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At least 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Joint Survey Processing. I. Compact Oddballs in the COSMOS Field—Low-luminosity Quasars at z > 6?

The faint-end slope of the quasar luminosity function at z ~ 6 and its implication on the role of quasars in reionizing the intergalactic medium at early times has been an outstanding problem for some time. The identification of faint high-redshift quasars with luminosities of <10 44.5 erg s –1 is challenging. They are rare (few per square degree), and the separation of these unresolved quasars from late-type stars and compact star-forming galaxies is difficult from ground-based observations alone. In addition, source confusion becomes significant at >25 mag, with ~30% of sources having their flux contaminated by foreground objects when the seeing resolution is ~0''.7. We mitigate these issues by performing a pixel-level joint processing of ground and space-based data from Subaru/Hyper-SuprimeCam (HSC) and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). We create a deconfused catalog over the 1.64 deg 2 of the COSMOS field, after accounting for spatial varying point-spread functions and astrometric differences between the two data sets. We identify twelve low-luminosity (M UV ~ –21 mag) z > 6 quasar candidates through (i) their red color measured between ACS/F814W and HSC/i band and (ii) their compactness in the space-based data. Nondetections of our candidates in Hubble DASH data argues against contamination from late-type stars. Our constraints on the faint end of the quasar luminosity function at z ~ 6.4 suggest a negligibly small contribution to reionization compared to the star-forming galaxy population. The confirmation of our candidates and the evolution of number density with redshift could provide better insights into how supermassive galaxies grew in the first billion years of cosmic time.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Measuring the Density Fields around Bright Quasars at z ~ 6 with XQR-30 Spectra

Measuring the density of the intergalactic medium using quasar sight lines in the epoch of reionization is challenging due to the saturation of Ly α absorption. Near a luminous quasar, however, the enhanced radiation creates a proximity zone observable in the quasar spectra where the Ly α absorption is not saturated. In this study, we use 10 high-resolution ( R ≳ 10,000) z ~ 6 quasar spectra from the extended XQR-30 sample to measure the density field in the quasar proximity zones. We find a variety of environments within 3 pMpc distance from the quasars. We compare the observed density cumulative distribution function (CDF) with models from the Cosmic Reionization on Computers simulation and find a good agreement between 1.5 and 3 pMpc from the quasar. This region is far away from the quasar hosts and hence approaching the mean density of the universe, which allows us to use the CDF to set constraints on the cosmological parameter σ 8 = 0.6 ± 0.3. The uncertainty is mainly due to the limited number of high-quality quasar sight lines currently available. Utilizing the more than 200 known quasars at z ≳ 6, this method will allow us to tighten the constraint on σ 8 to the percent level in the future. In the region closer to the quasar within 1.5 pMpc, we find that the density is higher than predicted in the simulation by 1.23 ± 0.17, suggesting that the typical host dark matter halo mass of a bright quasar ( M 1450 < -26.5) at z ~ 6 is .

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Simple Condition for Sustained Super-Eddington Black Hole Growth

One of the most pressing questions in cosmology is how the black holes (BHs) powering quasars at high redshift grow to supermassive scales within a billion years of the Big Bang. Here we show that sustained super-Eddington accretion can be achieved for BHs with Eddington fractions f Edd ≳ 2/ϵ, where ϵ is the efficiency with which radiation is generated in the accretion process. In this regime, the radiation carries too little momentum to halt the accretion flow and the infalling gas traps the radiation. The BH growth then proceeds unimpeded until the gas supply is exhausted, in contrast to accretion at lower rates, which is limited by the radiation generated in the accretion process. The large gas supply available in massive high-redshift quasar host galaxies may be readily accreted onto seed BHs via this supply-limited mode of accretion, providing an explanation for how such supermassive BHs are assembled in the early universe. This sustained super-Eddington growth may also explain the short lifetimes inferred for the H ii regions surrounding high-redshift quasars, if the bulk of the BH growth occurs without the associated radiation escaping to ionize the intergalactic medium. It furthermore implies that a population of obscured rapidly growing BHs may be difficult to detect, perhaps explaining why so few quasars with Eddington fractions higher than a few have been observed. Finally, this simple condition for sustained super-Eddington growth can easily be implemented in cosmological simulations that can be used to assess in which environments it occurs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Compressing the Cosmological Information in One-dimensional Correlations of the Lyman-$\alpha$ Forest

Observations of the Lyman-α forest from spectroscopic surveys such as the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey or its extension, eBOSS, or the ongoing Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey offer a unique window to study the growth of structure on megaparsec scales. Interpretation of these measurements is a complicated task, requiring hydrodynamical simulations to model and marginalize over the thermal and ionization state of the intergalactic medium. This complexity has limited the use of Lyα clustering measurements in joint cosmological analyses. In this work we show that the cosmological information content of the one-dimensional power spectrum (P 1D ) of the Lyman-α forest can be compressed into a simple two-parameter likelihood without any significant loss of constraining power. We simulate P 1D measurements from DESI using hydrodynamical simulations and show that the compressed likelihood is model independent and lossless, recovering unbiased results even in the presence of massive neutrinos or running of the primordial power spectrum.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Magnetogenesis in a Collisionless Plasma: From Weibel Instability to Turbulent Dynamo

We report on a first-principles numerical and theoretical study of plasma dynamo in a fully kinetic framework. By applying an external mechanical force to an initially unmagnetized plasma, we develop a self-consistent treatment of the generation of “seed” magnetic fields, the formation of turbulence, and the inductive amplification of fields by the fluctuation dynamo. Driven large-scale motions in an unmagnetized, weakly collisional plasma are subject to strong phase mixing, which leads to the development of thermal pressure anisotropy. This anisotropy triggers the Weibel instability, which produces filamentary “seed” magnetic fields on plasma-kinetic scales. The plasma is thereby magnetized, enabling efficient stretching and folding of the fields by the plasma motions and the development of Larmor-scale kinetic instabilities such as the firehose and mirror. The scattering of particles off the associated microscale magnetic fluctuations provides an effective viscosity, regulating the field morphology and turbulence. During this process, the seed field is further amplified by the fluctuation dynamo until energy equipartition with the turbulent flow is reached. By demonstrating that equipartition magnetic fields can be generated from an initially unmagnetized plasma through large-scale turbulent flows, this work has important implications for the origin and amplification of magnetic fields in the intracluster and intergalactic mediums.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Expected Gamma-Ray Burst Detection Rates and Redshift Distributions for the BlackCAT CubeSat Mission

We report the results of an extensive set of simulations exploring the sensitivity of the BlackCAT CubeSat to long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). BlackCAT is a NASA APRA-funded CubeSat mission for the detection and real-time subarcminute localization of high-redshift (z ≳ 3.5) GRBs. Thanks to their luminous and long-lived afterglow emissions, GRBs are uniquely valuable probes of high-redshift star-forming galaxies and the intergalactic medium. In addition, each detected GRB with a known redshift serves to localize a region of high-redshift star formation in three dimensions, enabling deep follow-on searches for host galaxies and associated local and large-scale structures. We explore two distinct models for the GRB redshift distribution and luminosity function, both consistent with Swift observations. We find that, for either model, BlackCAT is expected to detect a mean of 42 bursts per year on orbit, with 6.7% to 10% of these at z > 3.5. BlackCAT bursts will be localized to an r 90 ≲ 55'' precision and reported to the community within seconds. Due to the mission orbit and pointing scheme, bursts will be located in the night sky and well placed for deep multiwavelength follow-up observations. BlackCAT is on schedule to achieve launch readiness in 2025.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

On the Physical Nature of Lyα Transmission Spikes in High-redshift Quasar Spectra

We investigate Lyman-alpha (Lyα) transmission spikes at 5.2 < z < 6.8 using synthetic quasar spectra from the “Cosmic Reionization on Computers” simulations. We focus on understanding the relationship between these spikes and the properties of the intergalactic medium (IGM). Disentangling the complex interplay between IGM physics and the influence of galaxies on the generation of these spikes presents a significant challenge. To address this, we employ Explainable Boosting machines, an interpretable machine learning algorithm, to quantify the relative impact of various IGM properties on the Lyα flux. Our findings reveal that gas density is the primary factor influencing absorption strength, followed by the intensity of background radiation and the temperature of the IGM. Ionizing radiation from local sources (i.e., galaxies) appears to have a minimal effect on Lyα flux. The simulations show that transmission spikes predominantly occur in regions of low gas density. Our results challenge recent observational studies suggesting the origin of these spikes in regions with enhanced radiation. We demonstrate that Lyα transmission spikes are largely a product of the large-scale structure, of which galaxies are biased tracers.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

On the Properties of Cosmological Ionization Fronts

We investigate the properties of cosmological ionization fronts during the epoch of reionization using the Cosmic Reionization on Computers simulations. By analyzing reionization timing maps, we characterize ionization front velocities and curvatures and their dependence on the density structure of the intergalactic medium (IGM). The velocity distribution of ionization fronts in the simulations indicates that while the barrier-crossing analytical model captures the overall shape in high-velocity regions, it fails to reproduce the low-velocity tail, highlighting the non-Gaussian nature of the IGM’s density field. Ionization front velocities are inversely correlated with local density, propagating faster in underdense regions and more slowly in overdense environments. Faster ionization fronts also lead to higher postionization temperatures, reaching a plateau at ∼2 × 10$^{4}$ K for velocities exceeding 3000 km s$^{−1}$. Examining curvature statistics further establishes a connection between ionization front structure and the normalized density contrast ν, with trends in overdense regions aligning well with barrier-crossing model predictions, while deviations appear in underdense environments due to model limitations. These results provide a detailed characterization of ionization front dynamics and their interaction with the underlying density field, bridging small-scale reionization physics with large-scale observables such as the 21 cm signal and the IGM’s thermal history.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Measurements of Quasar Proximity Zones with the Lyα Forest of DESI Y1 Quasars

Abstract The intergalactic medium (IGM) around a quasar is shaped by its dense environment and by its excess ionizing radiation, which form a “quasar proximity zone” whose size and anisotropy depend on the quasar’s halo mass, luminosity, age, and radiation geometry. Using over 10,000 quasar pairs from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Year 1 data, with projected comoving separations r ⊥ < 2 h −1 Mpc, we investigate how the proximity zone of foreground quasars at z ∼ 2–3.5 affects Lyα absorption in their background quasars. The large DESI sample enables unprecedented precision in measuring this “transverse proximity” effect, allowing a detailed investigation of the signal’s dependence on the projected separation of quasar pairs and the luminosity of the foreground quasar. We find that enhanced gas clustering near quasars dominates over their ionizing effect, leading to stronger absorption on neighboring sightlines. Under the assumption that quasar ionizing luminosity is isotropic and steady, we infer the IGM overdensity profile in the vicinity of quasars, finding overdensities as high as Δ ∼ 10 at comoving distance ∼1 h −1 Mpc from the most luminous systems. Surprisingly, however, we find no significant dependence of the proximity profile on the luminosity of the foreground quasar. This lack of luminosity dependence could reflect a cancellation between higher ionizing flux and higher gas overdensity, or it could indicate that quasar emission is highly time-variable or anisotropic, so that the observed luminosity does not trace the ionizing flux on nearby sightlines.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey. I. New, Diverse Local Lyman Continuum Emitters

The origins of Lyman continuum (LyC) photons responsible for the reionization of the universe are as of yet unknown and highly contested. Detecting LyC photons from the Epoch of Reionization is not possible due to absorption by the intergalactic medium, which has prompted the development of several indirect diagnostics to infer the rate at which galaxies contribute LyC photons to reionize the universe by studying lower-redshift analogs. We present the Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey (LzLCS) comprising measurements made with the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph for a z = 0.2–0.4 sample of 66 galaxies. After careful processing of the far-UV spectra, we obtain a total of 35 Lyman continuum emitters (LCEs) detected with 97.725% confidence, nearly tripling the number of known local LCEs. We estimate escape fractions from the detected LyC flux and upper limits on the undetected LyC flux, finding a range of LyC escape fractions up to 50%. Of the 35 LzLCS LCEs, 12 have LyC escape fractions greater than 5%, more than doubling the number of known local LCEs with cosmologically relevant LyC escape.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

DESI z ≳ 5 Quasar Survey. I. A First Sample of 400 New Quasars at z ~ 4.7–6.6

We report the first results of a high-redshift (z ≳ 5) quasar survey using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). As a DESI secondary target program, this survey is designed to carry out a systematic search and investigation of quasars at 4.8 < z < 6.8. The target selection is based on the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (the Legacy Surveys) DR9 photometry, combined with the Pan-STARRS1 data and J-band photometry from public surveys. A first quasar sample has been constructed from the DESI Survey Validation 3 (SV3) and first-year observations until 2022 May. This sample includes more than 400 new quasars at redshift 4.7 ≤ z < 6.6, down to 21.5 magnitude (AB) in the z band, discovered from 35% of the entire target sample. Remarkably, there are 220 new quasars identified at z ≥ 5, more than one-third of existing quasars previously published at this redshift. The observations so far result in an average success rate of 23% at z > 4.7. The current spectral data set has already allowed analysis of interesting individual objects (e.g., quasars with damped Lyα absorbers and broad absorption line features), and statistical analysis will follow the survey's completion. A set of science projects will be carried out leveraging this program, including quasar luminosity function, quasar clustering, intergalactic medium, quasar spectral properties, intervening absorbers, and properties of early supermassive black holes. Additionally, a sample of 38 new quasars at z ~ 3.8–5.7 discovered from a pilot survey in the DESI SV1 is also published in this paper.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

SILVERRUSH. XIV. Ly α Luminosity Functions and Angular Correlation Functions from 20,000 Ly α Emitters at z ∼ 2.2–7.3 from up to 24 deg 2 HSC-SSP and CHORUS Surveys: Linking the Postreionization Epoch to the Heart of Reionization

Abstract We present luminosity functions (LFs) and angular correlation functions (ACFs) derived from 18,960 Ly α emitters (LAEs) at z = 2.2−7.3 over a wide survey area of ≲24 deg 2 that are identified in the narrowband data of the HSC-SSP and CHORUS surveys. Confirming the large sample with 241 spectroscopically identified LAEs, we determine Ly α LFs and ACFs in the brighter luminosity range down to 0.5 L ⋆ , and confirm that our measurements are consistent with previous studies but offer significantly reduced statistical uncertainties. The improved precision of our ACFs allows us to clearly detect one-halo terms at some redshifts, and provides large-scale bias measurements that indicate host halo masses of ∼10 11 M ⊙ over z ≃ 2−7. By comparing our Ly α LF (ACF) measurements with reionization models, we estimate the neutral hydrogen fractions in the intergalactic medium to be x H i < 0.05 (= 0.06 − 0.03 + 0.12 ) at z = 5.7 and x H i = 0.1 5 − 0.08 + 0.10 ( 0.21 − 0.14 + 0.19 ), 0.1 8 − 0.12 + 0.14 , and 0.7 5 − 0.13 + 0.09 at z = 6.6, 7.0, and 7.3, respectively. Our findings suggest that the neutral hydrogen fraction remains relatively low, x H i ≲ 0.2, at z = 5−7, but increases sharply at z > 7, reaching x H i ∼ 0.9 by z ≃ 8−9, as indicated by recent JWST studies. The combination of our results from LAE observations with recent JWST observations suggests that the major epoch of reionization occurred at z ∼ 7−8, likely driven by the emergence of massive sources emitting significant ionizing photons.

Umeda, Hiroya (ORCID:0009000801675129)↗
DOE OSTI2016

INTERSTELLAR SCINTILLATION AND THE RADIO COUNTERPART OF THE FAST RADIO BURST FRB 150418

Keane et al. have recently reported the discovery of a new fast radio burst (FRB), FRB 150418, with a promising radio counterpart at 5.5 and 7.5 GHz—a rapidly decaying source, falling from 200–300 μ Jy to 100 μ Jy on timescales of ∼6 days. This transient source may be associated with an elliptical galaxy at redshift z = 0.492, providing the first firm spectroscopic redshift for an FRB and the ability to estimate the density of baryons in the intergalactic medium via the combination of known redshift and radio dispersion of the FRB. An alternative explanation, first suggested by Williams and Berger, is that the identified counterpart may instead be a compact active galactic nucleus (AGN). The putative counterpart’s variation may then instead be extrinsic, caused by refractive scintillation in the ionized interstellar medium of the Milky Way, which would invalidate the association with FRB 150418. We examine this latter explanation in detail and show that the reported observations are consistent with scintillating radio emission from the core of a radio-loud AGN having a brightness temperature T {sub b} ≳ 10{sup 9} K. Using numerical simulations of the expected scattering for the line of sight to FRB 150418, we provide example images and light curves of such an AGN at 5.5 and 7.5 GHz. These results can be compared with continued radio monitoring to conclusively determine the importance of scintillation for the observed radio variability, and they show that scintillation is a critical consideration for continued searches for FRB counterparts at radio wavelengths.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

An ultraluminous Lyα emitter with a blue wing at z = 6.6

We report the detection of the most luminous high-redshift Lyα emitting galaxy (LAE) yet seen, with logL(Lyα)=43.9 erg s{sup −1}. The galaxy—COSMOS Lyα1, or COLA1—was detected in a search for ultraluminous LAEs with Hyper Suprime-Cam on the Subaru telescope. It was confirmed as lying at z = 6.593, based on a Lyα line detection obtained from follow-up spectroscopy with the DEIMOS spectrograph on Keck II. COLA1 is the first very high-redshift LAE to show a multi-component Lyα line profile with a blue wing, which suggests that it could lie in a highly ionized region of the intergalactic medium (IGM) and could have significant infall. If this interpretation is correct, then ultraluminous LAEs like COLA1 offer a unique opportunity to determine the properties of the H ii regions around these galaxies, which will help in understanding the ionization of the z ∼ 7 IGM.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Tracing the reionization epoch with ALMA: [C ii] emission in z ∼ 7 galaxies

We present new results on [C ii]158 μm emission from four galaxies in the reionization epoch. These galaxies were previously confirmed to be at redshifts between 6.6 and 7.15 from the presence of the Lyα emission line in their spectra. The Lyα emission line is redshifted by 100–200 km s{sup −1} compared to the systemic redshift given by the [C ii] line. These velocity offsets are smaller than what is observed in z∼3 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) with similar UV luminosities and emission line properties. Smaller velocity shifts reduce the visibility of Lyα and hence somewhat alleviate the need for a very neutral intergalactic medium at z∼7 to explain the drop in the fraction of Lyα emitters observed at this epoch. The galaxies show [C ii] emission with L[C ii] = 0.6 − 1.6×10{sup 8}L{sub ⊙}: these luminosities place them consistently below the star formation rate (SFR)–L[C ii] relation observed for low-redshift star-forming and metal-poor galaxies and also below z = 5.5 LBGs with similar SFRs. We argue that previous undetections of [C ii] in z∼7 galaxies with similar or smaller SFRs are due to selection effects: previous targets were mostly strong Lyα emitters and therefore probably metal-poor systems, while our galaxies are more representative of the general high-redshift star-forming population.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

X-ray background at high redshifts from pop III remnants: results from pop III star formation rates in the renaissance simulations

Due to their long mean free paths, X-rays are expected to have global impacts on the properties of the intergalactic medium (IGM) by their large-scale heating and ionizing processes. At high redshifts, X-rays from Population (Pop) III binaries might have important effects on cosmic reionization and the Lyα forest. As a continuation of our previous work on Pop III binary X-rays, we use the Pop III distribution and evolution from the Renaissance Simulations, a suite of self-consistent cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulations of the formation of the first galaxies, to calculate the X-ray luminosity density and background over the redshift range 20⩾z⩾7.6. As we find that Pop III star formation continues at a low, nearly constant rate to the end of reionization, X-rays are being continuously produced at significant rates compared to other possible X-ray sources, such as AGNs and normal X-ray binaries during the same period of time. We estimate that Pop III binaries produce approximately 6 eV of energy in the X-rays per hydrogen atom. We calculate the X-ray background for different monochromatic photon energies. KeV X-rays redshift and accumulate to produce a strong X-ray background spectrum extending to roughly 500 eV. The X-ray background is strong enough to heat the IGM to ∼1000 K and to ionize a few percent of the neutral hydrogen. These effects are important for an understanding of the neutral hydrogen hyperfine transition 21 cm line signatures, the Lyα forest, and the Thomson optical depth to the CMB.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Fast Radio Bursts with Extended Gamma-Ray Emission?

We consider some general implications of bright γ -ray counterparts to fast radio bursts (FRBs). We show that even if these manifest in only a fraction of FRBs, γ -ray detections with current satellites (including Swift ) can provide stringent constraints on cosmological FRB models. If the energy is drawn from the magnetic energy of a compact object such as a magnetized neutron star, the sources should be nearby and be very rare. If the intergalactic medium is responsible for the observed dispersion measure, the required γ -ray energy is comparable to that of the early afterglow or extended emission of short γ -ray bursts. While this can be reconciled with the rotation energy of compact objects, as expected in many merger scenarios, the prompt outflow that yields the γ -rays is too dense for radio waves to escape. Highly relativistic winds launched in a precursor phase, and forming a wind bubble, may avoid the scattering and absorption limits and could yield FRB emission. Largely independent of source models, we show that detectable radio afterglow emission from γ -ray bright FRBs can reasonably be anticipated. Gravitational wave searches can also be expected to provide useful tests.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

What if the Fast Radio Bursts 110220 and 140514 Are from the Same Source?

The fast radio bursts (FRBs) 110220 and 140514 were detected at telescope pointing locations within 9 arcmin of each other over three years apart, both within the same 14.4 arcmin beam of the Parkes radio telescope. Nevertheless, they generally have not been considered to be from the same source because of a vastly different dispersion measure (DM) for the two bursts by over 380 pc cm{sup −3}. Here, we consider the hypothesis that these two FRBs are from the same neutron star embedded within a supernova remnant (SNR) that provides an evolving DM as the ejecta expands and becomes more diffuse. Using such a model and the observed DM change, it can be argued that the corresponding SN must have occurred within ≈10.2 years of FRB 110220. Furthermore, constraints can be placed on the SN ejecta mass and explosion energy, which appear to require a stripped-envelope (Type Ib/c) SN and/or a very energetic explosion. A third FRB from this location would be even more constraining, allowing the component of the DM due to the SNR to be separated from the unchanging DM components due to the host galaxy and intergalactic medium. In the future, if more FRBs are found to repeat, the sort of arguments presented here can be used to test the young neutron star progenitor hypothesis for FRBs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗