| 1. |
- Flury, Sophia R., et al.
(författare)
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The Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey. I. New, Diverse Local Lyman Continuum Emitters
- 2022
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 260:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The origins of Lyman continuum (LyC) photons responsible for the reionization of the universe are as of yet unknown and highly contested. Detecting LyC photons from the Epoch of Reionization is not possible due to absorption by the intergalactic medium, which has prompted the development of several indirect diagnostics to infer the rate at which galaxies contribute LyC photons to reionize the universe by studying lower-redshift analogs. We present the Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey (LzLCS) comprising measurements made with the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph for a z = 0.2-0.4 sample of 66 galaxies. After careful processing of the far-UV spectra, we obtain a total of 35 Lyman continuum emitters (LCEs) detected with 97.725% confidence, nearly tripling the number of known local LCEs. We estimate escape fractions from the detected LyC flux and upper limits on the undetected LyC flux, finding a range of LyC escape fractions up to 50%. Of the 35 LzLCS LCEs, 12 have LyC escape fractions greater than 5%, more than doubling the number of known local LCEs with cosmologically relevant LyC escape.
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| 2. |
- Flury, Sophia R., et al.
(författare)
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The Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey. II. New Insights into LyC Diagnostics
- 2022
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 930:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Lyman continuum (LyC) cannot be observed at the epoch of reionization (z greater than or similar to 6) owing to intergalactic H i absorption. To identify LyC emitters (LCEs) and infer the fraction of escaping LyC, astronomers have developed various indirect diagnostics of LyC escape. Using measurements of the LyC from the Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey (LzLCS), we present the first statistical test of these diagnostics. While optical depth indicators based on Ly alpha, such as peak velocity separation and equivalent width, perform well, we also find that other diagnostics, such as the [O iii]/[O ii] flux ratio and star formation rate surface density, predict whether a galaxy is an LCE. The relationship between these galaxy properties and the fraction of escaping LyC flux suggests that LyC escape depends strongly on H i column density, ionization parameter, and stellar feedback. We find that LCEs occupy a range of stellar masses, metallicities, star formation histories, and ionization parameters, which may indicate episodic and/or different physical causes of LyC escape.
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| 3. |
- Micheva, Genoveva, et al.
(författare)
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Spatially Resolved C iii] λ1909 Emission in Haro 11
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 903:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The C iii] 1909 (hereafter C iii]) line is the strongest ultraviolet emission line after Ly alpha and is therefore of interest to high-redshift studies of star-forming (SF) galaxies near the epoch of reionization. It is thought that C iii] emission is strongest in galaxies with subsolar metallicity and low mass; however, spectral observations of numerous such galaxies at high and low redshift produce inconclusive or even contradictory results. We present the first-ever C iii] imaging, obtained with HST/STIS for the low-redshift SF galaxy Haro 11. Cluster parameters like stellar mass, dust fraction and attenuation, and ionization parameter, obtained through spectral energy distribution fitting, show no correlation with the C iii] equivalent width (EW), which may be due to a combination of the limitation of the models and the age homogeneity of the cluster population. Comparing the ratio of C iii] emission line flux from individual clusters to that of H alpha, [O iii], and [O ii], we find that the clusters with the highest EW(C iii]) can be reconciled only with Cloudy models with an extremely high C/O ratio of >= 1.4(C/O) for an ionizing population of single stars, binary stars, or a mixture of binary stars and active galactic nuclei. Given the pointlike nature of strong C iii], the integrated total strength of EW(C iii]) becomes dependent on the morphology of the galaxy, which would explain the large scatter in EW(C iii]) strengths observed in galaxies with otherwise similar SF properties and of similarly low metallicity and stellar mass.
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| 4. |
- Yamanaka, Satoshi, et al.
(författare)
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Testing an indirect method for identifying galaxies with high levels of Lyman continuum leakage
- 2020
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 498:3, s. 3095-3114
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Using a sample of galaxies at z approximate to 3 with detected Lyman Continuum (LyC) leakage in the SSA22 field, we attempt to verify a proposed indirect method for identifying cases with high LyC escape fraction f(esc) based on measurements of the H beta equivalent width (EW) and the beta slope of the UV continuum. To this end, we present Keck/MOSFIRE H beta emission line flux measurements of LyC galaxies (LCGs) at spectroscopic redshifts z(spec) similar to 3.3, Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at photometric redshifts z(phot) = 2.7-3.7, and Ly alpha emitters at z(phot) = 3.1. We also reconfirm the spectroscopic redshifts and measure the H beta emission-line fluxes from two LCGs and six LBGs. For the LCG in our sample with the most extreme f(esc), as revealed by the direct detection of LyC photons, we find that the EW(H beta)-beta method gives a broadly consistent estimate for f(esc), although the error bars remain very large. We also discuss how a combination of f(esc) measurements based on direct and indirect methods can shed light on the LyC escape mechanism and the anisotropy of the leakage.
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| 5. |
- Östlin, Göran, et al.
(författare)
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The Source of Leaking Ionizing Photons from Haro11 : Clues from HST/COS Spectroscopy of Knots A, B, and C
- 2021
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 912:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding the escape of ionizing (Lyman continuum) photons from galaxies is vital for determining how galaxies contributed to reionization in the early universe. While directly detecting the Lyman continuum from high-redshift galaxies is impossible due to the intergalactic medium, low-redshift galaxies in principle offer this possibility but require observations from space. The first local galaxy for which Lyman continuum escape was found is Haro 11, a luminous blue compact galaxy at z = 0.02, where observations with the FUSE satellite revealed an escape fraction of 3.3%. However, the FUSE aperture covers the entire galaxy, and it is not clear from where the Lyman continuum is leaking out. Here we utilize Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph spectroscopy in the wavelength range 1100-1700 angstrom of the three knots (A, B, and C) of Haro 11 to study the presence of Ly alpha emission and the properties of intervening gas. We find that all knots have bright Ly alpha emission. UV absorption lines, originating in the neutral interstellar medium, as well as lines probing the ionized medium, are seen extending to blueshifted velocities of 500 km s(-1) in all three knots, demonstrating the presence of an outflowing multiphase medium. We find that knots A and B have large covering fractions of neutral gas, making LyC escape along these sightlines improbable, while knot C has a much lower covering fraction (less than or similar to 50%). Knot C also has the the highest Ly alpha escape fraction, and we conclude that it is the most likely source of the escaping Lyman continuum detected in Haro 11.
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