Dark-ages Reionization and Galaxy Formation Simulation XX. The Ly$\alpha$ IGM transmission properties and environment of bright galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization

Abstract

The highly neutral inter-galactic medium (IGM) during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) is expected to suppress Ly$\alpha$ emission with damping-wing absorption, causing nearly no Ly$\alpha$ detection from star-forming galaxies at $z\sim 8$. However, spectroscopic observations of the 4 brightest galaxies (${\mathrm{H}}_{160}\sim 25$ mag) at these redshifts do reveal prominent Ly$\alpha$ line, suggesting locally ionised IGM. In this paper, we explore the Ly$\alpha$ IGM transmission and environment of bright galaxies during the EoR using the Meraxes semi-analytic model. We find brighter galaxies to be less affected by damping-wing absorption as they are effective at ionizing surrounding neutral hydrogen. Specifically, the brightest sources (${\mathrm{H}}_{160}\lesssim 25.5$ mag) lie in the largest ionized regions in our simulation, and have low attenuation of their Ly$\alpha$ from the IGM (optical depth $<1$). Fainter galaxies (25.5 mag$<{\mathrm{H}}_{160}<27.5$ mag) have transmission that depends on UV luminosity, leading to a lower incidence of Ly$\alpha$ detection at fainter magnitudes. This luminosity-dependent attenuation explains why Ly$\alpha$ has only been observed in the brightest galaxies at $z\sim 8$. Follow-up observations have revealed counterparts in the vicinity of these confirmed $z\sim 8$ Ly$\alpha$ emitters. The environments of our modelled analogues agree with these observations in the number of nearby galaxies, which is a good indicator of whether Ly$\alpha$ can be detected among fainter galaxies. At the current observational limit, galaxies with $\ge 2$--5 neighbours within $2^{\prime }\times 2^{\prime }$ are $\sim 2$--3 times more likely to show Ly$\alpha$ emission. JWST will discover an order of magnitude more neighbours, revealing $\gtrsim 50$ galaxies in the largest ionizing bubbles and facilitating direct study of reionization morphology.

arXiv comment10 pages, 3 figures, submitted to MNRAS, comments are welcome

References in corpus (101)

• Planck 2015 results. XIII. Cosmological parameters
• A luminous quasar at a redshift of z = 7.085
• UV Luminosity Functions at redshifts z~4 to z~10: 10000 Galaxies from HST Legacy Fields
• An 800-million-solar-mass black hole in a significantly neutral Universe at redshift 7.5
• 21cmFAST: A Fast, Semi-Numerical Simulation of the High-Redshift 21-cm Signal
• The Growth of HII Regions During Reionization
• Model-independent evidence in favor of an end to reionization by z~6
• 3D Lyman-alpha radiation transfer. I. Understanding Lyman-alpha line profile morphologies
• Keck Spectroscopy of Faint 3<z<7 Lyman Break Galaxies: - I. New constraints on cosmic reionisation from the luminosity and redshift-dependent fraction of Lyman-alpha emission
• Evidence of patchy hydrogen reionization from an extreme Ly$\alpha$ trough below redshift six
• Reionization of the Intergalactic Medium and the Damping Wing of the Gunn-Peterson Trough
• Spectroscopic Confirmation of Three z-Dropout Galaxies at z = 6.844 - 7.213: Demographics of Lyman-Alpha Emission in z ~ 7 Galaxies
• The Universe is Reionizing at z~7: Bayesian Inference of the IGM Neutral Fraction Using Ly$\alpha$ Emission from Galaxies
• Lyman-alpha and CIII] Emission in z=7-9 Galaxies: Accelerated Reionization Around Luminous Star Forming Systems?
• Pōniuā'ena: A Luminous $z=7.5$ Quasar Hosting a 1.5 Billion Solar Mass Black Hole
• Quantitative Constraints on the Reionization History from the IGM Damping Wing Signature in Two Quasars at z > 7
• Lyman Alpha Emitting Galaxies as a Probe of Reionization
• Line Emitting Galaxies Beyond a Redshift of 7: An Improved Method for Estimating the Evolving Neutrality of the Intergalactic Medium
• On the redshift-evolution of the Lyman-alpha escape fraction and the dust content of galaxies
• Large Lyman-alpha opacity fluctuations and low CMB tau in models of late reionization with large islands of neutral hydrogen extending to z<5.5
• Lyman-alpha Emission from a Luminous z=8.68 Galaxy: Implications for Galaxies as Tracers of Cosmic Reionization
• The 2dF-SDSS LRG and QSO Survey: the QSO luminosity function at 0.4<z<2.6
• A Spectroscopic Redshift Measurement for a Luminous Lyman Break Galaxy at z=7.730 using Keck/MOSFIRE
• Z > 7 galaxies with red Spitzer/IRAC [3.6]-[4.5] colors in the full CANDELS data set: the brightest-known galaxies at Z ~ 7-9 and a probable spectroscopic confirmation at Z=7.48
• The evolution of faint AGN between z~1 and z~5 from the COMBO-17 survey
• Can the intergalactic medium cause a rapid drop in Lyman alpha emission at z>6?
• New constraints on Lyman-α opacity with a sample of 62 quasars at z > 5.7
• Ly$\alpha$ profile, dust, and prediction of Ly$\alpha$ escape fraction in Green Pea Galaxies
• The changing Lya optical depth in the range 6<z<9 from MOSFIRE spectroscopy of Y-dropouts
• Rapid Decline of Lyman-alpha Emission Toward the Reionization Era
• A Significantly Neutral Intergalactic Medium Around the Luminous z=7 Quasar J0252-0503
• Constraining the neutral fraction of hydrogen in the IGM at redshift 7.5
• The Ly-alpha Properties of Faint Galaxies at z2-3 with Systemic Redshifts and Velocity Dispersions from Keck-MOSFIRE
• Long troughs in the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest below redshift 6 due to islands of neutral hydrogen
• The Sherwood simulation suite: overview and data comparisons with the Lyman-alpha forest at redshifts 2 < z < 5
• The Impact of The IGM on High-Redshift Lyman Alpha Emission Lines
• Constraints on reionisation from the z=7.5 QSO ULASJ1342+0928
• The lack of intense Lyman~alpha in ultradeep spectra of z=7 candidates in GOODS-S: imprint of reionization?
• The mean free path of ionizing photons at 5 < z < 6: evidence for rapid evolution near reionization
• Are we witnessing the epoch of reionisation at $z=7.1$ from the spectrum of J1120+0641?
• Spectroscopy of z ~ 7 candidate galaxies: Using Lyman-alpha to constrain the neutral fraction of hydrogen in the high-redshift universe
• A Measurement of Small Scale Structure in the 2.2 < z < 4.2 Lyman-alpha Forest
• Radiative Transfer Modeling of Lyman Alpha Emitters. I. Statistics of Spectra and Luminosity
• 21cmFAST v3: A Python-integrated C code forgenerating 3D realizations of the cosmic 21cm signal
• The VVDS type-1 AGN sample: The faint end of the luminosity function
• Texas Spectroscopic Search for Ly$\alpha$ Emission at the End of Reionization III. the Ly$\alpha$ Equivalent-width Distribution and Ionized Structures at $z>7$
• Large Fluctuations in the High-Redshift Metagalactic Ionizing Background
• Large fluctuations in the hydrogen-ionizing background and mean free path following the epoch of reionization
• The Bright End of the z~9 and z~10 UV Luminosity Functions using all five CANDELS Fields
• The Faint End of the Quasar Luminosity Function at z~4: Implications for Ionization of the Intergalactic Medium and Cosmic Downsizing
• Dark-ages reionization and galaxy formation simulation - III. Modelling galaxy formation and the epoch of reionization
• Probing the thermal state of the intergalactic medium at $z>5$ with the transmission spikes in high-resolution Ly$\alpha$ forest spectra
• Reionization and galaxy inference from the high-redshift Lyα forest
• Evolution of the Quasar Luminosity Function Over 3 < z < 5 in the COSMOS Survey Field
• Lyman-alpha emitters gone missing: evidence for late reionization?
• Slicing COSMOS with SC4K: the evolution of typical Lya emitters and the Lya escape fraction from z~2 to z~6
• CANDELSz7: a large spectroscopic survey of CANDELS galaxies in the reionization epoch
• Observing the tail of reionization: neutral islands in the $z=5.5$ Lyman-$\alpha$ Forest
• The physics of Lyman-alpha escape from high-redshift galaxies
• The photoheating of the intergalactic medium in synthesis models of the UV background
• Large scale opacity fluctuations in the Lyman alpha forest: evidence for QSOs dominating the ionising UV background at z ~ 5.5-6 ?
• Large Opacity Variations in the High-Redshift Lyman-alpha Forest: the Signature of Relic Temperature Fluctuations from Patchy Reionization
• Luminosity Function from dedicated SDSS-III and MMT data of quasars in 0.7<z<4.0 selected with a new approach
• Beacons into the Cosmic Dark Ages: Boosted transmission of Ly$\alpha$ from UV bright galaxies at $z\gtrsim 7$
• The properties of Ly-alpha emitting galaxies in hierarchical galaxy formation models
• Onset of Cosmic Reionization: Evidence of An Ionized Bubble Merely 680 Myrs after the Big Bang
• The nature of luminous Lyman-alpha emitters at z~2-3: maximal dust-poor starbursts and highly ionising AGN
• MMT Spectroscopy of Lyman-alpha at z$\simeq$7: Evidence for Accelerated Reionization Around Massive Galaxies
• IGM Constraints from the SDSS-III/BOSS DR9 Ly-alpha Forest Flux Probability Distribution Function
• Probing Cosmic Dawn : Ages and Star Formation Histories of Candidate $z\ge$9 Galaxies
• A first direct measurement of the intergalactic medium temperature around a quasar at z=6
• The Evolution of the Lyman-Alpha Luminosity Function During Reionization
• Chasing the Tail of Cosmic Reionization with Dark Gap Statistics in the Ly$\alpha$ Forest over $5<z<6$
• Dark-ages Reionization and Galaxy Formation Simulation - X. The small contribution of quasars to reionization
• Dark-ages reionization & galaxy formation simulation IV: UV luminosity functions of high-redshift galaxies
• The Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space (GLASS). III. A census of Lyα Emission at $z\gtrsim$7 from HST Spectroscopy
• Computer Simulations of Cosmic Reionization
• A Lyman-α protocluster at redshift 6.9
• MUSEQuBES: Calibrating the redshifts of Ly α emitters using stacked circumgalactic medium absorption profiles
• A Comprehensive Study of Ly$\alpha$ Emission in the High-redshift Galaxy Population
• A short mean free path at $z=6$ favors late and rapid reionization by faint galaxies
• Undetected Sources Allow Transmission of the Lyman-alpha Line From Galaxies Prior to Reionization
• Spatial fluctuations of the intergalactic temperature-density relation after hydrogen reionization
• The UV, Lyman-alpha, and dark matter halo properties of high redshift galaxies
• Lyman-$\alpha$ as a tracer of cosmic reionisation in the SPHINX radiation-hydrodynamics cosmological simulation
• Reionization inference from the CMB optical depth and E-mode polarization power spectra
• Dark-ages Reionization & Galaxy Formation Simulation I: The dynamical lives of high redshift galaxies
• Spectroscopically Confirmed Lyman-Alpha Emitters from Redshift 5 to 7 Behind Ten Galaxy Cluster Lenses
• Exploring 21cm - Lyman Alpha emitter synergies for SKA
• Crucial Factors for Lyα Transmission in the Reionizing Intergalactic Medium: Infall Motion, HII Bubble Size, and Self-shielded Systems
• Lyman-alpha transmission properties of the intergalactic medium in the CoDaII simulation
• Texas Spectroscopic Search for Ly$\alpha$ Emission at the End of Reionization I. Constraining the Ly$\alpha$ Equivalent Width Distribution at 6.0 < $z$ < 7.0
• Constraining the Lyman Alpha Escape Fraction with Far-Infrared Observations of Lyman Alpha Emitters
• A 52 hours VLT/FORS2 spectrum of a bright z~7 HUDF galaxy: no Ly-alpha emission
• Lyman-alpha radiative transfer: Modeling spectrum and surface brightness profile of Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies at z=3-6
• The influence of metagalactic ultra-violet background fluctuations on the high-redshift Ly$\alpha$ forest
• Dark-ages reionization and galaxy-formation simulation - VI. The origins and fate of the highest known redshift galaxy
• Dark-ages Reionization and Galaxy Formation Simulation - XIII. AGN quenching of high-redshift star formation in ZF-COSMOS-20115
• Dark ages reionization & galaxy formation simulation XII: Bubbles at dawn
• Can galaxy evolution mimic cosmic reionization?
• Stacking Redshifted 21cm Images of HII Regions Around High Redshift Galaxies as a Probe of Early Reionization

Cited by in corpus (16)

• Inferring the IGM Neutral Fraction at z ~ 6-8 with Low-Luminosity Lyman Break Galaxies
• (Re)Solving Reionization with Lyα: How Bright Lyα Emitters account for the $z\approx 2-8$ Cosmic Ionizing Background
• JADES: Discovery of extremely high equivalent width Lyman-alpha emission from a faint galaxy within an ionized bubble at z=7.3
• Strong Ly$\alpha$ Emission in an Overdense Region at $z=6.8$: A Very Large ($R\sim 3$ physical Mpc) Ionized Bubble in COSMOS?
• The ALMA REBELS Survey: Efficient Ly$\alpha$ Transmission of UV-Bright z$\simeq$7 Galaxies from Large Velocity Offsets and Broad Line Widths
• The Prevalence of Galaxy Overdensities Around UV-Luminous Lyman $\alpha$ Emitters in the Epoch of Reionization
• JADES: Primaeval Lyman-$\alpha$ emitting galaxies reveal early sites of reionisation out to redshift $z\sim 9$
• CLEAR: Survey Overview, Data Analysis and Products
• CLEAR: Boosted Ly$\alpha$ Transmission of the Intergalactic Medium in UV bright Galaxies
• Anatomy of an ionized bubble: NIRCam grism spectroscopy of the $z=6.6$ double-peaked Lyman-$\alpha$ emitter COLA1 and its environment
• Nature and Nurture? Comparing Ly$\alpha$ Detections in UV-Bright and Fainter [O III]+H$\beta$ Emitters at $z\sim 8$ With Keck/MOSFIRE
• Astraeus VIII: A new framework for Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters applied to different reionisation scenarios
• On the general nature of 21cm-Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters cross-correlations during reionisation
• Scattering of Lyα Photons through the Reionizing Intergalactic Medium: I. Spectral Energy Distribution
• Constraints on the Epoch of Reionization with Roman Space Telescope and the Void Probability Function of Lyman-Alpha Emitters
• Deep JWST spectroscopy of galaxies in a candidate ionized bubble at $z=8.7$: probing reionization at pMpc scales with Ly$\alpha$ emission