Related papers: Reionization constraints using Principal Component…
The new Wide Field Camera 3/IR observations on the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field started investigating the properties of galaxies during the reionization epoch. To interpret these observations, we present a novel approach inspired by the…
Concurrent observations of Lyman continuum (LyC) and Lyman-alpha (Lya) emission escaping from star-forming systems at low redshift are essential to understanding the physics of reionization at high redshift (z >~ 6). Some have suggested…
Reducing the power on small scales relative to the `standard' LCDM model alleviates a number of possible discrepancies with observations, and is favored by the recent analysis of WMAP plus galaxy and Lyman-alpha forest data. Here, we…
A deep understanding of the Epoch of Reionization is still missing in our knowledge of the universe. While future probes will allow us to test the precise evolution of the free electron fraction from redshifts between $z\simeq 6$ and…
Previous studies have noted difficulties in modeling the highest opacities of the $z>5.5$ Ly$\alpha$ forest, epitomized by the extreme Ly$\alpha$ trough observed towards quasar ULAS J0148+0600. One possibility is that the most opaque…
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…
Varying fundamental constants (VFC) [e.g., the fine-structure constant, $\alpha_{\rm EM}$] can arise in numerous extended cosmologies. Through their effect on the decoupling of baryons and photons during last scattering and reionisation,…
Cosmic reionization was the last major phase transition of hydrogen from neutral to highly ionized in the intergalactic medium (IGM). Current observations show that the IGM is significantly neutral at $z>7$, and largely ionized by…
We use a semi-analytic model of Lyman alpha emitters (LAEs) to constrain the reionization history. By considering two physically motivated scenarios in which reionization ends either early (ERM, z_i ~ 7) or late (LRM, z_i ~ 6), we fix the…
The recent measurement of an ionising mean free path $\lambda_{\text{mfp}}<1$ pMpc at $z=6$ challenges our understanding of the small-scale structure of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at the end of reionisation. We introduce a new method to…
The intrinsic escape fraction of ionizing Lyman continuum photons ($f_{esc}$) is crucial to understand whether galaxies are capable of reionizing the neutral hydrogen in the early universe at z>6. Unfortunately, it is not possible to access…
We study the reionization history of the Universe in cosmological models with non-Gaussian density fluctuations, taking them to have a renormalized $\chi^2$ probability distribution function parametrized by the number of degrees of freedom,…
The standard cosmological model, with its six independent parameters, successfully describes our observable Universe. One of these parameters, the optical depth to reionization $\tau_\mathrm{reio}$, represents the scatterings that Cosmic…
We investigate constraints on cosmic reionization extracted from the Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. We combine the Planck CMB anisotropy data in temperature with the low-multipole polarization data to fit LCDM models with…
JWST is providing constraints on the history of reionization owing to its ability to detect faint galaxies at $z\gg6$. Modeling this history requires understanding both the ionizing photon production rate ($\xi_{\rm ion}$) and the fraction…
We present a new method to quantify the value of the escape fraction of ionizing photons, and the existence of ultra-faint galaxies clustered around brighter objects during the epoch of cosmic reionization, using the diffuse Ly$\alpha$,…
Cosmic (hydrogen) reionization marks one of the major phase transitions of the universe at redshift z >= 6. During this epoch, hydrogen atoms in the intergalactic medium (IGM) were ionized by Lyman continuum (LyC) photons. However, it…
By means of carefully calibrated semi-analytical reionization models, we estimate the minimum mass of star-forming haloes required to match the current data. Models which do not include haloes of total mass M < 10^9 M_sun fail at…
Given that the reionization history of cosmic hydrogen is yet to be stringently constrained, it is worth checking the prospects of doing so using physically motivated models and available observational data. For this purpose, we use an…
Understanding the detailed process of cosmic reionization is one of the remaining problems in astrophysics and cosmology. Here we construct a model of cosmic reionization that includes contribution from high-$z$ galaxies and active galactic…