%0 Generic %1 elias2020detecting %A Elias, Lydia M. %A Genel, Shy %A Sternberg, Amiel %A Devriendt, Julien %A Slyz, Adrianne %A Visbal, Eli %A Bouché, Nicolas %D 2020 %K library %T Detecting the Cosmic Web: Ly\alpha Emission from Simulated Filaments at z=3 %U http://arxiv.org/abs/2004.09518 %X The standard cosmological model ($Łambda$CDM) predicts the existence of the cosmic web: a distribution of matter into sheets and filaments connecting massive halos. However, observational evidence has been elusive due to the low surface brightness of the filaments. Recent deep MUSE/VLT data and upcoming observations offer a promising avenue for Ly$\alpha$ detection, motivating the development of modern theoretical predictions. We use hydrodynamical cosmological simulations run with the AREPO code to investigate the potential detectability of large-scale filaments, excluding contributions from the halos embedded in them. We focus on filaments connecting massive ($M_200c\sim(1-3)\times10^12 M_ødot$) halos at z=3, and compare different simulation resolutions, feedback levels, and mock-image pixel sizes. We find increasing simulation resolution does not substantially improve detectability notwithstanding the intrinsic enhancement of internal filament structure. By contrast, for a MUSE integration of 31 hours, including feedback increases the detectable area by a factor of $\simeq$5.5 on average compared with simulations without feedback, implying that even the non-bound components of the filaments have substantial sensitivity to feedback. Degrading the image resolution from the native MUSE scale of (0.2")$^2$ per pixel to (5.3")$^2$ apertures has the strongest effect, increasing the detectable area by a median factor of $\simeq$200 and is most effective when the size of the pixel roughly matches the width of the filament. Finally, we find the majority of Ly$\alpha$ emission is due to electron impact collisional excitations, as opposed to radiative recombination.

@misc{elias2020detecting, abstract = {The standard cosmological model ($\Lambda$CDM) predicts the existence of the cosmic web: a distribution of matter into sheets and filaments connecting massive halos. However, observational evidence has been elusive due to the low surface brightness of the filaments. Recent deep MUSE/VLT data and upcoming observations offer a promising avenue for Ly$\alpha$ detection, motivating the development of modern theoretical predictions. We use hydrodynamical cosmological simulations run with the AREPO code to investigate the potential detectability of large-scale filaments, excluding contributions from the halos embedded in them. We focus on filaments connecting massive ($M_{200c}\sim(1-3)\times10^{12} M_\odot$) halos at z=3, and compare different simulation resolutions, feedback levels, and mock-image pixel sizes. We find increasing simulation resolution does not substantially improve detectability notwithstanding the intrinsic enhancement of internal filament structure. By contrast, for a MUSE integration of 31 hours, including feedback increases the detectable area by a factor of $\simeq$5.5 on average compared with simulations without feedback, implying that even the non-bound components of the filaments have substantial sensitivity to feedback. Degrading the image resolution from the native MUSE scale of (0.2")$^2$ per pixel to (5.3")$^2$ apertures has the strongest effect, increasing the detectable area by a median factor of $\simeq$200 and is most effective when the size of the pixel roughly matches the width of the filament. Finally, we find the majority of Ly$\alpha$ emission is due to electron impact collisional excitations, as opposed to radiative recombination.}, added-at = {2020-04-22T14:58:18.000+0200}, author = {Elias, Lydia M. and Genel, Shy and Sternberg, Amiel and Devriendt, Julien and Slyz, Adrianne and Visbal, Eli and Bouché, Nicolas}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2ef76dee0ba495c91d2077483c7fbd6ae/gpkulkarni}, description = {Detecting the Cosmic Web: Ly{\alpha} Emission from Simulated Filaments at z=3}, interhash = {44155fbad579fd8c7e4ad323d45323ea}, intrahash = {ef76dee0ba495c91d2077483c7fbd6ae}, keywords = {library}, note = {cite arxiv:2004.09518}, timestamp = {2020-04-22T14:58:18.000+0200}, title = {Detecting the Cosmic Web: Ly{\alpha} Emission from Simulated Filaments at z=3}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2004.09518}, year = 2020 }