The Lyman-α Line as a Probe of the Early Universe
The Lyman-α Line as a Probe of the Early Universe
This chapter investigates a number of specific observational probes of the high-redshift Universe. It examines the Lyman-α line, an extraordinarily rich and useful—albeit complex—probe of both galaxies and the intergalactic medium (IGM). As established in the previous chapter, young star-forming galaxies can produce very bright Lyman-α emissions. Although the radiative transfer of these photons through their host galaxies is typically very complex, a good starting point is a simple model in which a fraction of stellar ionizing photons are absorbed within their source galaxy, forming embedded H II regions. The resulting protons and electrons then recombine, producing Lyman-α photons. Assuming ionization equilibrium, the rate of these recombinations must equal the rate at which ionizing photons are produced.
Keywords: Lyman-α line, observational probes, high-redshift galaxies, Lyman-α emissions, Lyman-α photons, star-forming galaxies, reionization, intergalactic medium
Princeton Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
