Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Wyithe, J. Stuart B
• Loeb, Abraham
• Carilli, Chris

Titel

Improved Constraints on the Neutral Intergalactic Hydrogen Surrounding Quasars at Redshifts z > 6

Ist Teil von

• The Astrophysical journal, 2005-08, Vol.628 (2), p.575-582

Ort / Verlag

Chicago, IL: IOP Publishing

Erscheinungsjahr

2005

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• We analyze the evolution of H II regions around the seven known SDSS quasars at z > 6. The comparison between the observed and model radii of the H II regions generated by these quasars individually suggests that the surrounding intergalactic hydrogen is significantly neutral. When all constraints are combined, the existing quasar sample implies a volume-averaged neutral fraction that is larger than 10% at z > 6. This limited sample permits a preliminary analysis of the correlations between the quasar parameters, the sizes of their H II regions, and the associated constraints on the neutral hydrogen fraction. We find no evidence in these correlations to contradict the interpretation that the red side of the Gunn-Peterson trough corresponds to the boundary between an H II region and a partially neutral IGM.