2 research outputs found
Constraining reionization using the thermal history of the baryons
The thermal evolution of the intergalactic medium (IGM) depends on the
reionization history of the universe. Numerical simulations indicate that the
low density IGM, which is responsible for the low column density Ly-alpha
forest, follows a well defined temperature-density relation. This results in a
cut-off in the distribution of line widths as a function of column density. We
use hydrodynamic simulations to calibrate the relation between the cut-off and
the temperature-density relation and apply this relation to Keck spectra
spanning a redshift range z=2-4.5. We find that the temperature peaks at z~3
and interpret this as evidence for reheating due to the reionization of helium.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in "Cosmic evolution and galaxy
formation: Structure, interactions, and feedback", eds. J. Franco et a