Related papers: Probing intergalactic radiation fields during cosm…
We present a new calculation of the intergalactic $\gamma$-ray pair-production absorption coefficient as a function of both energy and redshift up to the redshift of 3C279, z = 0.54. In reexamining this problem, we make use of new…
The next generation of gamma-ray telescopes may be able to observe gamma-ray blazars at high redshift, possibly out to the epoch of reionization. The spectrum of such sources should exhibit an absorption edge due to pair-production against…
Following our previously proposed technique, we have used the recent gamma-ray observations of Mrk 421 to place theoretically significant constraints on and possible estimates of the intergalactic infrared radiation field (IIRF) which are…
Gamma-ray absorption due to gamma-gamma-pair creation on cosmological scales depends on the line-of-sight integral of the evolving density of low-energy photons in the Universe, i.e. on the history of the diffuse, isotropic radiation field.…
The gamma-ray burst (GRB) 050904 at z = 6.3 provides the first opportunity of probing the intergalactic medium (IGM) by GRBs at the epoch of the reionization. Here we present a spectral modeling analysis of the optical afterglow spectrum…
The inhomogeneous cosmological reionization process leaves tangible imprints in the intergalactic medium down to z=4-5. The Lyman-alpha forest flux power spectrum provides a potentially powerful probe of the epoch of reionization. With the…
The large-scale Galactic interstellar radiation field (ISRF) is the result of stellar emission and dust re-processing of starlight. Where the energy density of the ISRF is high (e.g., the Galactic Centre), the dominant gamma-ray emission in…
The pair-production absorption of high-energy gamma-rays by intergalactic low-energy photons is expected to produce a high-energy cutoff in the spectra of extragalactic sources which is a sensitive function of redshift. We first discuss the…
We present new calculations of the evolving UV background out to the epoch of cosmological reionization and make predictions for the amount of GeV gamma-ray attenuation by electron-positron pair production. Our results are based on recent…
Adopting a recent calculation of the Galactic interstellar radiation field, we calculate the attenuation of the very high energy gamma rays from the Galactic sources. The infra-red radiation background near the Galactic Center is very…
We present a new calculation of the intergalactic gamma-ray absorption coefficient as a function of both energy and redshift. In reexamining this problem, we make use of a new, empirically based calculation (as opposed to previous model…
The reionization of hydrogen in the intergalactic medium (IGM) is a crucial landmark in the history of the universe, but the processes through which it occurs remain mysterious. In particular, recent numerical and analytic work suggest that…
Detections and non-detections of Lyman alpha (Ly$\alpha$) emission from $z>6$ galaxies ($<1$ Gyr after the Big Bang) can be used to measure the timeline of cosmic reionization. Of key interest to measuring reionization's mid-stages, but…
We calculate the intergalactic photon density as a function of both energy and redshift for 0 < z < 6 for photon energies from .003 eV to the Lyman limit cutoff at 13.6 eV in a Lambda-CDM universe with $\Omega_{\Lambda} = 0.7$ and…
The temporal evolution of the ionizing UV background radiation field at high redshift provides a probe of the evolution of the early star formation rate. By comparing the observed levels of absorption in the highest redshift quasar spectra…
We calculate the absorption of 10-500 GeV gamma-rays at high redshifts. This calculation requires the determination of the high-redshift evolution of the intergalactic starlight photon field, including its IR-UV spectral energy…
The attenuation of very high energy gamma rays by pair production on the Galactic interstellar radiation field has long been thought of as negligible. However, a new calculation of the interstellar radiation field consistent with…
We present two models for the cosmological UV background light, and calculate the opacity of GeV gamma--rays out to redshift 9. The contributors to the background include 2 possible quasar emissivities, and output from star--forming…
We investigate the cosmic reionization history by comparing semi-analytical models of the Lya forest with observations of high-z quasars and gamma ray bursts absorption spectra. In order to constrain the reionization epoch z_rei, we…
Recent observations have set the first constraints on the epoch of reionization (EoR), corresponding to the formation epoch of the first luminous objects. Studies of Gunn-Peterson (GP) absorption, and related phenomena, suggest a…