The He i 584 Å forest as a diagnostic of helium reionization

• Published in: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Vol. 408; no. 3; pp. 1945 - 1955
• Main Authors: McQuinn, Matthew, Switzer, Eric R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2010; Wiley-Blackwell
• Subjects: Astronomy; cosmology: theory; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; intergalactic medium; quasars: absorption lines; Cross correlations; Quasars; Intergalactic matter; Absorption line; Red shift; quasars: absorption lines; Saturation; Signal-to-noise ratio; Cosmology; intergalactic medium; Optical thickness; cosmology: theory

We discuss the potential of using the He i 584 Å forest to detect and study He ii reionization. Significant 584 Å absorption is expected from intergalactic He ii regions, whereas there should be no detectable absorption from low-density gas in He iii regions. Unlike He ii Lyα absorption (the subject...