The cosmic web's Lyman-α glow at z ≈ 2.5; hydrodynamic models, dust, and wide-field, narrow-band detection

2025/10/08 by Oleksii Sokoliuk, John K. Webb, Sokoliuk, Oleksii +33
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology #astro-ph.CO #astro-ph.GA

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2510.07259

openalex publication_date 2025/10/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

The diffuse Lyman-α glow of the cosmic web has long been predicted but has so far eluded direct detection over cosmologically significant volumes. We construct synthetic Lyman-α surface-brightness maps using five state-of-the-art hydrodynamic simulations (IllustrisTNG, EAGLE, CROCODILE, SIMBA, and Sherwood), modeling recombination, collisional excitation, star formation, and localized dust attenuation. Our study focuses on the redshift range 2.0

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