Time-dependent fluctuations in the metagalactic photoionization background

TL;DR

This paper develops a formalism to analyze how time-dependent fluctuations in the cosmic photoionization background affect the HI LyA flux power spectrum and correlation function, with implications for cosmology and source lifetimes.

Contribution

It introduces a formalism for time-dependent background fluctuations, extending beyond steady-state models, and explores their impact on the HI LyA flux power spectrum and correlation function.

Findings

Shot noise is suppressed at low wavenumbers, constraining QSO lifetimes.

Fluctuations affect the power spectrum by tens of percent on short scales.

Photoionization fluctuations modify the BAO peak shape and position.

Abstract

We present a formalism for computing time-dependent fluctuations in the cosmological photoionizing radiation background, extending background fluctuations models beyond the steady-state approximation. We apply this formalism to estimate fluctuations in the HI LyA flux redshift space power spectrum and its spatial correlation function at redshifts 2<z<4, assuming the photoionization background is dominated by Quasi-stellar Objects (QSOs) and/or galaxies. We show the shot noise in the power spectrum due to discrete sources is strongly suppressed relative to the steady-state value at low wavenumbers by a factor proportional to the lifetime of the sources, and that this suppression may be used to constrain QSO lifetimes. The total HI LyA power spectrum including shot noise is affected at tens of percent on short scales, and by as much as an order of magnitude or more on scales exceeding the mean free path. The spatial correlation function is similarly found to be sensitive to the shot noise, although moderately insensitive to the effects of time-dependence on the non-shotnoise contribution. Photoionization rate fluctuations substantially modify the shape of the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillation peak in the correlation function, including a small increase in its position that must be accounted for to avoid biasing estimates of cosmological parameters based on the peak position. We briefly investigate solving the full frequency dependent equation, finding that it agrees with the frequency-independent to better than percent accuracy. Simple formulas are provided for the power spectrum of fluctuations in the photoionization rate that approximate the full computations.