Related papers: The Flatness and Sudden Evolution of the Intergala…
We present a self-consistent, semi-analytical LCDM model of star formation and reionization. For the cosmological parameters favored by the WMAP data, our models consistently reproduce the optical depth to reionization, redshift of…
The reionization of the Universe has profound effects on the way galaxies form and on their observed properties at later times. Of particular importance is the relative timing of the reionization history of a region and its halo assembly…
The reionization of intergalactic hydrogen has received intense theoretical scrutiny over the past two decades. Here, we approach the process formally as a percolation process and phase transition. Using semi-numeric simulations, we…
IGM metal absorption lines observed in z>6 spectra offer the opportunity to probe early feedback processes, the nature of enriching sources, and the topology of reionization. We run high-resolution cosmological simulations including…
The first sources of ionizing radiation to condense out of the dark and neutral IGM sent ionization fronts sweeping outward through their surroundings, overtaking other condensed objects and photoevaporating them. This feedback of universal…
Galactic stellar halos have long been considered to contain fossil information on early dynamical and chemical evolution of galaxies. We propose that the surface brightness distributions of old stellar halos contain the influence of…
Upcoming galaxy surveys and 21-cm experiments targeting high redshifts $z\gtrsim 6$ are highly complementary probes of galaxy formation and reionization. However, in order to expedite the large volume simulations relevant for 21-cm…
Reionization is inhomogeneous for two reasons: the clumpiness of the intergalactic medium (IGM) and clustering of the discrete ionizing sources. While numerical simulations can in principle take both into account, they are at present…
The escape fraction of ionizing photons from galaxies is a crucial quantity controlling the cosmic ionizing background radiation and the reionization. Various estimates of this parameter can be obtained in the redshift range, z=0--6, either…
Probing the growth of structure from the epoch of hydrogen recombination to the formation of the first stars and galaxies is one of the most important uncharted areas of observational cosmology. Far-IR spectroscopy covering $\lambda$…
The timing and duration of the reionization epoch is crucial to the emergence and evolution of structure in the universe. The relative roles that star-forming galaxies, active galactic nuclei and quasars play in contributing to the…
Recent observations have successfully detected UV or infrared flux from galaxies at the epoch of reionization. However, the origin of their radiative properties has not been fully understood yet. Combining cosmological hydrodynamic…
The Universe's dark ages end with the formation of the first generation of galaxies. These objects start emitting ultraviolet radiation that carves out ionized regions around them. After a sufficient number of ionizing sources have formed,…
Many experimental evidences indicate the presence of a ionizing background radiation flux at large redshifts; in some previous works I suggested the possibility that this ionizing flux comes from the quantum evaporation of primordial black…
This thesis investigates the Epoch of Cosmic Reionization (EoR), a key period in the early Universe when the first luminous sources formed and their radiation transformed the intergalactic medium (IGM) from neutral to ionized. Understanding…
The observed deficit of strongly Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies at z>6.5 is attributed to either increasing neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium (IGM) and/or to the evolving galaxy properties. To investigate this, we have performed…
We present a new approach to constrain the spectral energy distribution of the intergalactic UV background observationally by studying metal absorption systems. We study single-component metal line systems exhibiting various well-measured…
We discuss currently available observational constraints on the reionization history of the intergalactic medium (IGM), and the extent to which accreting black holes (BHs) can help explain these observations. We show new evidence, based on…
Reionization is thought to have occurred in the redshift range of $6 < z < 9$, which is now being probed by both deep galaxy surveys and CMB observations. Using halo abundance matching over the redshift range $5<z<8$ and assuming smooth,…
The reionization of the intergalactic medium at redshifts $z\gtrsim 6$ is expected to have a lasting impact on galaxies residing in low-mass dark matter halos. Unable to accrete or retain gas photo-heated to temperatures $T \gtrsim 10^4$ K,…