This content will become publicly available on October 7, 2022

The mean free path of ionizing photons at 5 < z < 6: evidence for rapid evolution near reionization
ABSTRACT The mean free path of ionizing photons, λmfp, is a key factor in the photoionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM). At z ≳ 5, however, λmfp may be short enough that measurements towards QSOs are biased by the QSO proximity effect. We present new direct measurements of λmfp that address this bias and extend up to z ∼ 6 for the first time. Our measurements at z ∼ 5 are based on data from the Giant Gemini GMOS survey and new Keck LRIS observations of low-luminosity QSOs. At z ∼ 6 we use QSO spectra from Keck ESI and VLT X-Shooter. We measure $\lambda _{\rm mfp} = 9.09^{+1.62}_{-1.28}$ proper Mpc and $0.75^{+0.65}_{-0.45}$ proper Mpc (68 per cent confidence) at z = 5.1 and 6.0, respectively. The results at z = 5.1 are consistent with existing measurements, suggesting that bias from the proximity effect is minor at this redshift. At z = 6.0, however, we find that neglecting the proximity effect biases the result high by a factor of two or more. Our measurement at z = 6.0 falls well below extrapolations from lower redshifts, indicating rapid evolution in λmfp over 5 < z < 6. This evolution disfavours models in which reionization ended early enough more »
Authors:
; ; ; ; ;
Award ID(s):
Publication Date:
NSF-PAR ID:
10331606
Journal Name:
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume:
508
Issue:
2
Page Range or eLocation-ID:
1853 to 1869
ISSN:
0035-8711
3. ABSTRACT Reionization-era galaxies tend to exhibit weak Ly α emission, likely reflecting attenuation from an increasingly neutral IGM. Recent observations have begun to reveal exceptions to this picture, with strong Ly α emission now known in four of the most massive z = 7–9 galaxies in the CANDELS fields, all of which also exhibit intense [O iii]+H β emission (EW > 800 Å). To better understand why Ly α is anomalously strong in a subset of massive z ≃ 7–9 galaxies, we have initiated an MMT/Binospec survey targeting a larger sample (N = 22) of similarly luminous (≃1–6 L$^{\ast }_{\mathrm{UV}}$) z ≃ 7 galaxies selected over verymore »
5. ABSTRACT We present 10 main-sequence ALPINE galaxies (log (M/M⊙) = 9.2−11.1 and ${\rm SFR}=23-190\, {\rm M_{\odot }\, yr^{-1}}$) at z ∼ 4.5 with optical [O ii] measurements from Keck/MOSFIRE spectroscopy and Subaru/MOIRCS narrow-band imaging. This is the largest such multiwavelength sample at these redshifts, combining various measurements in the ultraviolet, optical, and far-infrared including [C ii]158 $\mu$m line emission and dust continuum from ALMA and H α emission from Spitzer photometry. For the first time, this unique sample allows us to analyse the relation between [O ii] and total star-formation rate (SFR) and the interstellar medium (ISM) properties via [O ii]/[C ii] and [O ii]/H α luminosity ratios at z ∼ 4.5. The [O ii]−SFR relationmore »