Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 1210.2393

A Refined Estimate of the Ionizing Emissivity from Galaxies at z~3: Spectroscopic Follow-up in the SSA22a Field

Daniel B. Nestor·Alice E. Shapley·Katherine A. Kornei·Charles C. Steidel·Brian Siana
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We investigate the contribution of star-forming galaxies to the ionizing background at z~3, building on previous work based on narrowband (NB3640) imaging in the SSA22a field. We use new Keck/LRIS spectra of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) and narrowband-selected Lya emitters (LAEs) to measure redshifts for 16 LBGs and 87 LAEs at z>3.055, such that our NB3640 imaging probes the Lyman-continuum (LyC) region. When we include the existing set of spectroscopically-confirmed LBGs, our total sample with z>3.055 consists of 41 LBGs and 91 LAEs, of which nine LBGs and 20 LAEs are detected in our NB3640 image. With our combined imaging and spectroscopic data sets, we critically investigate the origin of NB3640 emission for detected LBGs and LAEs. We remove from our samples 3 LBGs and 3 LAEs with spectroscopic evidence of contamination of their NB3640 flux by foreground galaxies, and statistically model the effects of additional, unidentified foreground contaminants. The resulting contamination and LyC-detection rates, respectively, are 62 +/-13% and 8 +/-3% for our LBG sample, and 47 +/-10% and 12 +/-2% for our LAE sample. The corresponding ratios of non-ionizing UV to LyC flux-density, corrected for intergalactic medium (IGM) attenuation, are 18.0 +34.8/-7.4 for LBGs, and 3.7 +2.5/-1.1 for LAEs. We use these ratios to estimate the total contribution of star-forming galaxies to the ionizing background and the hydrogen photoionization rate in the IGM, finding values larger than, but consistent with, those measured in the Lya forest. Finally, the measured UV to LyC flux-density ratios imply model-dependent LyC escape fractions of f_{esc}^{LyC} ~ 5-7% for our LBG sample and f_{esc}^{LyC} ~ 10-30% for our fainter LAE sample.

Explore related subjects

astro-ph.CO

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Daniel B. Nestor, Alice E. Shapley, Katherine A. Kornei, Charles C. Steidel, Brian Siana. 2013-01-02. A Refined Estimate of the Ionizing Emissivity from Galaxies at z~3: Spectroscopic Follow-up in the SSA22a Field. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x%2F765%2F1%2F47

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Primordial black hole clustering from spectator fields for interpreting the JWST observations

The observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed unexpectedly massive galaxy candidates at high redshifts, posing a significant challenge to the $Λ$CDM model. In this work, we investigate whether primordial black holes (PBHs) with spatial clustering, generated by a light spectator field during inflation, can accelerate early structure formation. We adopt the galaxy candidates with inferred stellar mass $10^9\,M_\odot\leq M_*^{\rm obs}\leq10^{11}\,M_\odot$ at redshift $7 \leq z \leq 10$ reported by the CEERS program as a benchmark. Two different mechanisms are considered, through which PBH clustering can influence structure formation: the PBH-induced isocurvature perturbations that enhance the matter power spectrum on linear scales, and the localized seed formation and accretion by compact PBH clusters on nonlinear scales. We find that, when adopting the cosmic microwave background (CMB) isocurvature constraint $β_{\rm iso}<0.035$ at the benchmark pivot scale $k_*=0.002\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$, PBH clustering can produce a cumulative stellar mass density consistent with the JWST observations while satisfying the relevant isocurvature constraint. However, the allowed enhancement of structure formation is strongly suppressed when the constraint at $k_*=0.1\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$ is imposed, indicating a significant dependence on the choice of the pivot scale. In contrast, the localized seed effect of compact PBH clusters is strongly constrained by the CMB isocurvature bounds, while isolated supermassive PBHs produce stellar mass densities far below those inferred from the JWST observations. Our results show that PBH clustering induced by a spectator field can substantially accelerate early structure formation, but whether it can fully account for the JWST-inferred stellar mass density depends sensitively on the pivot scale adopted for the CMB isocurvature constraint.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2026

Probing memory-burdened Primordial Black Holes with global 21 cm signal

We investigate the imprints of memory-burdened primordial black holes (PBH) on the global 21 cm signal during the cosmic dawn. Recent studies reopened the possibility of a mass window of PBHs as a compelling candidate for dark matter, particularly in low-mass regimes ($M_{\text {PBH}}< 10^{15}$ g) where conventional constraints from evaporation are being revisited in light of quantum gravitational effects. One such effect, the \textit{memory burden effect}, slows down black hole evaporation by incorporating the backreaction of radiation on the black hole microstates, substantially extending the lifetime of light PBHs and thus modifying their late-time emission spectra. This prolonged emission can dramatically alter the energy injection history in the early universe. By computing the modified energy injection rates into the intergalactic medium and incorporating them into the thermal and ionization evolution of neutral hydrogen, we obtain projected constraints on the fraction of dark matter. The bounds are obtained from the fact that these low mass PBHs, which were thought otherwise evaporated, can modify the absorption amplitude in the global 21-cm signal at redshift $z\approx17$. Considering the two viable scenarios of transition to the memory-burden phase: fast (or instantaneous) and slow (transition with a finite width), we show how the 21 cm bounds are sensitive to different mass ranges. For a broad transition with $δ=10^{-2}$ we find that PBHs in the mass range $M_{\rm PBH}\simeq10^{8}$-$10^{13}$g are excluded at the level of $f_{\rm PBH}\gtrsim10^{-8}$. In contrast, for a fast-transition case with the lowest suppression exponent $k=1$, the evaporation is suppressed so efficiently that no meaningful 21\,cm constraint remains for $M_{\rm PBH}\gtrsim10^{7}$g.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2026

Axion Inflation with a Massive Abelian Gauge Field

An axial coupling between an inflaton and an Abelian gauge field can trigger the tachyonic amplification of one gauge-field helicity. For a massless vector, modes with physical momentum $k/a\sim |ξ|H$ are enhanced by approximately $\exp(π|ξ|)$, and sufficiently efficient production can provide substantial friction for the homogeneous inflaton. We extend this mechanism to a vector of mass $m$. The instability is present only for $|ξ|>\bar m\equiv m/H$, and in the heavy regime the mode amplitude scales as $\exp[π(|ξ|-\bar m)]$. Because the amplified modes remain well inside the Hubble radius when $\bar m\gg1$, their contribution to long-wavelength curvature perturbations $ζ$ is power-law suppressed at fixed background backreaction. In the weak-backreaction regime we obtain a spectrum ${\cal P}^{\rm id}_ζ \propto \bar m^{-w}$, with $w \sim 2$, while including the gauge-induced friction of scalar perturbations gives the scaling ${\cal P}^{\rm id}_ζ\propto \bar{m}^{-s}$, with $s$ between three and four. These estimates indicate that ${\cal P}^{\rm id}_ζ\lesssim 10^{-9}$ on CMB scales should be compatible with gauge field backreaction for $\bar{m}$ larger than order a few hundred. We test the analytical mode functions and backreaction estimates with the first lattice simulations based on a massive-vector extension of the \texttt{Pencil Code}, including simulations in the strongly backreacting regime.

astro-ph.CO↗