The Inhomogeneous Background of H2 Dissociating Radiation During Cosmic Reionization

TL;DR

This paper presents the first self-consistent calculations of the inhomogeneous H2 dissociating UV background during cosmic reionization, accounting for all sources and IGM effects, including dwarf galaxies and Lyman series attenuation.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive simulation framework that models the evolution of the H2 dissociating UV background during reionization, incorporating dwarf galaxy contributions and IGM attenuation effects.

Findings

First self-consistent modeling of H2 dissociating background during reionization.

Quantitative predictions of the inhomogeneous UV background evolution.

Insights into the impact of dwarf galaxies and IGM on H2 dissociation.

Abstract

The first, self-consistent calculations of the cosmological H_2 dissociating UV background produced during the epoch of reionization (EOR) by the sources of reionization are presented. Large-scale radiative transfer simulations of reionization trace the impact of all the ionizing starlight on the IGM from all the sources in our simulation volume down to dwarf galaxies of mass ~ 10^8 solar mass, identified by very high-resolution N-body simulations, including the self-regulating effect of IGM photoheating on dwarf galaxy formation. The UV continuum emitted below 13.6 eV by each source is then transferred through the same IGM, attenuated by atomic H Lyman series resonance lines, to predict the evolution of the inhomogeneous background in the Lyman-Werner band of H_2 between 11 and 13.6 eV.