Did Globular Clusters Reionize the Universe?

Abstract

A problem still unsolved in cosmology is the identification of the sources of radiation able to reionize HI in the intergalactic medium (IGM) by z~6. Theoretical works and observations seem to indicate that the fraction, f_esc, of HI ionizing radiation emitted from galaxies that escapes into the IGM is small in the local universe (f_esc < 10%). At high redshift galaxies are more compact and probably gas rich implying smaller values of f_esc from their disks or spheroids. But if the sites of star formation are displaced from the disk or spheroid and the star formation efficiency of the proto-clusters is high, then f_esc should be about one. This star formation scenario is consistent with several models for globular clusters formation. Using simple arguments based on the observed number of globular cluster systems in the local universe and assuming that the oldest globular clusters formed before reionization and had f_esc~1, I show that they produced enough ionizing photons to reionize the IGM at z=6.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS letters. 5 pages, including 2 figures and 1 tabl