University of Sussex
Browse

Statistics of cosmological Lyman a absorption

Download (3.15 MB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 14:49 authored by Dipak MunshiDipak Munshi, Peter Coles, Matteo Viel
We study the effect of the non-Gaussianity induced by gravitational evolution upon the statistical properties of absorption in quasar (quasi-stellar object) spectra. Using the generic hierarchical ansatz and the lognormal approximation, we derive the analytical expressions for the one-point probability distribution function (PDF) as well as for the joint two-point PDF of transmitted fluxes in two neighbouring quasi-stellar objects. These flux PDFs are constructed in three dimensions as well as in projection (i.e. in two dimensions). The PDFs are constructed by relating the lower-order moments (i.e. cumulants and cumulant correlators) of the fluxes to the three-dimensional neutral hydrogen distribution, which is, in turn, expressed as a function of the underlying dark matter distribution. Next, the lower-order moments are modelled using a generating function formalism in the context of a minimal tree-model for the higher-order correlation hierarchy. These different approximations give nearly identical results for the range of redshifts probed, and we also find very good agreement between our predictions and the outputs of hydrodynamical simulations. The formalism developed here for the joint statistics of flux-decrements concerning two lines of sight can be extended to multiple lines of sight, which could be particularly important for the three-dimensional reconstruction of the cosmic web from the spectra of quasi-stellar objects (e.g. in the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey). These statistics probe the underlying projected neutral hydrogen field and are thus linked to hotspots of absorption. The results for the PDF and the bias presented here use the same functional forms of scaling functions that have previously been employed for the modelling of other cosmological observations, such as the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

ISSN

0035-8711

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Issue

3

Volume

427

Page range

2359-2375

Department affiliated with

  • Physics and Astronomy Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2013-04-29

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2013-04-29

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2013-04-29

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC