The visibility of Lyman Alpha Emitters: constraining reionization, ionizing photons and dust

Abstract

We build a physical model for high-redshift Lyman Alpha emitters (LAEs) by coupling state of the art cosmological simulations (GADGET-2) with a dust model and a radiative transfer code (pCRASH). We post-process the cosmological simulation with pCRASH using five different values of the escape fraction of hydrogen ionizing photons (f_esc=0.05,0.25,0.5,0.75,0.95) until reionization is complete, i.e. the average neutral hydrogen fraction drops to <X_HI>~10^-4. Then, the only free-parameter left to match model results to the observed Lya and UV luminosity functions of LAEs at z~6.6 is the relative escape of Lyman Alpha (Lya) and continuum photons from the galactic environment (f_alpha/f_c). We find a three-dimensional degeneracy such that the theoretical model can be reconciled with observations for an IGM Lya transmission <T_alpha>_LAE~38-50% (which translates to <X_HI>~0.5-10^-4 for Gaussian emission lines), f_esc~0.05-0.50 and f_alpha/f_c~0.6-1.8.

20 pages, 13 figures, 1 table, comments welcome, accepted for publication in MNRAS

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• Spectroscopic properties of luminous Lyman-α emitters at $z\approx 6-7$ and comparison to the Lyman-break population
• The Evolution of the Lyman-Alpha Luminosity Function During Reionization
• The Lyman-alpha signature of the first galaxies
• First observational support for overlapping reionized bubbles generated by a galaxy overdensity
• The Effects of Stellar Population and Gas Covering Fraction on the Emergent Lyman Alpha Emission of High-Redshift Galaxies
• The accuracy of semi-numerical reionization models in comparison with radiative transfer simulations
• The 21cm bispectrum during reionization: a tracer of the ionization topology
• Lyman-$\alpha$ as a tracer of cosmic reionisation in the SPHINX radiation-hydrodynamics cosmological simulation
• Interpreting the evolution of galaxy colours from $z=8$ to $z=5$
• Modelling the observed luminosity function and clustering evolution of Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters: growing evidence for late reionization
• Spectroscopic investigation of a reionized galaxy overdensity at z=7
• The impact of an evolving stellar initial mass function on early galaxies and reionisation
• Lyman-Alpha Emitting Galaxies as a Probe of Reionization: Large-Scale Bubble Morphology and Small-Scale Absorbers
• Exploring 21cm - Lyman Alpha emitter synergies for SKA
• Studying reionization with the next generation of Ly-alpha emitter surveys
• Optical Line Emission from z$\sim$6.8 Sources with Deep Constraints on Ly$\alpha$ Visibility
• Cosmic Reionization On Computers III. The Clumping Factor
• Clustering and lifetime of Lyman Alpha Emitters in the Epoch of Reionization
• CLEAR: Boosted Ly$\alpha$ Transmission of the Intergalactic Medium in UV bright Galaxies
• The Indirect Influence of Quasars on Reionization
• Astraeus VIII: A new framework for Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters applied to different reionisation scenarios
• Survey parameters for detecting 21cm - Ly$\alpha$ emitter cross correlations with the Square Kilometre Array
• On the general nature of 21cm-Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters cross-correlations during reionisation
• Evolution of the Lyman-α emitting fraction and UV properties of lensed star-forming galaxies between 2.9 < z < 6.7
• Probing delayed-end reionization histories with the 21cm-LAE cross-power spectrum
• Cosmic Reionization On Computers. Ultraviolet Continuum Slopes and Dust Opacities in High Redshift Galaxies
• Detectability of 21cm signal during the Epoch of Reionization with 21cm-Lyman-$\alpha$ emitter cross-correlation. III. Model dependence
• Constraining Reionization with Lyman Alpha Emitting Galaxies
• On improving analytical models of cosmic reionization for matching numerical simulation
• Constraining the 21cm brightness temperature of the IGM at $z$=6.6 around LAEs with the Murchison Widefield Array
• Lyman Alpha Emitters and the 21cm Power Spectrum as Probes of Density-Ionization Correlation in the Epoch of Reionization
• Scattering of Lyα Photons through the Reionizing Intergalactic Medium: I. Spectral Energy Distribution