Related papers: On Lyman-limit Systems and the Evolution of the In…
Quasar absorption spectra measurements suggest that reionization proceeded rapidly, ended late at $z \sim 5.5$, and was followed by a flat ionizing background evolution. Simulations that reproduce this behavior often rely on a fine tuned…
We present an analysis of the evolution of the Lyman-series forest into the epoch of reionization using cosmological radiative transfer simulations in a scenario where reionization ends late. We explore models with different midpoints of…
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…
Lyman-alpha forest data probing the post-reionization Universe shows surprisingly large opacity fluctuations over rather large ($\ge$50 comoving Mpc/h) spatial scales. We model these fluctuations using a hybrid approach utilizing the large…
Lyman-$\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$) spectra provide insights into the small-scale structure and kinematics of neutral hydrogen (HI) within galaxies as well as the ionization state of the intergalactic medium (IGM). The former defines the intrinsic…
Lyman-alpha (Ly{\alpha}) photons from ionizing sources and cooling radiation undergo a complex resonant scattering process that generates unique spectral signatures in high-redshift galaxies. We present a detailed Ly{\alpha} radiative…
A generic assumption of ionization models of quasar absorption systems is that radiation from local sources is negligible compared with the cosmological background. We test this assumption and find that it is unlikely to hold for absorbers…
We identify a concordant model for the intergalactic medium (IGM) at redshift z=1.9 that uses popular values for cosmological and astrophysical parameters and accounts for all baryons with an uncertainty of 6%. We have measured the amount…
Searches for Lyman-alpha emission lines are among the most effective ways to identify high-redshift galaxies. They are particularly interesting because they probe not only the galaxies themselves but also the ionization state of the…
The observed scatter in intergalactic Lyman-$\alpha$ opacity at $z \lesssim 6$ requires large-scale fluctuations in the neutral fraction of the intergalactic medium (IGM) after the expected end of reionization. Post-reionization models that…
Spectra from the Keck HIRES instrument of the Lyman alpha forests in the lines of sight to the A and C components of the gravitationally lensed QSO Q1422+231 were used to investigate the structure of the intergalactic medium at mean…
The escape of Lyman continuum (LyC) radiation from early galaxies transformed the intergalactic medium (IGM) and is intimately connected to the fueling and feedback processes that regulate galaxy evolution. IGM attenuation interferes with…
We have performed a detailed statistical study of the evolution of structure in a photoionized intergalactic medium (IGM) using analytical simulations to extend the calculation into the mildly non-linear density regime found to prevail at z…
We interpret observations of intergalactic low ionisation metal absorption systems at redshifts z $\gtrsim$5 in terms of pressure-confined clouds. We find clouds confined by the expected pressure of galactic haloes with masses $11<\log…
We find that the amount and nature of the assumed ionizing background can strongly affect galaxy formation and evolution. Galaxy evolution simulations typically incorporate an ultraviolet background which falls off rapidly above z=3; e.g.,…
An extremely careful separation of the weak metal-line systems relating to the Lyman forest absorbers into individual ``single-phase ionization'' components with accurate parameters has yielded a large sample in the wide redshift range 1.9…
Understanding the sources responsible for reionizing the Universe is a key goal of observational cosmology. A discrepancy has existed between the metagalactic hydrogen ionization rate, Gamma_HI, predicted by early hydrodynamical simulations…
We examine the statistics of the low-redshift Lyman-alpha forest from smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulations in light of recent improvements in the estimated evolution of the cosmic ultraviolet background (UVB) and recent observations…
The physical characteristics of the Lyman-alpha forest cloud systems are combined with observations on the baryonic mass density of the Universe and constraints from primordial nucleosynthesis to set boundary conditions on the Intergalactic…
Numerical simulations indicate that the smooth, photoionized intergalactic medium (IGM) responsible for the low column density Lyman-alpha forest follows a well defined temperature-density relation. We show that such an equation of state…