Related papers: Quasar Proximity Zones and Patchy Reionization
Absorption spectra of high redshift quasars exhibit an increasingly thick Ly-alpha forest towards z~6. However, the interpretation of these spectra is complicated by the fact that the Ly-alpha optical depth is already large for neutral…
We use state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations combined with a 1D radiative transfer code to assess the extent to which the highly ionized regions observed close to z~6 quasars, which we refer to as near-zones, can constrain the…
We study quasar proximity zones in the redshift range $5.77 \leq z \leq 6.54$ by homogeneously analyzing $34$ medium resolution spectra, encompassing both archival and newly obtained data, and exploiting recently updated systemic redshift…
The matter density field at $z\sim 6$ is very challenging to probe. One of the traditional probes of the low density IGM that works successfully at lower redshifts is the Lyman-alpha forest in quasar spectra. However, at the end of…
It is generally taken for granted that reionization has completed by z=6, due to the detection of flux in the Lyman alpha forest at redshifts z<6. However, since reionization is expected to be highly inhomogeneous, much of the spectra pass…
We study the process of cosmic reionization and estimate the ionizing background in the IGM using the Lyman series absorption in the spectra of the four quasars at 5.7<z<6.3 discovered by the SDSS. We derive the evolution of the ionizing…
We investigate the possibility of constraining the ionization state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) close to the end of reionization (z ~ 6) by measuring the size of the HII regions in high-z quasars spectra. We perform a combination of…
We publicly release a new sample of $34$ medium resolution quasar spectra at $5.77\leq z_{\rm em}\leq6.54$ observed with the Echellette Spectrograph and Imager (ESI) on the Keck telescope. This quasar sample represents an ideal laboratory…
Arguably the best hope of understanding the tail end of the reionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at redshift z > 6 is through the detection and characterization of the Gunn-Peterson (GP) damping wing absorption of the IGM in…
High-redshift quasars (z >~ 6) drive ionization fronts into the intergalactic medium (IGM). If the thickness of the front can be measured, it can provide a novel constraint on the ionizing spectral energy distribution (SED). Here we follow…
Observations of the Lyman-alpha (Ly-$\alpha$) forest may allow reionization to complete as late as $z \sim 5.5$, provided the ionization state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) is sufficiently inhomogeneous at these redshifts. In this case,…
We present a new investigation of the intergalactic medium (IGM) near the end of reionization using "dark gaps" in the Lyman-alpha (Ly$\alpha$) forest. Using spectra of 55 QSOs at $z_{\rm em}>5.5$, including new data from the XQR-30 VLT…
Ionizing sources embedded in the neutral intergalactic medium (IGM) before cosmological reionization generate discrete HII regions. We show that a sufficiently bright quasar (for example, one tenth as luminous as that recently discovered by…
Recent observations of high-redshift galaxies and quasars indicate that the hydrogen component of the intergalactic medium (IGM) must have been reionized at some redshift z>6. Prior to complete reionization, sources of ultraviolet radiation…
Determining when and how the first galaxies reionized the intergalactic medium (IGM) promises to shed light on both the nature of the first objects and the cosmic history of baryons. Towards this goal, quasar absorption lines play a unique…
A variety of independent observational studies have now reported a significant decline in the fraction of Lyman-break galaxies which exhibit Ly-a emission over the redshift interval z=6-7. In combination with the strong damping wing…
The temperature of the low-density intergalactic medium (IGM) at high redshift is sensitive to the timing and nature of hydrogen and HeII reionization, and can be measured from Lyman-alpha forest absorption spectra. Since the memory of…
The amplitude of the ionizing background that pervades the intergalactic medium (IGM) at the end of the epoch of reionization provides a valuable constraint on the emissivity of the sources which reionized the Universe. While measurements…
The intergalactic medium (IGM) around quasars is shaped by their dense environments and by their excess ionizing radiation, forming a "quasar proximity zone" whose size and anisotropy depend on the quasar's halo mass, luminosity, age, and…
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…