TY  - JOUR
A1  - Worseck, Gabor
A1  - Davies, Frederick B.
A1  - Hennawi, Joseph F.
A1  - Prochaska, J. Xavier
T1  - The Evolution of the He II-ionizing Background at Redshifts 2.3 < z < 3.8 Inferred from a Statistical Sample of 24 HST/COS He II Lyα Absorption Spectra
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
N2  - We present measurements of the large-scale (≈40 comoving Mpc) effective optical depth of He ii Lyα absorption, ${\tau }_{\mathrm{eff}}$, at 2.54 < z < 3.86 toward 16 He ii-transparent quasars observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope, to characterize the ionization state of helium in the intergalactic medium (IGM). We provide the first statistical sample of ${\tau }_{\mathrm{eff}}$ measurements in six signal-to-noise ratio gsim3 He ii sightlines at z > 3.5, and study the redshift evolution and sightline-to-sightline variance of ${\tau }_{\mathrm{eff}}$ in 24 He ii sightlines. We confirm an increase of the median ${\tau }_{\mathrm{eff}}$ from sime2 at z = 2.7 to ${\tau }_{\mathrm{eff}}\gtrsim 5$ at z > 3, and a scatter in ${\tau }_{\mathrm{eff}}$ that increases with redshift. The z > 3.5 He ii absorption is predominantly saturated, but isolated narrow (Δv < 650 km s−1) transmission spikes indicate patches of reionized helium. We compare our measurements to predictions for a range of UV background models applied to outputs of a large-volume (146 comoving Mpc)3 hydrodynamical simulation by forward-modeling our sample's quality and size. At z > 2.74, the variance in ${\tau }_{\mathrm{eff}}$ significantly exceeds expectations for a spatially uniform UV background, but is consistent with a fluctuating radiation field sourced by variations in the quasar number density and the mean free path in the post-reionization IGM. We develop a method to infer the approximate median He ii photoionization rate ${{\rm{\Gamma }}}_{\mathrm{He}{\rm{II}}}$ of a fluctuating UV background from the median ${\tau }_{\mathrm{eff}}$, finding a factor sime5 decrease in ${{\rm{\Gamma }}}_{\mathrm{He}{\rm{II}}}$ between z sime 2.6 and z sime 3.1. At z sime 3.1, ${{\rm{\Gamma }}}_{\mathrm{He}{\rm{II}}}=\left[{9.1}_{-1.2}^{+1.1}\,(\mathrm{stat}.){\,}_{-3.4}^{+2.4}\,(\mathrm{sys}.)\right]\times {10}^{-16}$ s−1 corresponds to a median He ii fraction of sime2.5%, indicating that our data probe the tail end of He ii reionization.
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
KW  - diffuse radiation
KW  - intergalactic medium
KW  - quasars: absorption lines
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab0fa1
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
VL  - 875
IS  - 2
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Worseck, Gabor
A1  - Prochaska, J. Xavier
A1  - McQuinn, Matthew
A1  - Dall'Aglio, Aldo
A1  - Fechner, Cora
A1  - Hennawi, Joseph F.
A1  - Reimers, Dieter
A1  - Richter, Philipp
A1  - Wisotzki, Lutz
T1  - The end of Helium Reionization at z similar or equal to 2.7 Inferred  from cosmic variance in HST/COS He II Ly alpha Absorption spectra
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics ; Part 2, Letters
N2  - We report on the detection of strongly varying intergalactic He II absorption in HST/COS spectra of two z(em) similar or equal to 3 quasars. From our homogeneous analysis of the He II absorption in these and three archival sightlines, we find a marked increase in the mean He II effective optical depth from <tau(eff, He II)> similar or equal to 1 at z similar or equal to 2.3 to <tau(eff, He II)> greater than or similar to 5 at z similar or equal to 3.2, but with a large scatter of 2 less than or similar to tau(eff, He II) less than or similar to 5 at 2.7 < z < 3 on scales of similar to 10 proper Mpc. This scatter is primarily due to fluctuations in the He II fraction and the He II-ionizing background, rather than density variations that are probed by the coeval Hi forest. Semianalytic models of He II absorption require a strong decrease in the He II-ionizing background to explain the strong increase of the absorption at z greater than or similar to 2.7, probably indicating He II reionization was incomplete at z(reion) greater than or similar to 2.7. Likewise, recent three-dimensional numerical simulations of He II reionization qualitatively agree with the observed trend only if He II reionization completes at z(reion) similar or equal to 2.7 or even below, as suggested by a large tau(eff, He II) greater than or similar to 3 in two of our five sightlines at z < 2.8. By doubling the sample size at 2.7 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 3, our newly discovered He II sightlines for the first time probe the diversity of the second epoch of reionization when helium became fully ionized.
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
KW  - diffuse radiation
KW  - intergalactic medium
KW  - quasars: absorption lines
KW  - quasars: individual (SDSS J092447.36+485242.8, SDSS J110155.74+105302.3)
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/733/2/L24
SN  - 2041-8205
VL  - 733
IS  - 2
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Paalvast, M.
A1  - Verhamme, A.
A1  - Straka, L. A.
A1  - Brinchmann, J.
A1  - Herenz, Edmund Christian
A1  - Carton, D.
A1  - Gunawardhana, M. L. P.
A1  - Boogaard, L. A.
A1  - Cantalupo, S.
A1  - Contini, T.
A1  - Epinat, Benoit
A1  - Inami, H.
A1  - Marino, R. A.
A1  - Maseda, M. V.
A1  - Michel-Dansac, L.
A1  - Muzahid, S.
A1  - Nanayakkara, T.
A1  - Pezzulli, Gabriele
A1  - Richard, J.
A1  - Schaye, Joop
A1  - Segers, M. C.
A1  - Urrutia, Tanya
A1  - Wendt, Martin
A1  - Wisotzki, Lutz
T1  - Properties and redshift evolution of star-forming galaxies with high [0 III]/[O II] ratios with MUSE at 0.28 < z < 0.85
JF  - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal
N2  - We present a study of the [O III]/[O II] ratios of star-forming galaxies drawn from Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) data spanning a redshift range 0.28 < z < 0.85. Recently discovered Lyman continuum (LyC) emitters have extremely high oxygen line ratios: [O III]lambda 5007/[O II]lambda lambda 3726, 3729 > 4. Here we aim to understand the properties and the occurrences of galaxies with such high line ratios. Combining data from several MUSE Guaranteed Time Observing (GTO) programmes, we select a population of star-forming galaxies with bright emission lines, from which we draw 406 galaxies for our analysis based on their position in the z-dependent star formation rate (SFR) stellar mass (M*) plane. Out of this sample 15 are identified as extreme oxygen emitters based on their [O III]/[O II] ratios (3.7%) and 104 galaxies have [O III]/[O II] > 1 (26%). Our analysis shows no significant correlation between M*, SFR, and the distance from the SFR M, relation with [O III]/[O II]. We find a decrease in the fraction of galaxies with [O III]/[O II] > 1 with increasing M*, however, this is most likely a result of the relationship between [O III]/[O II] and metallicity, rather than between [O III]/[O II] and M. We draw a comparison sample of local analogues with < z > 0.03 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and find similar incidence rates for this sample. In order to investigate the evolution in the fraction of high [O III]/[O II] emitters with redshift, we bin the sample into three redshift subsamples of equal number, but find no evidence for a dependence on redshift. Furthermore, we compare the observed line ratios with those predicted by nebular models with no LyC escape and find that most of the extreme oxygen emitters can be reproduced by low metallicity models. The remaining galaxies are likely LyC emitter candidates.
KW  - galaxies: evolution
KW  - galaxies: ISM
KW  - galaxies: abundances
KW  - ISM: structure
KW  - ISM: kinematics and dynamics
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201832866
SN  - 0004-6361
SN  - 1432-0746
VL  - 618
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schmidt, Tobias M.
A1  - Hennawi, Joseph F.
A1  - Worseck, Gabor
A1  - Davies, Frederick B.
A1  - Lukic, Zarija
A1  - Oñorbe, Jose
T1  - Modeling the HeII transverse proximity effect
BT  - constraints on quasar lifetime and obscuration
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
N2  - The He II transverse proximity effect-enhanced He II Ly alpha transmission in a background sightline caused by the ionizing radiation of a foreground quasar-offers a unique opportunity to probe the emission properties of quasars, in particular the emission geometry (obscuration, beaming) and the quasar lifetime. Building on the foreground quasar survey published in Schmidt et al., we present a detailed model of the He II transverse proximity effect, specifically designed to include light travel time effects, finite quasar ages, and quasar obscuration. We postprocess outputs from a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation with a fluctuating He II ultraviolet background model, with the added effect of the radiation from a single bright foreground quasar. We vary the age t(age) and obscured sky fractions Omega(obsc) of the foreground quasar, and explore the resulting effect on the He II transverse proximity effect signal. Fluctuations in intergalactic medium density and the ultraviolet background, as well as the unknown orientation of the foreground quasar, result in a large variance of the He II Ly alpha transmission along the background sightline. We develop a fully Bayesian statistical formalism to compare far-ultraviolet He II Ly alpha transmission spectra of the background quasars to our models, and extract joint constraints on t(age) and Omega(obsc) for the six Schmidt et al. foreground quasars with the highest implied He II photoionization rates. Our analysis suggests a bimodal distribution of quasar emission properties, whereby one foreground quasar, associated with a strong He II transmission spike, is relatively old (22 Myr) and unobscured (Omega(obsc) < 35%), whereas three others are either younger than 10 Myr or highly obscured (Omega(obsc) > 70%).
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
KW  - intergalactic medium
KW  - quasars: general
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aac8e4
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
VL  - 861
IS  - 2
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Izotov, Y. I.
A1  - Worseck, Gábor
A1  - Schaerer, Daniel
A1  - Guseva, N. G.
A1  - Thuan, T. X.
A1  - Fricke, K. J.
A1  - Verhamme, Anne
A1  - Orlitova, I.
T1  - Low-redshift Lyman continuum leaking galaxies with high [O III]/[O II] ratios
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - We present observations with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope of five star-forming galaxies at redshifts z in the range 0.2993-0.4317 and with high emission-line flux ratios O-32 = [O III]lambda 5007/[O II]lambda 3727 similar to 8-27 aiming to detect the Lyman continuum (LyC) emission. We detect LyC emission in all galaxies with the escape fractions f(esc)(LyC) in a range of 2-72 per cent. A narrow Ly alpha emission line with two peaks in four galaxies and with three peaks in one object is seen in medium-resolution COS spectra with a velocity separation between the peaks V-sep varying from similar to 153 to similar to 345 km s(-1). We find a general increase of the LyC escape fraction with increasing O-32 and decreasing stellar mass M-star, but with a large scatter of f(esc)(LyC). A tight anticorrelation is found between f(esc)(LyC) and V-sep making V-sep a good parameter for the indirect determination of the LyC escape fraction. We argue that one possible source driving the escape of ionizing radiation is stellar winds and radiation from hot massive stars.
KW  - galaxies: abundances
KW  - galaxies: dwarf
KW  - galaxies: fundamental parameters
KW  - galaxies: ISM
KW  - galaxies: starburst
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty1378
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 478
IS  - 4
SP  - 4851
EP  - 4865
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Izotov, Y. I.
A1  - Schaerer, Daniel
A1  - Worseck, Gabor
A1  - Guseva, N. G.
A1  - Thuan, T. X.
A1  - Verhamme, A.
A1  - Orlitova, I.
A1  - Fricke, K. J.
T1  - J1154+2443: a low-redshift compact star-forming galaxy with a 46 per cent leakage of Lyman continuum photons
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - We report the detection of the Lyman continuum (LyC) radiation of the compact star-forming galaxy (SFG) J1154+2443 observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope. This galaxy, at a redshift of z = 0.3690, is characterized by a high emission-line flux ratio O-32 = [O III] lambda 5007/[O II] lambda 3727 = 11.5. The escape fraction of the LyC radiation f(esc)(LyC) in this galaxy is 46 per cent, the highest value found so far in low-redshift SFGs and one of the highest values found in galaxies at any redshift. The narrow double-peaked Ly alpha emission line is detected in the spectrum of J1154+2443 with a separation between the peaks V-sep of 199 km s(-1), one of the lowest known for Ly alpha-emitting galaxies, implying a high f(esc)(Ly alpha). Comparing the extinction-corrected Ly alpha/H beta flux ratio with the case B value, we find f(esc)(Ly alpha) = 98 per cent. Our observations, combined with previous detections in the literature, reveal an increase of O-32 with increasing f(esc)(LyC). We also find a tight anticorrelation between f(esc)(LyC) and V-sep. The surface brightness profile derived from the COS acquisition image reveals a bright star-forming region in the centre and an exponential disc in the outskirts with a disc scale length alpha = 1.09 kpc. J1154+2443, compared to other known low-redshift LyC leakers, is characterized by the lowest metallicity, 12+log O/H = 7.65 +/- 0.01, the lowest stellar mass M-star = 108.20 M-circle dot, a similar star formation rate SFR = 18.9 M-circle dot yr(-1), and a high specific SFR of 1.2 x 10(-7) yr(-1).
KW  - galaxies: abundances
KW  - galaxies: dwarf
KW  - galaxies: fundamental parameters
KW  - galaxies: ISM
KW  - galaxies: starburst
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx3115
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 474
IS  - 4
SP  - 4514
EP  - 4527
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schaerer, Daniel
A1  - Izotov, Yuri I.
A1  - Nakajima, K.
A1  - Worseck, Gabor
A1  - Chisholm, J.
A1  - Verhamme, A.
A1  - Thuan, T. X.
A1  - de Barros, S.
T1  - Intense C III] lambda lambda 1907,1909 emission from a strong Lyman continuum emitting galaxy
JF  - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal
N2  - We have obtained the first complete ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of a strong Lyman continuum (LyC) emitter at low redshift - the compact, low-metallicity, star-forming galaxy J1154+2443 - with a Lyman continuum escape fraction of 46% discovered recently. The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph spectrum shows strong Ly alpha and C III] lambda 1909 emission, as well as O III] lambda 1666. Our observations show that strong LyC emitters can have UV emission lines with a high equivalent width (e.g. EW(C III]) = 11.7 +/- 2.9 angstrom rest-frame), although their equivalent widths should be reduced due to the loss of ionizing photons. The intrinsic ionizing photon production efficiency of J1154+2443 is high, log(xi(0)(ion)) = 25.56 erg(-1) Hz, comparable to that of other recently discovered z similar to 0.3-0.4 LyC emitters. Combining our measurements and earlier determinations from the literature, we find a trend of increasing xi(0)(ion) with increasing C III] lambda 1909 equivalent width, which can be understood by a combination of decreasing stellar population age and metallicity. Simple ionization and density-bounded photoionization models can explain the main observational features including the UV spectrum of J1154+2443.
KW  - galaxies: starburst
KW  - galaxies: high-redshift
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
KW  - ultraviolet: galaxies
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833823
SN  - 1432-0746
VL  - 616
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kulkarni, Girish
A1  - Worseck, Gabor
A1  - Hennawi, Joseph F.
T1  - Evolution of the AGN UV luminosity function from redshift 7.5
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - Determinations of the ultraviolet (UV) luminosity function of active galactic nuclei (AGN) at high redshifts are important for constraining the AGN contribution to reionization and understanding the growth of supermassive black holes. Recent inferences of the luminosity function suffer from inconsistencies arising from inhomogeneous selection and analysis of data. We address this problem by constructing a sample of more than 80 000 colour-selected AGN from redshift z= 0 to 7.5 using multiple data sets homogenized to identical cosmologies, intrinsic AGN spectra, and magnitude systems. Using this sample, we derive the AGN UV luminosity function from redshift z= 0 to 7.5. The luminosity function has a double power-law form at all redshifts. The break magnitude M-* shows a steep brightening from M-* similar to -24 at z = 0.7 to M-* similar to -29 at z = 6. The faint-end slope beta significantly steepens from -1.9 at z < 2.2 to -2.4 at z similar or equal to 6. In spite of this steepening, the contribution of AGN to the hydrogen photoionization rate at z similar to 6 is subdominant (< 3 per cent), although it can be non-negligible (similar to 10 per cent) if these luminosity functions hold down to M-1450 = -18. Under reasonable assumptions, AGN can reionize He II by redshift z = 2.9. At low redshifts (z < 0.5), AGN can produce about half of the hydrogen photoionization rate inferred from the statistics of HI absorption lines in the intergalactic medium. Our analysis also reveals important systematic errors in the data, which need to be addressed and incorporated in the AGN selection function in future in order to improve our results. We make various fitting functions, codes, and data publicly available.
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - intergalactic medium
KW  - quasars: general
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz1493
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 488
IS  - 1
SP  - 1035
EP  - 1065
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Worseck, Gábor
A1  - Khrykin, Ilya Sergeevich
A1  - Hennawi, Joseph F.
A1  - Prochaska, J. Xavier
A1  - Farina, Emanuele Paolo
T1  - Dating individual quasars with the He II proximity effect
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - Constraints on the time-scales of quasar activity are key to understanding the formation and growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), quasar triggering mechanisms, and possible feedback effects on their host galaxies. However, observational estimates of this so-called quasar lifetime are highly uncertain (t(Q) similar to 10(4)-10(9) yr), because most methods are indirect and involve many model-dependent assumptions. Direct evidence of earlier activity is gained from the higher ionization state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) in the quasar environs, observable as enhanced Ly alpha transmission in the so-called proximity zone. Due to the similar to 30 Myr equilibration time-scale of He II in the z similar to 3 IGM, the size of the He II proximity zone depends on the time the quasar had been active before our observation t(on) <= t(Q), enabling up to +/- 0.2 dex precise measurements of individual quasar on-times that are comparable to the e-folding time-scale t(S) <= 44 Myr of SMBH growth. Here we present the first statistical sample of 13 quasars whose accurate and precise systemic redshifts allow for measurements of sufficiently precise He II quasar proximity zone sizes between similar or equal to 2 and similar or equal to 15 proper Mpc from science-grade Hubble Space Telescope (HST) spectra. Comparing these sizes to predictions from cosmological hydrodynamical simulations post-processed with 1D radiative transfer, we infer a broad range of quasar on-times from t(on) less than or similar to 1Myr to t(on) > 30 Myr that does not depend on quasar luminosity, black hole mass, or Eddington ratio. These results point to episodic quasar activity over a long duty cycle, but do not rule out substantial SMBH growth during phases of radiative inefficiency or obscuration.
KW  - intergalactic medium
KW  - quasars: absorption lines
KW  - quasars: general
KW  - quasars: supermassive black holes
KW  - dark ages, reionization, first stars
Y1  - 2021
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab1685
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 505
IS  - 4
SP  - 5084
EP  - 5103
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  -