Simulations of the reionization of the clumpy intergalactic medium with a novel particle-based two-moment radiative transfer scheme

Keung Chan, Tsang; Benitez-Llambay, Alejandro; Theuns, Tom; Frenk, Carlos

Abstract

The progress of cosmic reionization depends on the presence of over-dense regions that act as photon sinks. Such sinks may slow down ionization fronts as compared to a uniform intergalactic medium (IGM) by increasing the clumping factor. We present simulations of reionization in a clumpy IGM resolving even the smallest sinks. The simulations use a novel, spatially adaptive and efficient radiative transfer implementation in the SWIFT SPH code, based on the two-moment method. We find that photon sinks can increase the clumping factor by a factor of ∼10 during the first ∼100 Myrs after the passage of an ionization front. After this time, the clumping factor decreases as the smaller sinks photoevaporate. Altogether, photon sinks increase the number of photons required to reionize the Universe by a factor of η ∼2, as compared to the homogeneous case. The value of η also depends on the emissivity of the ionizing sources.

Citation

Keung Chan, T., Benitez-Llambay, A., Theuns, T., & Frenk, C. (2023). Simulations of the reionization of the clumpy intergalactic medium with a novel particle-based two-moment radiative transfer scheme. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 16(362), 15-20. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1743921322001235

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jan 20, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Jan 25, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 25, 2023
• Journal: Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
• Print ISSN: 1743-9213
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-9221
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 362
• Pages: 15-20
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s1743921322001235
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1180794