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  - Abdalla, Hassan E.
A1  - Aharonian, Felix A.
A1  - Benkhali, F. Ait
A1  - Angüner, Ekrem Oǧuzhan
A1  - Arakawa, M.
A1  - Arcaro, C.
A1  - Armand, C.
A1  - Arrieta, M.
A1  - Backes, M.
A1  - Barnard, M.
A1  - Becherini, Y.
A1  - Tjus, J. Becker
A1  - Berge, D.
A1  - Bernloehr, K.
A1  - Blackwell, R.
A1  - Bottcher, M.
A1  - Boisson, C.
A1  - Bolmont, J.
A1  - Bonnefoy, S.
A1  - Bordas, Pol
A1  - Bregeon, J.
A1  - Brun, F.
A1  - Brun, P.
A1  - Bryan, M.
A1  - Buchele, M.
A1  - Bulik, T.
A1  - Bylund, T.
A1  - Capasso, M.
A1  - Caroff, S.
A1  - Carosi, A.
A1  - Casanova, Sabrina
A1  - Cerruti, M.
A1  - Chakraborty, N.
A1  - Chand, T.
A1  - Chandra, S.
A1  - Chaves, R. C. G.
A1  - Chen, A.
A1  - Colafrancesco, S.
A1  - Condon, B.
A1  - Davids, I. D.
A1  - Deil, C.
A1  - Devin, J.
A1  - deWilt, P.
A1  - Dirson, L.
A1  - Djannati-Atai, A.
A1  - Dmytriiev, A.
A1  - Donath, A.
A1  - Doroshenko, V.
A1  - Dyks, J.
A1  - Egberts, Kathrin
A1  - Emery, G.
A1  - Ernenwein, J. -P.
A1  - Eschbach, S.
A1  - Fegan, S.
A1  - Fiasson, A.
A1  - Fontaine, G.
A1  - Funk, S.
A1  - Fuessling, M.
A1  - Gabici, S.
A1  - Gallant, Y. A.
A1  - Gate, F.
A1  - Giavitto, G.
A1  - Glawion, D.
A1  - Glicenstein, J. F.
A1  - Gottschall, D.
A1  - Grondin, M. -H.
A1  - Hahn, J.
A1  - Haupt, M.
A1  - Heinzelmann, G.
A1  - Henri, G.
A1  - Hermann, G.
A1  - Hinton, James Anthony
A1  - Hofmann, W.
A1  - Hoischen, Clemens
A1  - Holch, Tim Lukas
A1  - Holler, M.
A1  - Horns, D.
A1  - Huber, D.
A1  - Iwasaki, H.
A1  - Jacholkowska, A.
A1  - Jamrozy, M.
A1  - Jankowsky, D.
A1  - Jankowsky, F.
A1  - Jouvin, L.
A1  - Jung-Richardt, I.
A1  - Kastendieck, M. A.
A1  - Katarzynski, K.
A1  - Katsuragawa, M.
A1  - Katz, U.
A1  - Khangulyan, D.
A1  - Khelifi, B.
A1  - King, J.
A1  - Klepser, S.
A1  - Kluzniak, W.
A1  - Komin, Nu.
A1  - Kosack, K.
A1  - Kraus, M.
A1  - Lamanna, G.
A1  - Lau, J.
A1  - Lefaucheur, J.
A1  - Lemiere, A.
A1  - Lemoine-Goumard, M.
A1  - Lenain, J. -P.
A1  - Leser, Eva
A1  - Lohse, T.
A1  - Lopez-Coto, R.
A1  - Lorentz, M.
A1  - Lypova, I.
A1  - Malyshev, D.
A1  - Marandon, V.
A1  - Marcowith, A.
A1  - Mariaud, C.
A1  - Marti-Devesa, G.
A1  - Marx, R.
A1  - Maurin, G.
A1  - Meintjes, P. J.
A1  - Mitchell, A. M. W.
A1  - Moderski, R.
A1  - Mohamed, M.
A1  - Mohrmann, L.
A1  - Moore, C.
A1  - Moulin, E.
A1  - Murach, T.
A1  - Nakashima, S.
A1  - de Naurois, M.
A1  - Ndiyavala, H.
A1  - Niederwanger, F.
A1  - Niemiec, J.
A1  - Oakes, L.
A1  - Odaka, H.
A1  - Ohm, S.
A1  - Ostrowski, M.
A1  - Oya, I.
A1  - Panter, M.
A1  - Parsons, R. D.
A1  - Perennes, C.
A1  - Petrucci, P. -O.
A1  - Peyaud, B.
A1  - Piel, Q.
A1  - Pita, S.
A1  - Poireau, V.
A1  - Noel, A. Priyana
A1  - Prokhorov, D. A.
A1  - Prokoph, H.
A1  - Puehlhofer, G.
A1  - Punch, M.
A1  - Quirrenbach, A.
A1  - Raab, S.
A1  - Rauth, R.
A1  - Reimer, A.
A1  - Reimer, O.
A1  - Renaud, M.
A1  - Rieger, F.
A1  - Rinchiuso, L.
A1  - Romoli, C.
A1  - Rowell, G.
A1  - Rudak, B.
A1  - Ruiz-Velasco, E.
A1  - Sahakian, V.
A1  - Saito, S.
A1  - Sanchez, David M.
A1  - Santangelo, A.
A1  - Sasaki, M.
A1  - Schlickeiser, R.
A1  - Schussler, F.
A1  - Schulz, A.
A1  - Schutte, H.
A1  - Schwanke, U.
A1  - Schwemmer, S.
A1  - Seglar-Arroyo, M.
A1  - Senniappan, M.
A1  - Seyffert, A. S.
A1  - Shafi, N.
A1  - Shilon, I.
A1  - Shiningayamwe, K.
A1  - Simoni, R.
A1  - Sinha, A.
A1  - Sol, H.
A1  - Specovius, A.
A1  - Spir-Jacob, M.
A1  - Stawarz, L.
A1  - Steenkamp, R.
A1  - Stegmann, Christian
A1  - Steppa, Constantin Beverly
A1  - Takahashi, T.
A1  - Tavernet, J. -P.
A1  - Tavernier, T.
A1  - Taylor, A. M.
A1  - Terrier, R.
A1  - Tiziani, D.
A1  - Tluczykont, M.
A1  - Trichard, C.
A1  - Tsirou, M.
A1  - Tsuji, N.
A1  - Tuffs, R.
A1  - Uchiyama, Y.
A1  - van der Walt, D. J.
A1  - van Eldik, C.
A1  - van Rensburg, C.
A1  - van Soelen, B.
A1  - Vasileiadis, G.
A1  - Veh, J.
A1  - Venter, C.
A1  - Vincent, P.
A1  - Vink, J.
A1  - Voisin, F.
A1  - Voelk, H. J.
A1  - Vuillaume, T.
A1  - Wadiasingh, Z.
A1  - Wagner, S. J.
A1  - Wagner, R. M.
A1  - White, R.
A1  - Wierzcholska, A.
A1  - Yang, R.
A1  - Yoneda, H.
A1  - Zaborov, D.
A1  - Zacharias, M.
A1  - Zanin, R.
A1  - Zdziarski, A. A.
A1  - Zech, Alraune
A1  - Ziegler, A.
A1  - Zorn, J.
A1  - Zywucka, N.
T1  - H.E.S.S. observations of the flaring gravitationally lensed galaxy PKS 1830-211
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - PKS 1830-211 is a known macrolensed quasar located at a redshift of z = 2.5. Its highenergy gamma-ray emission has been detected with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) instrument and evidence for lensing was obtained by several authors from its high-energy data. Observations of PKS 1830-211 were taken with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) array of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes in 2014 August, following a flare alert by the Fermi-LAT Collaboration. The H.E.S.S observations were aimed at detecting a gamma-ray flare delayed by 20-27 d from the alert flare, as expected from observations at other wavelengths. More than 12 h of good-quality data were taken with an analysis threshold of similar to 67 GeV. The significance of a potential signal is computed as a function of the date and the average significance over the whole period. Data are compared to simultaneous observations by Fermi-LAT. No photon excess or significant signal is detected. An upper limit on PKS 1830-211 flux above 67 GeV is computed and compared to the extrapolation of the Fermi-LAT flare spectrum.
KW  - gravitational lensing: strong
KW  - diffuse radiation
KW  - gamma-rays: galaxies
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz1031
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 486
IS  - 3
SP  - 3886
EP  - 3891
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Aliu, E.
A1  - Archambault, S.
A1  - Arlen, T.
A1  - Aune, T.
A1  - Behera, B.
A1  - Beilicke, M.
A1  - Benbow, W.
A1  - Berger, K.
A1  - Bird, R.
A1  - Bouvier, A.
A1  - Buckley, J. H.
A1  - Bugaev, V.
A1  - Byrum, K.
A1  - Cerruti, M.
A1  - Chen, Xuhui
A1  - Ciupik, L.
A1  - Connolly, M. P.
A1  - Cui, W.
A1  - Duke, C.
A1  - Dumm, J.
A1  - Errando, M.
A1  - Falcone, A.
A1  - Federici, S.
A1  - Feng, Q.
A1  - Finley, J. P.
A1  - Fleischhack, H.
A1  - Fortin, P.
A1  - Fortson, L.
A1  - Furniss, A.
A1  - Galante, N.
A1  - Gillanders, G. H.
A1  - Griffin, S.
A1  - Griffiths, S. T.
A1  - Grube, J.
A1  - Gyuk, G.
A1  - Hanna, D.
A1  - Holder, J.
A1  - Hughes, G.
A1  - Humensky, T. B.
A1  - Johnson, C. A.
A1  - Kaaret, P.
A1  - Kertzman, M.
A1  - Khassen, Y.
A1  - Kieda, D.
A1  - Krawczynski, H.
A1  - Krennrich, F.
A1  - Lang, M. J.
A1  - Madhavan, A. S.
A1  - Maier, G.
A1  - Majumdar, P.
A1  - McArthur, S.
A1  - McCann, A.
A1  - Meagher, K.
A1  - Millis, J.
A1  - Moriarty, P.
A1  - Mukherjee, R.
A1  - Nieto, D.
A1  - Ong, R. A.
A1  - Otte, A. N.
A1  - Park, N.
A1  - Perkins, J. S.
A1  - Pohl, M.
A1  - Popkow, A.
A1  - Prokoph, H.
A1  - Quinn, J.
A1  - Ragan, K.
A1  - Reyes, L. C.
A1  - Reynolds, P. T.
A1  - Richards, G. T.
A1  - Roache, E.
A1  - Sembroski, G. H.
A1  - Smith, A. W.
A1  - Staszak, D.
A1  - Telezhinsky, Igor O.
A1  - Theiling, M.
A1  - Varlotta, A.
A1  - Vassiliev, V. V.
A1  - Vincent, S.
A1  - Wakely, S. P.
A1  - Weekes, T. C.
A1  - Weinstein, A.
A1  - Welsing, R.
A1  - Williams, D. A.
A1  - Zajczyk, A.
A1  - Zitzer, B.
T1  - A three-year multi-wavelenght study of the very-high-energy gamma-ray Blazar 1ES 0229+200
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
KW  - BL Lacertae objects: general
KW  - BL Lacertae objects: individual (1ES 0229+200, VER J0232+202)
KW  - diffuse radiation
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - gamma rays: general
KW  - magnetic fields
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/782/1/13
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
VL  - 782
IS  - 1
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Archambault, S.
A1  - Arlen, T.
A1  - Aune, T.
A1  - Beilicke, M.
A1  - Benbow, W.
A1  - Bird, R.
A1  - Boettcher, Markus
A1  - Bouvier, A.
A1  - Buckley, J. H.
A1  - Bugaev, V.
A1  - Ciupik, L.
A1  - Collins-Hughes, E.
A1  - Connolly, M. P.
A1  - Cui, W.
A1  - Dickherber, R.
A1  - Dumm, J.
A1  - Errando, M.
A1  - Falcone, A.
A1  - Federici, Simone
A1  - Feng, Q.
A1  - Finley, J. P.
A1  - Fortson, L.
A1  - Furniss, A.
A1  - Galante, N.
A1  - Gall, D.
A1  - Garson, A. III.
A1  - Gillanders, G. H.
A1  - Griffin, S.
A1  - Grube, J.
A1  - Gusbar, C.
A1  - Gyuk, G.
A1  - Hanna, D.
A1  - Holder, J.
A1  - Hughes, G.
A1  - Kaaret, P.
A1  - Kertzman, M.
A1  - Khassen, Y.
A1  - Kieda, D.
A1  - Krawczynski, H.
A1  - Lamerato, A.
A1  - Lang, M. J.
A1  - Li, K.
A1  - Madhavan, A. S.
A1  - Maier, G.
A1  - Majumdar, P.
A1  - McArthur, S.
A1  - McCann, A.
A1  - Millis, J.
A1  - Moriarty, P.
A1  - Mukherjee, R.
A1  - Nieto, D.
A1  - Ong, R. A.
A1  - Orr, M.
A1  - Otte, A. N.
A1  - Park, N.
A1  - Perkins, J. S.
A1  - Pohl, Martin
A1  - Popkow, A.
A1  - Prokoph, H.
A1  - Quinn, J.
A1  - Ragan, K.
A1  - Reynolds, P. T.
A1  - Richards, G. T.
A1  - Roache, E.
A1  - Roustazadeh, P.
A1  - Saxon, D. B.
A1  - Sembroski, G. H.
A1  - Senturk, G. D.
A1  - Skole, C.
A1  - Staszak, D.
A1  - Telezhinsky, Igor O.
A1  - Tesic, G.
A1  - Theiling, M.
A1  - Varlotta, A.
A1  - Vassiliev, V. V.
A1  - Vincent, S.
A1  - Wakely, S. P.
A1  - Weinstein, A.
A1  - Welsing, R.
A1  - Williams, D. A.
A1  - Zitzer, B.
T1  - Test of models of the cosmic infrared background with multiwavelength  observations of the blazar 1ES 1218+30.4 IN 2009
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
N2  - We present the results of a multi-wavelength campaign targeting the blazar 1ES 1218+30.4 with observations with the 1.3 m McGraw-Hill optical telescope, the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, and the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). The RXTE and VERITAS observations were spread over a 13 day period and revealed clear evidence for flux variability, and a strong X-ray and gamma-ray flare on 2009 February 26 (MJD 54888). The campaign delivered a well-sampled broadband energy spectrum with simultaneous RXTE and VERITAS very high energy (VHE, > 100 GeV) observations, as well as contemporaneous optical and Fermi observations. The 1ES 1218+30.4 broadband energy spectrum-the first with simultaneous X-ray and VHE gamma-ray energy spectra-is of particular interest as the source is located at a high cosmological redshift for a VHE source (z = 0.182), leading to strong absorption of VHE gamma rays by photons from the optical/infrared extragalactic background light (EBL) via gamma VHE +gamma EBL -> e(+) e(-)pair-creation processes. We model the data with a one-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission model and with the extragalactic absorption predicted by several recent EBL models. We find that the observations are consistent with the SSC scenario and all the EBL models considered in this work. We discuss observational and theoretical avenues to improve on the EBL constraints.
KW  - BL Lacertae objects: general
KW  - BL Lacertae objects: individual (1ES1218+30.4)
KW  - cosmic background radiation
KW  - diffuse radiation
KW  - galaxies: jets
KW  - gamma rays: galaxies
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/788/2/158
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
VL  - 788
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  - Fechner, Cora
T1  - Reconstructing the intergalactic UV background with QSO absorption lines
JF  - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal
N2  - We present a new approach to observationally constraining the spectral energy distribution of the intergalactic UV background by studying metal absorption systems. We study single-component metal line systems that exhibit various well-measured species. Among the observed transitions, at least two ratios of ionization stages from the same element are required, e. g. C III/C IV and Si III/Si IV. For each system photoionization models are constructed by varying the spectrum of the ionizing radiation. The spectral energy distribution can then be constrained by comparing the models with the observed column density ratios. Extensive tests with artificial absorbers show that the spectrum of the ionizing radiation cannot be reconstructed unambiguously, but it is possible to constrain the main characteristics of the spectrum. Furthermore, the resulting physical parameters of the absorber, such as ionization parameter, metallicity, and relative abundances, may depend strongly on the adopted ionizing spectrum. Even in case of well-fitting models, the uncertainties can be as high as similar to 0.5 dex for the ionization parameter and up to similar to 1.5 dex for the metallicity. Therefore, it is essential to know the hardness of the UV background when estimating the metallicity of the intergalactic medium. Applying the procedure to a small sample of 3 observed single-component metal line systems yields a soft ionizing radiation at z > 2 and a slightly harder spectrum at z < 2. The resulting energy distributions exhibit strong He II Lya re-emission features, suggesting that reprocessing by intergalactic He II is important. Comparing the observed systems to UV background spectra from the literature indicates that a recent model that includes sawtooth modulation due to reprocessing by intergalactic He II with delayed helium reionization fits the investigated systems very well.
KW  - intergalactic medium
KW  - quasars: absorption lines
KW  - diffuse radiation
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201117080
SN  - 0004-6361
VL  - 532
IS  - 2
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  -