2025/04/08 by Erik M. Solhaug, Hsiao‐Wen Chen, Mandy C. Chen +7 · 1 voice
Physics and Astronomy · #Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology
paper · doi:10.33232/001c.134065
openalex publication_date 2025/04/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
The hydrogen Lyman-alpha (Ly <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>α</mml:mi> </mml:math> ) emission line, the brightest spectral feature of a photoionized gas, is considered an indirect tracer of the escape of Lyman continuum (LyC) photons, particularly when the intergalactic medium is too opaque for direct detection. However, resonant scattering complicates interpreting the empirical properties of Ly <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>α</mml:mi> </mml:math> photons, necessitating radiative transfer simulations to capture their strong coupling with underlying gas kinematics. In this study, we leverage the exceptional spatial resolution from strong gravitational lensing to investigate the connection between Ly <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>α</mml:mi> </mml:math> line profiles and LyC leakage on scales of a few 100 pc in the Sunburst Arc galaxy at <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>z</mml:mi> <mml:mo>∼</mml:mo> <mml:mn>2.37</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . New optical echelle spectra obtained using Magellan MIKE show that both the LyC leaking and non-leaking regions exhibit a classic double-peak Ly <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>α</mml:mi> </mml:math> feature with an enhanced red peak, indicating outflows at multiple locations in the galaxy. Both regions also show a central Gaussian peak atop the double peaks, indicating directly escaped Ly <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>α</mml:mi> </mml:math> photons independent of LyC leakage. We introduce a machine learning-based method for emulating Ly <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>α</mml:mi> </mml:math> simulations to quantify intrinsic dynamics ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>σ</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">i</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">n</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">t</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:math> ), neutral hydrogen column density ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>N</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">H</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">I</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:math> ), outflow velocity ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>v</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">e</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">x</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">p</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:math> ), and effective temperature ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>T</mml:mi> </mml:math> ) across continuous parameter spaces. By comparing the spatially and spectrally resolved Ly <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>α</mml:mi> </mml:math> lines in Sunburst, we argue that the directly escaped Ly <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>α</mml:mi> </mml:math> photons originate in a volume-filling, warm ionized medium spanning <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>∼</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> kpc, while the LyC leakage is confined to regions of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>≲</mml:mo> <mml:mn>200</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> pc. These sub-kpc variations in Ly <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>α</mml:mi> </mml:math> profiles highlight the complexity of interpreting integrated properties in the presence of inhomogeneous mixtures of gas and young stars, emphasizing the need for spatially and spectrally resolved observations of distant galaxies.