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How Universal is the Gunn-Peterson Trough at z~6?: A Closer Look at the Quasar SDSS J1148+5251 | S. Peng Oh
; Steven R. Furlanetto
; | Date: |
5 Nov 2004 | Journal: | Astrophys.J. 620 (2005) L9-L12 | Subject: | astro-ph | Affiliation: | UCSB), Steven R. Furlanetto (Caltech | Abstract: | Detectable flux is visible in the Ly-alpha and Ly-beta troughs of the highest redshift ($z=6.42$) quasar found to date, SDSS J1148+5251. This has previously been interpreted as continuum contamination from an interloper galaxy at z=4.94. We examine the Ly-gamma trough of SDSS J1148+5251 and show that this interpretation is untenable: the spectrum does not show the continuum break in a z=4.94 galaxy expected from absorption by the intervening Ly-alpha forest. Therefore, flux must be leaking through at least one of the troughs from the quasar itself. Contrary to previous claims, the flux ratios in the Ly-alpha and Ly-beta troughs are consistent with pure transmission. From the Ly-gamma trough, we place an upper bound on the effective Ly-alpha optical depth at z~6.2 of tau < 14.3 (2 sigma). This implies a highly ionized IGM along this line of sight and significant cosmic variance in the transition toward complete Gunn-Peterson absorption. Detailed study of the observed transmission features will shed light on this era. | Source: | arXiv, astro-ph/0411152 | Services: | Forum | Review | PDF | Favorites |
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