Probing the Epoch of Reionization with the Lyman Alpha Forest at z~4-5

Abstract

The inhomogeneous cosmological reionization process leaves tangible imprints in the intergalactic medium down to z=4-5. The Lyman-alpha forest flux power spectrum provides a potentially powerful probe of the epoch of reionization. With the existing SDSS I/II quasar sample we show that two cosmological reionization scenarios, one completing reionization at z=6 and the other at z=9, can be distinguished at ~7 sigma level by utilizing Lyman alpha forest absorption spectra at z=4.5+-0.5, in the absence of other physical processes that may also affect the Lyman alpha flux power spectrum. The redshift range z=4-5 may provide the best window, because there is still enough transmitted flux and quasars to measure precise statistics of the flux fluctuations, and the IGM still retains a significant amount of memory of reionization.

Clarified that sensitivity projection refers to SDSS I/II, not III. Fixed pdf output

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Cited by in corpus (10)

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• Wave Dark Matter
• Lyman-alpha Constraints on Ultralight Scalar Dark Matter: Implications for the Early and Late Universe
• The Sherwood-Relics simulations: overview and impact of patchy reionization and pressure smoothing on the intergalactic medium
• On Modeling and Measuring the Temperature of the z~5 IGM
• Small-scale structure and the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest baryon acoustic oscillation feature
• The effect of inhomogeneous reionisation on the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest power spectrum at redshift $z>4$: implications for thermal parameter recovery
• Impact of inhomogeneous reionization on the Lyman-α forest
• Possible evidence for a large-scale enhancement in the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest power spectrum at redshift $\text{z}\ge 4$
• Reionization relics in the cross-correlation between the Ly$\alpha$ forest and 21 cm intensity mapping in the post-reionization era