The HETDEX Survey: Probing Neutral Hydrogen in the Circumgalactic Medium of ∼88,000 Lyα Emitters
We explore the neutral hydrogen (H i ) gas around 1.9 < z < 3.5 Lyman alpha emitters (LAEs) from the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment using faint Ly α absorption. This absorption is the result of H i in the halo of the LAE scattering Ly α photons from the integrated light of bac...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf10e |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849228815427960832 |
|---|---|
| author | Mahan Mirza Khanlari Karl Gebhardt Laurel H. Weiss Dustin Davis Erin Mentuch Cooper Mahdi Qezlou Maja Lujan Niemeyer Robin Ciardullo Donald P. Schneider Shiro Mukae Chenxu Liu Daniel Farrow Gary J. Hill Gregory R. Zeimann Wolfram Kollatschny |
| author_facet | Mahan Mirza Khanlari Karl Gebhardt Laurel H. Weiss Dustin Davis Erin Mentuch Cooper Mahdi Qezlou Maja Lujan Niemeyer Robin Ciardullo Donald P. Schneider Shiro Mukae Chenxu Liu Daniel Farrow Gary J. Hill Gregory R. Zeimann Wolfram Kollatschny |
| author_sort | Mahan Mirza Khanlari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We explore the neutral hydrogen (H i ) gas around 1.9 < z < 3.5 Lyman alpha emitters (LAEs) from the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment using faint Ly α absorption. This absorption is the result of H i in the halo of the LAE scattering Ly α photons from the integrated light of background galaxies along the line of sight. We stack millions of spectra from regions around ∼88,000 LAEs, in order to focus on the physics of the gas at large radii. The extensive number of fiber spectra contributing to the stacks ensures a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio to detect the faint Ly α absorption, which would otherwise be buried within the noise. We detect absorption out to a projected ∼350 kpc around an average LAE at z ∼ 2.5. We use these results to create an empirical radial W _λ (Ly α ) profile around LAEs. Comparison with numerical simulations reveals a profile similar to the empirical one within this region. Compared to previous studies, the profile is similar but modestly higher. We also outline a simple physical picture motivated by the observed trends in the data. We plan to quantify this radial profile as a function of redshift, local density, and Ly α luminosity, to explore the relationship between LAE environments and H i distribution. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a197963b1f9941c48c4120e6b597fea3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-a197963b1f9941c48c4120e6b597fea32025-08-22T15:16:39ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01989216910.3847/1538-4357/adf10eThe HETDEX Survey: Probing Neutral Hydrogen in the Circumgalactic Medium of ∼88,000 Lyα EmittersMahan Mirza Khanlari0https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1893-9526Karl Gebhardt1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8433-8185Laurel H. Weiss2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4974-1243Dustin Davis3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8925-9769Erin Mentuch Cooper4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2307-0146Mahdi Qezlou5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7066-1240Maja Lujan Niemeyer6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6907-8370Robin Ciardullo7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1328-0211Donald P. Schneider8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7240-7449Shiro Mukae9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3823-8279Chenxu Liu10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5561-2010Daniel Farrow11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2575-0652Gary J. Hill12https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6717-7685Gregory R. Zeimann13https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2307-0629Wolfram Kollatschny14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0417-1494Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway Boulevard, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway Boulevard, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway Boulevard, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway Boulevard, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway Boulevard, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USA; McDonald Observatory, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway Boulevard, Stop C1402, Austin, TX 78712, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway Boulevard, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USAMax-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik , Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, 85741 Garching, GermanyDepartment of Astronomy & Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USA; Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USADepartment of Astronomy & Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USA; Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway Boulevard, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway Boulevard, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USA; South-Western Institute for Astronomy Research, Yunnan University , Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, People’s Republic of ChinaCentre of Excellence for Data Science, Artificial Intelligence & Modeling (DAIM), University of Hull , Cottingham Road, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK; E. A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics University of Hull , Cottingham Road, Hull, HU6 7RX, UKDepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway Boulevard, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USA; McDonald Observatory, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway Boulevard, Stop C1402, Austin, TX 78712, USAHobby Eberly Telescope, University of Texas , Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USAInstitut für Astrophysik and Geophysik, Universität Göttingen , Friedrich-Hund Platz 1, D-37077 Göttingen, GermanyWe explore the neutral hydrogen (H i ) gas around 1.9 < z < 3.5 Lyman alpha emitters (LAEs) from the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment using faint Ly α absorption. This absorption is the result of H i in the halo of the LAE scattering Ly α photons from the integrated light of background galaxies along the line of sight. We stack millions of spectra from regions around ∼88,000 LAEs, in order to focus on the physics of the gas at large radii. The extensive number of fiber spectra contributing to the stacks ensures a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio to detect the faint Ly α absorption, which would otherwise be buried within the noise. We detect absorption out to a projected ∼350 kpc around an average LAE at z ∼ 2.5. We use these results to create an empirical radial W _λ (Ly α ) profile around LAEs. Comparison with numerical simulations reveals a profile similar to the empirical one within this region. Compared to previous studies, the profile is similar but modestly higher. We also outline a simple physical picture motivated by the observed trends in the data. We plan to quantify this radial profile as a function of redshift, local density, and Ly α luminosity, to explore the relationship between LAE environments and H i distribution.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf10eCircumgalactic mediumGalaxy environmentsGalactic and extragalactic astronomyLarge-scale structure of the universeLyα galaxiesNeutral hydrogen clouds |
| spellingShingle | Mahan Mirza Khanlari Karl Gebhardt Laurel H. Weiss Dustin Davis Erin Mentuch Cooper Mahdi Qezlou Maja Lujan Niemeyer Robin Ciardullo Donald P. Schneider Shiro Mukae Chenxu Liu Daniel Farrow Gary J. Hill Gregory R. Zeimann Wolfram Kollatschny The HETDEX Survey: Probing Neutral Hydrogen in the Circumgalactic Medium of ∼88,000 Lyα Emitters The Astrophysical Journal Circumgalactic medium Galaxy environments Galactic and extragalactic astronomy Large-scale structure of the universe Lyα galaxies Neutral hydrogen clouds |
| title | The HETDEX Survey: Probing Neutral Hydrogen in the Circumgalactic Medium of ∼88,000 Lyα Emitters |
| title_full | The HETDEX Survey: Probing Neutral Hydrogen in the Circumgalactic Medium of ∼88,000 Lyα Emitters |
| title_fullStr | The HETDEX Survey: Probing Neutral Hydrogen in the Circumgalactic Medium of ∼88,000 Lyα Emitters |
| title_full_unstemmed | The HETDEX Survey: Probing Neutral Hydrogen in the Circumgalactic Medium of ∼88,000 Lyα Emitters |
| title_short | The HETDEX Survey: Probing Neutral Hydrogen in the Circumgalactic Medium of ∼88,000 Lyα Emitters |
| title_sort | hetdex survey probing neutral hydrogen in the circumgalactic medium of ∼88 000 lyα emitters |
| topic | Circumgalactic medium Galaxy environments Galactic and extragalactic astronomy Large-scale structure of the universe Lyα galaxies Neutral hydrogen clouds |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf10e |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mahanmirzakhanlari thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT karlgebhardt thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT laurelhweiss thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT dustindavis thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT erinmentuchcooper thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT mahdiqezlou thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT majalujanniemeyer thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT robinciardullo thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT donaldpschneider thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT shiromukae thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT chenxuliu thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT danielfarrow thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT garyjhill thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT gregoryrzeimann thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT wolframkollatschny thehetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT mahanmirzakhanlari hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT karlgebhardt hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT laurelhweiss hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT dustindavis hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT erinmentuchcooper hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT mahdiqezlou hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT majalujanniemeyer hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT robinciardullo hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT donaldpschneider hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT shiromukae hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT chenxuliu hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT danielfarrow hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT garyjhill hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT gregoryrzeimann hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters AT wolframkollatschny hetdexsurveyprobingneutralhydrogeninthecircumgalacticmediumof88000lyaemitters |