Related papers: A Cosmic UV/X-ray Background Model Update
We present improved synthesis models of the evolving spectrum of the UV/X-ray diffuse background, updating and extending our previous results. A "minimal cosmic reionization model" is presented in which the galaxy UV emissivity traces…
Recent observations suggest that hydrogen reionization ends late ($z \simeq 6$) and proceeds quickly. We present here a new model of the meta-galactic UV/X-ray background (UVB) that is consistent with this. It adopts the most recent…
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…
Motivated by the claimed detection of a large population of faint active galactic nuclei (AGN) at high redshift, recent studies have proposed models in which AGN contribute significantly to the z > 4 H I ionizing background. In some models,…
Using radiative transfer calculations and cosmological simulations of structure formation, we study constraints that can be placed on the nature of the cosmic ultraviolet (UV) background in the redshift interval 2.5< z <5. Our approach…
Recent suggestions of a "photon underproduction crisis" (Kollmeier \etal\ 2014) have generated concern over the intensity and spectrum of ionizing photons in the metagalactic ultraviolet background (UVB). The balance of hydrogen…
We present a detailed calculation of the propagation of AGN-like ionizing radiation through the intergalactic space. We model the ionization state of absorbing clouds, and show that the universe will be more opaque above $4\,$Ryd than…
The cosmological process of hydrogen (HI) reionization in the intergalactic medium is thought to be driven by UV photons emitted by star-forming galaxies and ionizing active galactic nuclei (AGN). The contribution of QSOs to HI reionization…
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…
We assess a model of late cosmic reionization in which the ionizing background radiation arises entirely from high redshift quasars and other active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The low optical depth to Thomson scattering reported by the Planck…
We study the observed cosmic ionizing background as a constraint on the nature of the sources responsible for the reionization of the Universe. In earlier work, we showed that extrapolations of the Ultra-Violet Luminosity Function (LF) of…
We present a new, on-the-fly photon flux and absorption tracer algorithm designed to directly measure the contribution of different source populations to the metagalactic UV background and to the ionisation fraction of gas in the Universe.…
We present new measurements of the intensity of the ionizing ultraviolet background and the global emissivity of ionizing photons over 2 < z < 5. Our results are based on a suite of updated measurements of physical properties of the…
I review recent observational and theoretical progress in our understanding of the cosmic evolution of luminous sources. Largely due to a combination of deep HST imaging, Keck spectroscopy, and COBE far-IR background measurements, new…
We use new studies of the cosmic evolution of star-forming galaxies to estimate the production rate of ionizing photons from hot, massive stars at low and intermediate redshifts. The luminosity function of blue galaxies in the Canada-France…
A numerical calculation of properties of finite absorbers and of intergalactic medium based on photoionization equilibrium is performed to confront alternative UV sources in addition to quasars. It is seen that a spectrum including a large…
The rapidly declining population of bright quasars at z~3 appears to make an increasingly small contribution to the ionising background at the HI Lyman limit. It is then generally though that massive stars in (pre-)galactic systems may…
We constrain the spectrum of the cosmic ultraviolet background radiation by fitting the observed abundance ratios carbon ions at $z\sim 2\hbox{--}3$ with those expected from different models of the background radiation. We use the recently…
It is a widespread opinion that hydrogen reionization is mainly driven by primeval star-forming galaxies, with a minor role of high-z active galactic nuclei. Recent observations, however, challenge this notion, indicating a number of issues…
We explore scenarios for reionizing the intergalactic medium with low galaxy ionizing photon escape fractions. We combine simulation-based halo-mass dependent escape fractions with an extrapolation of the observed galaxy rest-ultraviolet…