Related papers: Ionizing Photon Sources within the Local Group
We re-examine scattering of photons near the Lyman-alpha resonance in the intergalactic medium (IGM). We first derive a general integral solution for the radiation field around resonance when spin diffusivity is ignored. Our solution shows…
The physical origin of low escape fractions of ionizing radiation derived from massive star-forming galaxies at $z\sim3$-$4$ is not well understood. We perform idealised disc galaxy simulations to understand how galactic properties such as…
The H-alpha luminosity density of galaxies is used to calculate the local diffuse radiation field at the Lyman limit as resulting from star formation in the universe. The fraction of Lyman continuum radiation leaking out from galaxies…
The reionization epoch concludes when ionizing photons reach every corner of the Universe. Reionization has generally been assumed to be limited primarily by the rate at which galaxies produce ionizing photons, but the recent measurement of…
We have detected faint, diffuse H$\alpha emission from several points along the Magellanic Stream, using the Rutgers Fabry--Perot Interferometer at the CTIO 1.5-m telescope. At points on the leading edges of the H I clouds MS II, MS III,…
The dominant gaseous structure in the Galactic halo is the Magellanic Stream, an extended network of neutral and ionized filaments surrounding the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC/SMC), the two most massive satellite galaxies of the…
We use a three-dimensional radiation transfer code to calculate the steady-state escape fraction of ionizing photons from disk galaxies as a function of redshift and galaxy mass. The gaseous disks are assumed to be isothermal (with a sound…
In this paper, we address which sources contributed most of the reionizing photons. Our argument assumes that the reionization ended around z ~ 6 and that it was a relatively quick process, i.e., that there was a non-negligible fraction of…
Inverse Compton scattering by relativistic electrons produces a major component of the diffuse emission from the Galaxy. The photon fields involved are the cosmic microwave background and the interstellar radiation field from stars and…
If enough of their Lyman limit continuum escapes, star-forming galaxies could be significant contributors to the cosmic background of ionizing photons. To investigate this possibility, we obtained the first deep imaging in the far…
Photoionized nebulae, comprising HII regions and planetary nebulae, are excellent laboratories to investigate the nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution of several elements in the Galaxy and other galaxies of the Local Group. Our purpose in…
(Abridged) We present an analysis of ionization and metal enrichment in the Magellanic Stream (MS), the nearest gaseous tidal stream, using HST/STIS and FUSE ultraviolet spectroscopy of two background AGN, NGC 7469 and Mrk 335. For NGC…
The demographics of the production and escape of ionizing photons from UV-faint early galaxies is a key unknown in discovering the primary drivers of reionization. With the advent of JWST it is finally possible to observe the rest-frame…
Galaxy groups form the environment of the majority of galaxies in the local Universe, and many host an extended hot intra-group medium whose radiative cooling appears to fuel, and be stabilised by, feedback from AGN in group-central…
Recent highly sensitive detections of line emission from extended gas in the local universe demonstrate the feasibility of detecting H$\alpha$ emitting galactic halos out to $z\sim1$. We determine the form of the surface brightness vs.…
An upper limit to the importance of local sources of radiation compared to the cosmic background in cosmological absorption systems is derived, as a simple consequence of the conservation of surface brightness. The limit depends only on the…
Cosmic rays are usually assumed to be the main ionization agent for the interior of molecular clouds where UV and X-ray photons cannot penetrate. Here we test this hypothesis by limiting ourselves to the case of diffuse clouds and assuming…
The discovery of Lyman-alpha emission from galaxies at redshifts beyond z~6.5 should not be naively interpreted as implying that the intergalactic medium (IGM) had been reionized at higher redsifts. We show that a cluster of faint…
Compact, low-mass galaxies with strong nebular emission are considered promising candidates for efficient ionizing photon production and escape. We present a spatially resolved analysis of 189 galaxies at redshifts $z \sim 6.7-7.6$ in JADES…
The origin of the X-ray emission from the central region of the Galaxy has remained a mystery, despite extensive study over the past two decades. A fundamental question is the relative contribution of the point-source and diffuse components…