Exploring the Thermal State of the Low-Density Intergalactic Medium at z=3 with an Ultra-High Signal-to-Noise QSO Spectrum

A. Rorai, G. D. Becker, M. G. Haehnelt +11

At low densities the standard ionisation history of the intergalactic medium (IGM) predicts a decreasing temperature of the IGM with decreasing density once hydrogen (and helium) r…