The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2025)
The Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey: The Roles of Stellar Feedback and Interstellar Medium Geometry in LyC Escape
- Sophia R. Flury,
- Anne E. Jaskot,
- Alberto Saldana-Lopez,
- M. S. Oey,
- John Chisholm,
- Ricardo Amorín,
- Omkar Bait,
- Sanchayeeta Borthakur,
- Cody Carr,
- Henry C. Ferguson,
- Mauro Giavalisco,
- Matthew Hayes,
- Timothy Heckman,
- Alaina Henry,
- Zhiyuan Ji,
- Lena Komarova,
- Florian Leclercq,
- Alexandra Le Reste,
- Stephan McCandliss,
- Rui Marques-Chaves,
- Göran Östlin,
- Laura Pentericci,
- Swara Ravindranath,
- Michael Rutkowski,
- Claudia Scarlata,
- Daniel Schaerer,
- Trinh Thuan,
- Maxime Trebitsch,
- Eros Vanzella,
- Anne Verhamme,
- Bingjie Wang,
- Gábor Worseck,
- Xinfeng Xu
Affiliations
- Sophia R. Flury
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts Amherst , Amherst, MA 01002, USA ; [email protected]; Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
- Anne E. Jaskot
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, Williams College , Williamstown, MA 01267, USA
- Alberto Saldana-Lopez
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University , 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- M. S. Oey
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan , 323 West Hall, 1085 S. University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- John Chisholm
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712-1205, USA
- Ricardo Amorín
- ORCiD
- ARAID Foundation, Centro de Estudios de Física del Cosmos de Aragón (CEFCA) , Unidad Asociada al CSIC, Plaza San Juan 1, 44001 Teruel, Spain; Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de La Serena , Avda .Juan Cisternas 1200, La Serena, Chile
- Omkar Bait
- ORCiD
- SKA Observatory , Jodrell Bank, Lower Withington, Macclesfield, SK11 9FT, UK
- Sanchayeeta Borthakur
- ORCiD
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University , 781 Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- Cody Carr
- ORCiD
- Center for Cosmology and Computational Astrophysics , Institute for Advanced Study in Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, People’s Republic of China; Institute of Astronomy, School of Physics, Zhejiang University , Hangzhou 310058, People’s Republic of China
- Henry C. Ferguson
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Mauro Giavalisco
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts Amherst , Amherst, MA 01002, USA ; [email protected]
- Matthew Hayes
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University , 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- Timothy Heckman
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysical Sciences, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Alaina Henry
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Center for Astrophysical Sciences, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Zhiyuan Ji
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Lena Komarova
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan , 323 West Hall, 1085 S. University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Florian Leclercq
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712-1205, USA
- Alexandra Le Reste
- ORCiD
- Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Stephan McCandliss
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysical Sciences, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Rui Marques-Chaves
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva , 51 Chemin Pegasi, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
- Göran Östlin
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University , 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- Laura Pentericci
- ORCiD
- INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via di Frascati 33, 00078 Monte Porzio Catone, Italy
- Swara Ravindranath
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology II, Department of Physics, Catholic University of America , 620 Michigan Ave N.E., Washington, DC 20064, USA
- Michael Rutkowski
- Minnesota State University-Mankato , Telescope Science Institute, TN141, Mankato, MN 56001, USA
- Claudia Scarlata
- ORCiD
- Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Daniel Schaerer
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva , 51 Chemin Pegasi, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
- Trinh Thuan
- ORCiD
- Astronomy Department, University of Virginia , PO Box 400325, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325, USA
- Maxime Trebitsch
- ORCiD
- Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen , PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
- Eros Vanzella
- ORCiD
- INAF , Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, via Gobetti 93/3 I-40129 Bologna, Italy
- Anne Verhamme
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva , 51 Chemin Pegasi, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
- Bingjie Wang
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania StateUniversity , University Park, PA 16802, USA; Institute for Computational & Data Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USA; Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Gábor Worseck
- ORCiD
- VDI/VDE Innovation+Technik , Berlin, Germany
- Xinfeng Xu
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA; Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research inAstrophysics (CIERA), Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc305
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 985,
no. 1
p. 128
Abstract
One of the fundamental questions of cosmology is the origin and mechanism(s) responsible for the reionization of the Universe beyond z ∼ 6. Many studies have focused on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) observations of local ( z ∼ 0.3) galaxies emitting ionizing radiation (Lyman continuum, or LyC) for insight. However, LyC measurements can depend on chance alignment of optically thin channels with the observer. In addition, low signal in the spectra of these faint LyC emitters inhibits constraints on gas geometry and stellar populations. To circumvent these limitations, we analyze stacks of a consolidated sample of HST/COS observations of the LyC in 89 galaxies at z ∼ 0.3. From fitting of the continuum, we obtain information about the underlying stellar populations, emergent LyC, and neutral interstellar medium geometry. We find that most LyC nondetections are not leaking appreciable LyC ( ${f}_{\mathrm{esc}}^{\mathrm{LyC}}$ 5%) also requires a confluence of young stars and ionizing feedback. A two-stage burst of star formation is critical to producing this optimal LyC escape scenario, and should be considered fundamental to identifying LyC emitters at the Epoch of Reionization.
Keywords
- Reionization
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Galactic and extragalactic astronomy
- Emission line galaxies
- Galaxy stellar content
- Stellar feedback
