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1. The Relationship between IGM Lyα Opacity and Galaxy Density near the End of Reionization

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acf450  

   Christenson, Holly M.; Becker, George D.; D’Aloisio, Anson; Davies, Frederick B.; Zhu, Yongda; Boera, Elisa; Nasir, Fahad; Furlanetto, Steven R.; Malkan, Matthew A. (September 2023, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract Observed scatter in the Lyαopacity of quasar sightlines atz< 6 has motivated measurements of the correlation between Lyαopacity and galaxy density, as models that predict this scatter make strong and sometimes opposite predictions for how they should be related. Our previous work associated two highly opaque Lyαtroughs atz∼ 5.7 with a deficit of Lyαemitting galaxies (LAEs). In this work, we survey two of the most highly transmissive lines of sight at this redshift toward thez= 6.02 quasar SDSS J1306+0356 and thez= 6.17 quasar PSO J359-06. We find that both fields are underdense in LAEs within 10h⁻¹Mpc of the quasar sightline, somewhat less extensive than underdensities associated with Lyαtroughs. We combine our observations with three additional fields from the literature and find that while fields with extreme opacities are generally underdense, moderate opacities span a wider density range. The results at high opacities are consistent with models that invoke UV background fluctuations and/or late reionization to explain the observed scatter in intergalactic medium (IGM) Lyαopacities. There is tension at low opacities, however, as the models tend to associate lower IGM Lyαopacities with higher densities. Although the number of fields surveyed is still small, the low-opacity results may support a scenario in which the ionizing background in low-density regions increases more rapidly than some models suggest after becoming ionized. Elevated gas temperatures from recent reionization may also be making these regions more transparent. 

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2. On the correlation between Ly α forest opacity and galaxy density in late reionization models

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2025/03/069  

   Gangolli, Nakul; D'Aloisio, Anson; Cain, Christopher; Becker, George D; Christenson, Holly (March 2025, Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics)

   Abstract Observations of quasar absorption spectra provide strong evidence that reionization extended belowz= 6. The relationship between Lyαforest opacity and local galaxy density (the opacity-density relation) is a key observational test of this scenario. Using narrow-band surveys ofz≈ 5.7 Lyαemitters (LAEs) centered on quasar sight lines, ref. [1] showed that two of the most transmissive Lyαforest segments at this redshift intersect under-densities in the galaxy distribution. This result is in tension with models of a strongly fluctuating ionizing background, including some models of late reionization, which predict that the vast majority of these segments should intersect over-densities where the ionizing intensity is strongest. In this paper, we use radiative transfer simulations to explore in more detail the opacity-density relation predicted by late reionization models. We find that fields like the one toward quasar PSO J359-06 — the more under-dense of the two transmissive sight lines in ref. [1] — are typically associated with recently reionized gas inside of cosmic voids where the hotter temperatures and rarefied densities enhance Lyαtransmission. The opacity-density relation's transmissive end is sensitive to the amount of neutral gas in the voids, as well as its morphology, set by the clustering of reionization sources. These effects are, however, largely degenerate with each other. We demonstrate that models with very different source clustering can nonetheless yield nearly identical opacity-density relations when their reionization histories are calibrated to match Lyα forest mean flux measurements atz< 6. In models with fixed source clustering, a lower neutral fraction increases the likelihood of intersecting hot, recently reionized gas in the voids, increasing the likelihood of observing fields like PSO J359-06. For instance, the probability of observing this field is 15% in a model with neutral fractionx_HI= 5% atz= 5.7, three times more likely than in a model withx_HI= 15%. The opacity-density relation may thus provide a complementary probe of reionization's tail end. 

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3. Hydrogen reionization ends by z = 5.3: Lyman-α optical depth measured by the XQR-30 sample

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac1046  

   Bosman, Sarah E; Davies, Frederick B; Becker, George D; Keating, Laura C; Davies, Rebecca L; Zhu, Yongda; Eilers, Anna-Christina; D’Odorico, Valentina; Bian, Fuyan; Bischetti, Manuela; et al (June 2022, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   ABSTRACT The presence of excess scatter in the Ly-α forest at z ∼ 5.5, together with the existence of sporadic extended opaque Gunn-Peterson troughs, has started to provide robust evidence for a late end of hydrogen reionization. However, low data quality and systematic uncertainties complicate the use of Ly-α transmission as a precision probe of reionization’s end stages. In this paper, we assemble a sample of 67 quasar sightlines at z > 5.5 with high signal-to-noise ratios of >10 per ≤15 km s−1 spectral pixel, relying largely on the new XQR-30 quasar sample. XQR-30 is a large program on VLT/X-Shooter which obtained deep (SNR > 20 per pixel) spectra of 30 quasars at z > 5.7. We carefully account for systematics in continuum reconstruction, instrumentation, and contamination by damped Ly-α systems. We present improved measurements of the mean Ly-α transmission over 4.9 < z < 6.1. Using all known systematics in a forward modelling analysis, we find excellent agreement between the observed Ly-α transmission distributions and the homogeneous-UVB simulations Sherwood and Nyx up to z ≤ 5.2 (<1σ), and mild tension (∼2.5σ) at z = 5.3. Homogeneous UVB models are ruled out by excess Ly-α transmission scatter at z ≥ 5.4 with high confidence (>3.5σ). Our results indicate that reionization-related fluctuations, whether in the UVB, residual neutral hydrogen fraction, and/or IGM temperature, persist in the intergalactic medium until at least z = 5.3 (t = 1.1 Gyr after the big bang). This is further evidence for a late end to reionization. 

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4. The Evolution of Lyα Emitter Line Widths from z = 5.7 to z = 6.6

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac8051  

   Songaila, A.; Barger, A. J.; Cowie, L. L.; Hu, E. M.; Taylor, A. J. (August 2022, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract Recent evidence suggests that high-redshift Ly α emitting galaxies (LAEs) with log L ( Ly α ) > 43.5 erg s − 1 , referred to as ultraluminous LAEs (ULLAEs), may show less evolution than lower-luminosity LAEs in the redshift range z = 5.7–6.6. Here we explore the redshift evolution of the velocity widths of the Ly α emission lines in LAEs over this redshift interval. We use new wide-field, narrowband observations from Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam to provide a sample of 24 z = 6.6 and 12 z = 5.7 LAEs with log L ( Ly α ) > 43 erg s − 1 , all of which have follow-up spectroscopy from Keck/DEIMOS. Combining with archival lower-luminosity data, we find a significant narrowing of the Ly α lines in LAEs at log L ( Ly α ) < 43.25 erg s − 1 —somewhat lower than the usual ULLAE definition—at z = 6.6 relative to those at z = 5.7, but we do not see this in higher-luminosity LAEs. As we move to higher redshifts, the increasing neutrality of the intergalactic medium should increase the scattering of the Ly α lines, making them narrower. The absence of this effect in the higher-luminosity LAEs suggests they may lie in more highly ionized regions, self-shielding from the scattering effects of the intergalactic medium. 

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5. Constraining reionization in progress at z  = 5.7 with Lyman-α emitters: voids, peaks, and cosmic variance

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa3843  

   Gangolli, Nakul; D’Aloisio, Anson; Nasir, Fahad; Zheng, Zheng (January 2021, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   null (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT A number of independent observations suggest that the intergalactic medium was significantly neutral at z = 7 and that reionization was, perhaps, still in progress at z = 5.7. The narrowband survey, SILVERRUSH, has mapped over 2000 Lyman-α emitters (LAEs) at these redshifts ( G58). Previous analyses have assumed that reionization was over by z = 5.7, but this data may actually sample the final stages of reionization when the last neutral islands were relegated to the cosmic voids. Motivated by these developments, we re-examine LAE void and peak statistics and their ability to constrain reionization. We construct models of the LAE distribution in (1 Gpc h−1)3 volumes, spanning a range of neutral fractions at z = 5.7 and 6.6. Models with a higher neutral fraction show an enhanced probability of finding holes in the LAE distribution. When comparing models at fixed mean surface density, however, LAEs obscured by neutral gas in the voids must be compensated by visible LAEs elsewhere. Hence, in these models, the likelihood of finding an overdense peak is also enhanced in the latter half of reionization. Compared to the widely used angular two-point correlation function (2PCF), we find that the void probability function (VPF) provides a more sensitive test of models during the latter half of reionization. By comparison, at neutral fractions $$\sim 50{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$$, the VPF and a simple peak thresholding statistic are both similar to the 2PCF in constraining power. Lastly, we find that the cosmic variance and large-scale asymmetries observed in the SILVERRUSH fields are consistent with large-scale structure in a ΛCDM universe. 

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