Model-independent evidence in favor of an end to reionization by z~6
I. McGreer, A. Mesinger, und V. D'Odorico. (2014)cite arxiv:1411.5375Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication by MNRAS.
Zusammenfassung
We present new upper limits on the volume-weighted neutral hydrogen fraction,
<xHI>, at z~5-6 derived from spectroscopy of bright quasars. The fraction of
the Lyman-alpha and Lyman-beta forests that is "dark" (with zero flux) provides
the only model-independent upper limit on <xHI>, requiring no assumptions about
the physical conditions in the intergalactic medium or the quasar's unabsorbed
UV continuum. In this work we update our previous results using a larger sample
(22 objects) of medium-depth (~ few hours) spectra of high-redshift quasars
obtained with the Magellan, MMT, and VLT. This significantly improves the upper
bound on <xHI> derived from dark pixel analysis to <xHI> <= 0.06 + 0.05
(1\sigma) at z=5.9, and <xHI> <= 0.04 + 0.05 (1\sigma) at z=5.6. These
results provide robust constraints for theoretical models of reionization, and
provide the strongest available evidence that reionization has completed (or is
very nearly complete) by z~6.
Beschreibung
[1411.5375] Model-independent evidence in favor of an end to reionization by z~6
%0 Generic
%1 mcgreer2014modelindependent
%A McGreer, Ian
%A Mesinger, Andrei
%A D'Odorico, Valentina
%D 2014
%K HI end fraction igm neutral reionization
%T Model-independent evidence in favor of an end to reionization by z~6
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1411.5375
%X We present new upper limits on the volume-weighted neutral hydrogen fraction,
<xHI>, at z~5-6 derived from spectroscopy of bright quasars. The fraction of
the Lyman-alpha and Lyman-beta forests that is "dark" (with zero flux) provides
the only model-independent upper limit on <xHI>, requiring no assumptions about
the physical conditions in the intergalactic medium or the quasar's unabsorbed
UV continuum. In this work we update our previous results using a larger sample
(22 objects) of medium-depth (~ few hours) spectra of high-redshift quasars
obtained with the Magellan, MMT, and VLT. This significantly improves the upper
bound on <xHI> derived from dark pixel analysis to <xHI> <= 0.06 + 0.05
(1\sigma) at z=5.9, and <xHI> <= 0.04 + 0.05 (1\sigma) at z=5.6. These
results provide robust constraints for theoretical models of reionization, and
provide the strongest available evidence that reionization has completed (or is
very nearly complete) by z~6.
@misc{mcgreer2014modelindependent,
abstract = {We present new upper limits on the volume-weighted neutral hydrogen fraction,
<xHI>, at z~5-6 derived from spectroscopy of bright quasars. The fraction of
the Lyman-alpha and Lyman-beta forests that is "dark" (with zero flux) provides
the only model-independent upper limit on <xHI>, requiring no assumptions about
the physical conditions in the intergalactic medium or the quasar's unabsorbed
UV continuum. In this work we update our previous results using a larger sample
(22 objects) of medium-depth (~ few hours) spectra of high-redshift quasars
obtained with the Magellan, MMT, and VLT. This significantly improves the upper
bound on <xHI> derived from dark pixel analysis to <xHI> <= 0.06 + 0.05
(1{\sigma}) at z=5.9, and <xHI> <= 0.04 + 0.05 (1{\sigma}) at z=5.6. These
results provide robust constraints for theoretical models of reionization, and
provide the strongest available evidence that reionization has completed (or is
very nearly complete) by z~6.},
added-at = {2014-11-21T09:56:48.000+0100},
author = {McGreer, Ian and Mesinger, Andrei and D'Odorico, Valentina},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2de39608ac7d2d43914c54430d362d84a/miki},
description = {[1411.5375] Model-independent evidence in favor of an end to reionization by z~6},
interhash = {696c757677fa2c57838042e8623a89b1},
intrahash = {de39608ac7d2d43914c54430d362d84a},
keywords = {HI end fraction igm neutral reionization},
note = {cite arxiv:1411.5375Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication by MNRAS},
timestamp = {2014-11-21T09:56:48.000+0100},
title = {Model-independent evidence in favor of an end to reionization by z~6},
url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1411.5375},
year = 2014
}