Tidally offset neutral gas in Lyman continuum emitting galaxy Haro 11

Alexandra Le Reste; John M Cannon; Matthew J Hayes; John L Inoue; Amanda A Kepley; Jens Melinder; Veronica Menacho; Angela Adamo; Arjan Bik; Timmy Ejdetjärn; Gyula I G Józsa; Göran Östlin; Sarah H Taft

doi:10.1093/mnras/stad3910

Back

Tidally offset neutral gas in Lyman continuum emitting galaxy Haro 11

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Tidally offset neutral gas in Lyman continuum emitting galaxy Haro 11

Alexandra Le Reste, John M Cannon, Matthew J Hayes, John L Inoue, Amanda A Kepley, Jens Melinder, Veronica Menacho, Angela Adamo, Arjan Bik, Timmy Ejdetjärn, …

Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol.528(1), pp.757-770

02/01/2024

DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad3910

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad3910View

Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

ABSTRACT Around 400 Myr after the big bang, the ultraviolet emission from star-forming galaxies reionized the Universe. Ionizing radiation (Lyman continuum, LyC) is absorbed by cold neutral hydrogen gas (H i) within galaxies, hindering the escape of LyC photons. Since the H i reservoir of LyC emitters has never been mapped, major uncertainties remain on how LyC photons escape galaxies and ionize the intergalactic medium. We have directly imaged the neutral gas in the nearby reionization-era analogue galaxy Haro 11 with the 21 cm line to identify the mechanism enabling ionizing radiation escape. We find that merger-driven interactions have caused a bulk offset of the neutral gas by about $6\,$ kpc from the centre of the galaxy, where LyC emission production sites are located. This could facilitate the escape of ionizing radiation into our line of sight. Galaxy interactions can cause both elevated LyC production and large-scale displacement of H i from the regions where these photons are produced. They could contribute to the anisotropic escape of LyC radiation from galaxies and the reionization of the Universe. We argue for a systematic assessment of the effect of environment on LyC production and escape.

Details

Title: Subtitle: Tidally offset neutral gas in Lyman continuum emitting galaxy Haro 11
Creators: Alexandra Le Reste
John M Cannon - Macalester College
Matthew J Hayes - Stockholm University
John L Inoue - Macalester College
Amanda A Kepley - National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Jens Melinder - Stockholm University
Veronica Menacho - Stockholm University
Angela Adamo - Stockholm University
Arjan Bik - AlbaNova
Timmy Ejdetjärn - Stockholm University
Gyula I G Józsa - Rhodes University
Göran Östlin - Stockholm University
Sarah H Taft - Macalester College
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol.528(1), pp.757-770
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad3910
ISSN: 0035-8711
eISSN: 1365-2966
Language: English
Date published: 02/01/2024
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9984627190502771

Metrics

1 Record Views

See more details