Lyman-alpha Emitters in Cosmological Simulations I: Lyman-alpha Escape Fraction and Statistical Properties at z=3.1

Abstract

We use very large cosmological Smoothed-Particle-Hydrodynamics simulations to study the properties of high redshift Lyman-alpha emitters (LAEs). We identify star-forming galaxies at z=3.1 in a cosmological volume of 100 h^-1Mpc on a side. We develop a phenomenological model of absorption, scattering and escape of Lyman-alpha photons on the assumption that the clumpiness of the inter-stellar medium in a galaxy is correlated with the larger scale substructure richness. The radiative transfer effect proposed by Neufeld (1991) allows a large fraction of Lyman-alpha photons to escape from a clumpy galaxy even if it contains a substantial amount of dust. Our model reproduces, for the first time, all of the following observed properties of LAEs at z=3.1: the angular correlation function, ultra-violet and Lyman-alpha luminosity functions, and the equivalent width distribution. A simple model that takes only dust absorption into account fails in matching the observational data, suggesting that the kind of effect we consider is needed. Our model also predicts a bimodal age distribution for LAEs. There are old, massive and dusty LAEs, similar to recently found high redshift LAEs. The large LAEs have escape fractions of Lyman-alpha photons of f_esc ~ 0.05-0.1.

8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to MNRAS, comments are welcome, Fig 3 and 4, and the captions have been updated

References in corpus (30)

• Dust Masses, PAH Abundances, and Starlight Intensities in the SINGS Galaxy Sample
• The effect of photo-ionization on the cooling rates of enriched, astrophysical plasmas
• The Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS). IV. Evolution of Lya Emitters from z=3.1 to 5.7 in the 1 deg^2 Field: Luminosity Functions and AGN
• Subaru Deep Survey V. A Census of Lyman Break Galaxies at z=4 and 5 in the Subaru Deep Fields: Photometric Properties
• A galaxy at a redshift z = 6.96
• On the redshift-evolution of the Lyman-alpha escape fraction and the dust content of galaxies
• Studying Reionization with Ly-alpha Emitters
• Intergalactic Transmission and its Impact on the Lyα Line
• The HETDEX Pilot Survey. II. The Evolution of the Ly-alpha Escape Fraction from the UV Slope and Luminosity Function of 1.9<z<3.8 LAEs
• The Impact of The IGM on High-Redshift Lyman Alpha Emission Lines
• 3D Lyman-alpha radiation transfer. III. Constraints on gas and stellar properties of z~3 Lyman break galaxies (LBG) and implications for high-z LBGs and Lyman-alpha emitters(LAEs)
• On the Detectability of Lyman-alpha Emission in Star-forming Galaxies: The Role of Dust
• Spatial correlation between submillimetre and Lyman-alpha galaxies in the SSA 22 protocluster
• Effects of Dust Geometry in Lyman Alpha Galaxies at z = 4.4
• First spectroscopic measurements of [OIII] emission from Lyman-alpha selected field galaxies at z ~ 3.1
• Lyman-alpha Emitters During the Early Stages of Reionization
• Extended Lyman-Alpha Emission around Star-forming Galaxies
• The origin of failed subhaloes and the common mass scale of the Milky Way satellite galaxies
• Lyman alpha emission in high-redshift galaxies
• The impact of radio feedback from active galactic nuclei in cosmological simulations: Formation of disk galaxies
• Resolved Spectroscopy of a Gravitationally Lensed L* Lyman-break Galaxy at z~5
• Lyman Alpha Emitters in the Hierarchically Clustering Galaxy Formation
• Physical properties of z~4 LBGs: differences between galaxies with and without Ly-alpha emission
• The clustering of Ly-alpha emitters in a LambdaCDM Universe
• Very Massive Stars in High-Redshift Galaxies
• High-Resolution Submillimeter Imaging of the Ly-alpha Blob1 in SSA 22
• Evolution of Lyman Alpha Galaxies: Stellar Populations at z ~ 0.3
• A Plethora of AGN Among Lyman Alpha Galaxies at Low Redshift
• The Sextet Arcs: a Strongly Lensed Lyman Break Galaxy in the ACS Spectroscopic Galaxy Survey towards Abell 1689
• Large-Scale Structure of Short-Lived LymanαEmitters

Cited by in corpus (24)

• The Romulus Cosmological Simulations: A Physical Approach to the Formation, Dynamics and Accretion Models of SMBHs
• On the (non-)enhancement of the Lyman α equivalent width by a multiphase interstellar medium
• The MUSE Hubble Ultra Deep Field Survey X. Ly$\alpha$ Equivalent Widths at $2.9<z<6.6$
• A New Constraint on Reionization from Evolution of the Ly$\alpha$ Luminosity Function at $z\sim 6-7$ Probed by a Deep Census of $z=7.0$ Ly$\alpha$ Emitter Candidates to 0.3 $L^{\ast }$
• A Comprehensive Study of Ly$\alpha$ Emission in the High-redshift Galaxy Population
• The origin of pseudobulges in cosmological simulations of galaxy formation
• An Empirical Study of the Relationship between Lyα and UV selected Galaxies: Do Theorists and Observers `Select' the Same Objects?
• On the influence of physical galaxy properties on Lyman-alpha escape in star-forming galaxies
• Search for [CII] emission in z=6.5-11 star-forming galaxies
• Lyman Alpha Reference Sample: X. Predicting Lyman alpha output from starforming galaxies using multivariate regression
• Physical Properties of UDF12 Galaxies in Cosmological simulations
• Reproducing cosmic evolution of galaxy population from $z=4$ to $0$
• Nebular line emission from z > 7 galaxies in cosmological simulations: rest-frame UV to Optical lines
• Empirical Constraints on the Star Formation & Redshift Dependence of the Lyman Alpha `Effective' Escape Fraction
• Lyman Alpha and MgII as Probes of Galaxies and their Environments
• The implications of dust for high-redshift protogalaxies and the formation of binary disks
• Lyman-α Emitters in the context of hierarchical galaxy formation: predictions for VLT/MUSE surveys
• Effects of Star Formation Stochasticity on the Ly-alpha & Lyman Continuum Emission from Dwarf Galaxies during Reionization
• X-ray Constraints on the Lyman-Alpha Escape Fraction
• The dominant origin of diffuse Ly$\alpha$ halos around LAEs explored by SED fitting and clustering analysis
• Effects of Lyman alpha scattering in the IGM on clustering statistics of Lyman alpha emitters
• The evolution of the UV luminosity and stellar mass functions of Lyman-alpha emitters from z~2 to z~6
• The Effect of the Remnant Mass in Estimating Stellar Mass of Galaxies
• Far-infrared observations of dust in Ly$\alpha$ emitters at z=2-6