Work

Searching for Fluctuations in the Intergalactic Medium Temperature Using the Lyα Forest

Year: 2002

Type: article

Abstract: We propose a statistical method to search for fluctuations in the temperature of the intergalactic medium using the Lyα forest. The power on small scales (~25 km s -1 ) is used as a thermometer, and fluctuations of this power are constrained. The method is illustrated using Q1422+231. We see no evidence of temperature fluctuations. We show that in a model with two temperatures that occupy comparable fractions of the spectra, the ratio of small-scale powers is constrained to be smaller than 3.5 (corresponding to a factor of 2.5 in temperature). We show that approximately 10 quasars are needed to constrain temperature fluctuations of a factor of 1.7.

Source: The Astrophysical Journal

DOI: 10.1086/324212

Author: Matias Zaldarriaga

Institutions: Institute for Advanced Study, New York University

Language: English

Topic: Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Space Telescope Science Institute

Awards: G433322167, G4518818167, G58316358, G6273510985, G767601387