman continuum (LyC) candidates among a sample of 14 AGN. Two show offsets and likely have stellar LyC in nature or are foreground contaminants. The remaining two LyC candidates are Type I AGN. We argue that the average LyC escape fraction of high redshift low luminosity AGN is not likely to be unity, as often assumed in the literature. From direct measurement we obtain the average LyC-to-UV flux density ratio and ionizing emissivity for a number of AGN classes and find it at least a factor of two lower th…
Lyman alpha blobs - luminous, spatially extended emission-line nebulae, often lacking bright continuum counterparts - are common in dense environments at high redshift. Until recently, atmospheric absorption and filter technology have limited our knowledge of any similar objects at z<2. We use GALEX slitless spectroscopy to search for similar objects in the rich environments of two known cluster and supercluster fields at z=0.8, where the instrumental sensitivity peaks. The regions around Cl 1054-0321 and Cl 0023+0423 were each observed in slitless-spectrum mode for 10-19 ksec, with accompanyi…
The source of energetic photons that heated and reionized the early Universe remains uncertain. Early galaxies had low metallicity and recent population synthesis calculations suggest that the number and luminosity of high-mass X-ray binaries are enhanced in star-forming galaxies with low metallicity, offering a potentially important and previously overlooked source of heating and reionization. Lyman break analogue (LBA) galaxies are local galaxies that strongly resemble the high-redshift, star-forming Lyman Break Galaxies and have been suggested as local analogues to these metal-deficient gal…
X-ray binaries may have helped reionize the early Universe by enabling Lyman continuum escape. We analyzed a set of 8 local galaxies that are potential Lyman leaking galaxies, identified by a blue color and weak emission lines, using Chandra X-ray observations. Five of the galaxies feature X-ray sources, while three galaxies are not significantly detected in X-rays. X-ray luminosities were found for the galaxies and X-ray sources. Four of the galaxies have elevated X-ray luminosity versus what would be expected based on star formation rate and metallicity. The presence of detected X-ray source…
