2011/02/15 by Mark Dijkstra, Dijkstra, Mark
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1102.3157
The next generation of telescopes aim to directly observe the first\ngeneration of galaxies that initiated the reionization process in our Universe.\nThe Lyman Alpha (Lya) emission line is robustly predicted to be the most\nprominent intrinsic spectral feature of these galaxies, making it an ideal\ntarget to search for and study high-redshift galaxies. I briefly discuss why\nLya emitting galaxies (LAEs) provide a good probe of the intergalactic medium\n(IGM) during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). I argue that if we wish to fully\nexploit LAEs as a probe of the EoR, it is important to understand what drives\ntheir observed redshift evolution after reionization is completed. One\nimportant uncertainty in interpreting existing LAE observations relates to the\nimpact of the ionized IGM on Lya photons emitted by galaxies, which is strongly\nconnected to the effects of scattering through HI in galactic outflows.\nScattering through galactic outflows can also modify the Lya spectral line\nshape such that > 5% of the emitted Lya radiation is transmitted directly to\nthe observer, even through a fully neutral IGM. Finally, I discuss what is\nrequired --observationally and theoretically-- to resolve the uncertainties\nthat affect existing interpretations of data on LAEs.\n