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A Physical Model of Lya Emitters

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posted on 2023-06-07, 21:00 authored by Vithal Tivli, Sangeeta Malhotra, James E Rhoads, Evan Scannapieco, Robert J Thacker, Ilian IlievIlian Iliev, Garrelt Mellema
We present a simple physical model for populating dark matter halos with Lya emitters (LAEs) and predict the properties of LAEs at z 3-7. The central tenet of this model is that the Lya luminosity is proportional to the star formation rate (SFR) which is directly related to the halo mass accretion rate. The only free parameter in our model is then the star formation efficiency (SFE). An efficiency of 2.5% provides the best fit to the Lya luminosity function (LF) at redshift z = 3.1, and we use this SFE to construct Lya LFs at other redshifts. Our model reproduces the Lya LFs, stellar ages, SFR 1-10 M sun yr1, stellar masses ~107to108 M sun, and the clustering properties of LAEs at z 3-7. We find the spatial correlation lengths ro 3-6 h 1 Mpc, in agreement with the observations. Finally, we estimate the field-to-field variation 30% for current volume and flux limited surveys, again consistent with observations. Our results suggest that the star formation, and hence Lya emission in LAEs can be powered by accretion of new material. Relating the accreted mass, rather than the total mass, to the Lya luminosity of LAEs naturally gives rise to their duty cycle.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Astrophysical Journal

ISSN

0004-637X

Publisher

Institute of Physics

Issue

1

Volume

704

Page range

724 - 732

Pages

9.0

Department affiliated with

  • Physics and Astronomy Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-06

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2016-03-22

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-11-10

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