Related papers: Properties of the Lyman Alpha Clouds from non-equi…
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…
The temperature of the low-density intergalactic medium is set by the balance between adiabatic cooling resulting from the expansion of the universe, and photo-heating by the UV-background. We have analysed the Lyman-alpha forest of eleven…
The epoch of hydrogen reionization is complete by $z=5$, but its progression at higher redshifts is uncertain. Measurements of Ly$\alpha$ forest opacity show large scatter at $z<6$, suggestive of spatial fluctuations in neutral fraction…
We study the evolution with redshift of the number density of Ly$\alpha$ clouds in a CDM model using numerical simulations including photo-ionization and cooling of the baryonic component. The photo-ionizing flux is consistently taken as…
Using a new, increased dataset of 7 QSOs from VLT/UVES observations combined with one QSO from the literature, the minimum Doppler parameters as a function of neutral hydrogen column density N(HI), b_c(N), of the Lyman-alpha forest has been…
The effective recombination coefficient, alpha_eff, is refined for optically thin cases. Radiation pressure in Lyman-alpha and HeII Lyman-alpha is calculated in terms of the number density and the mean free path. Pressure equilibrium…
The temperature of the diffuse, photo-heated intergalactic medium (IGM) depends on its reionization history because the thermal time scales are long. The widths of the hydrogen Lyman-alpha absorption lines seen in the spectra of distant…
We present results from high resolution (R\simeq 28000) spectra of six high- redshift QSOs taken at the ESO NTT telescope that allow the detailed study of the Ly-alpha population in the redshift interval z=2.8-4.1. The typical Doppler…
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 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…
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…
I explore the thermal evolution and ionization states in gas cooling from an initially hot state in the presence of external photoionizing radiation. I compute the equilibrium and nonequilibrium cooling efficiencies, heating rates, and ion…
Curve of growth analysis, applied to the Lyman series absorption ratios deduced in our previous paper, yields a measurement of the logarithmic slope of distribution of \Lya\ clouds in column density $N$. The observed exponential…
We report the serendipitous detection of a 0.2 L$^*$, Lyman-$\alpha$ emitting galaxy at redshift 2.5 at an impact parameter of 50 kpc from a bright background QSO sightline. A high-resolution spectrum of the QSO reveals a partial…
We have performed a multi-species hydrodynamical simulation of the formation and evolution of Lyman alpha clouds in a flat CDM dominated universe with an external flux of ionizing radiation. We solve the fully coupled non-equilibrium rate…
The density and temperature properties of the intergalactic medium (IGM) reflect the heating and ionization history during cosmological structure formation, and are primarily probed by the Lyman-alpha forest of neutral hydrogen absorption…
The reionization of helium is thought to occur at $2.5\lesssim z\lesssim4$, marking the last phase transition and final global heating event of the intergalactic medium (IGM). Since it is driven by rare quasars, helium reionization should…
Molecular hydrogen is quite underabundant in damped Lyman-alpha systems at high redshift, when compared to the interstellar medium near the Sun. This has been interpreted as implying that the gas in damped Lyman-alpha systems is warm. like…
Results are presented for one-dimensional numerical hydrodynamics computations of the structure and evolution of Lya forest clouds gravitationally confined by dark matter minihalos. The clouds are developed from linear perturbations at high…
The Doppler parameter distribution of Lyman-alpha absorption is calculated for a set of different reionization histories. The differences in temperature between different reionization histories are as large as a factor three to four…