Related papers: Spatial Correlations in the Helium-Ionizing Backgr…
We obtained high-resolution VLT and FUSE spectra of the quasar HE2347-4342 to study the properties of the intergalactic medium between redshifts z=2.0-2.9. The high-quality optical spectrum allows us to identify approximately 850 HeII…
We provide an in-depth analysis of the He II and H I absorption in the intergalactic medium (IGM) at redshifts z = 2.3-2.9 toward HE 2347-4342, using spectra from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) and the Ultraviolet-Visual…
The HeII transverse proximity effect -- enhanced HeII Ly$\alpha$~transmission in a background sightline caused by the ionizing radiation of a foreground quasar -- offers a unique opportunity to probe the morphology of quasar-driven HeII…
We consider the evolution of the sky-averaged 21 cm background during the early phases of structure formation. Using simple analytic models, we calculate the thermal and ionization histories, assuming that stellar photons dominate the…
We present an attempt to measure the large angular scale fluctuations in the X-Ray Background (XRB) from the HEAO1-A2 data, expressed in terms of spherical harmonics. We model the harmonic coefficients assuming a power spectrum and an…
Numerical hydrodynamical simulations have proven a successful means of reproducing many of the statistical properties of the LyA forest as measured in high redshift (z > 4) quasar spectra. The source of ionization of the Intergalactic…
We develop an analytic approach to study inhomogeneous reionization on large scales by solving the equations of ionization balance and radiative transfer to first order in perturbations. Given the spatial distribution and spectrum of the…
We have performed a specific observational test to measure the effect that the zodiacal light can have on measurements of the spatial fluctuations of the near-IR background. Previous estimates of possible fluctuations caused by zodiacal…
Cosmic reionization progresses as HII regions form around sources of ionizing radiation. Their average size grows continuously until they percolate and complete reionization. We demonstrate how this typical growth can be calculated around…
Ultracompact and hypercompact HII regions appear when a star with a mass larger than about 15 solar masses starts to ionize its own environment. Recent observations of time variability in these objects are one of the pieces of evidence that…
The intergalactic medium (IGM) around quasars is shaped by their dense environments and by their excess ionizing radiation, forming a "quasar proximity zone" whose size and anisotropy depend on the quasar's halo mass, luminosity, age, and…
The transmission of Lyman-{\alpha} (Ly{\alpha}) in the spectra of distant quasars depends on the density, temperature, and ionization state of the intergalactic medium (IGM). Therefore, high-redshift (z > 5) Ly{\alpha} forests could be…
Using hydrodynamical simulations coupled to a radiative transfer code, we study the additional heating effects in the intergalactic medium (IGM) produced by $z\sim 6$ quasars in their near-zones. If helium is predominantly in HeII to begin…
The estimate of the ionizing UV background through the proximity effect analysis is discussed. Taking into account the correct bending of the column density distribution which appears in high resolution high s/n data, a value of the UV…
In Paper III of our series "A Uniform Analysis of the Ly-alpha forest at z=0 - 5", we presented a set of 270 quasar spectra from the archives of the Faint Object Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. A total of 151 of these spectra,…
Early photoionization of the intergalactic medium is discussed in a nearly model-independent way, in order to investigate whether early structures corresponding to rare Gaussian peaks in a CDM model can photoionize the intergalactic medium…
We investigate the implications of the intergalactic opacity for the evolution of the cosmic UV luminosity density and its sources. Our main constraint is our measurement of the Lya forest opacity at redshifts 2<z<4.2 from 86…
The epoch of hydrogen reionization is complete by $z=5$, but its progression at higher redshifts is uncertain. Measurements of Ly$\alpha$ forest opacity show large scatter at $z<6$, suggestive of spatial fluctuations in neutral fraction…
The spatial correlation between galaxies and the Ly$\alpha$ forest provides insights into how galaxies reionized the Universe. Here, we present initial results on the spatial cross-correlation between [OIII] emitters and Ly$\alpha$ forest…
The reionization of helium is thought to occur at $2.5\lesssim z\lesssim4$, marking the last phase transition and final global heating event of the intergalactic medium (IGM). Since it is driven by rare quasars, helium reionization should…