{"quality_controlled":"1","month":"05","scopus_import":"1","publication_identifier":{"issn":["0004-637X","1538-4357"]},"publication":"The Astrophysical Journal","year":"2007","doi":"10.1086/513688","oa":1,"volume":660,"_id":"17729","extern":"1","title":"Constraints on reionization and Source Properties from the Absorption Spectra of z > 6.2 quasars","abstract":[{"text":"We make use of hydrodynamical simulations of the intergalactic medium (IGM) to create model quasar absorption spectra. We compare these model spectra with the observed Keck spectra of three z>6.2 quasars with full Gunn-Peterson troughs: SDSS J1148+5251 (z=6.42), SDSS J1030+0524 (z=6.28), and SDSS J1623+3112 (z=6.22). We fit the probability density distributions (PDFs) of the observed Ly alpha optical depths with those generated from the simulation, by exploring a range of values for the size of the quasar's surrounding HII region, R_S, the volume-weighted mean neutral hydrogen fraction in the ambient IGM, x_H, and the quasar's ionizing photon emissivity, N_Q. In order to avoid averaging over possibly large sightline-to-sightline fluctuations in IGM properties, we analyze each observed quasar independently. We find the following results for J1148+5251, J1030+0524, and J1623+3112: The best-fit sizes R_S are 40, 41, and 29 (comoving) Mpc, respectively. These constraints are tight, with only ~ 10% uncertainties, comparable to those caused by redshift--determination errors. The best-fit values of N_Q are 2.1, 1.3, and 0.9 x 10^{57} s^{-1}, respectively, with a factor of ~ 2 uncertainty in each case. Finally, the best--fit values of x_H are 0.16, 1.0, and 1.0, respectively. The uncertainty in the case of J1148+5251 is large, and x_H is not well constrained. However, for both J1030+0524 and J1623+3112, we find a significant lower limit of x_H >~ 0.033. Our method is different from previous analyses of the GP absorption spectra of these quasars, and our results strengthen the evidence that the rapid end--stage of reionization is occurring near z ~ 6.","lang":"eng"}],"publication_status":"published","intvolume":"       660","article_processing_charge":"No","day":"10","status":"public","main_file_link":[{"open_access":"1","url":"https://doi.org/10.1086/513688"}],"article_type":"original","date_published":"2007-05-10T00:00:00Z","language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"issue":"2","page":"923-932","author":[{"first_name":"Andrei","full_name":"Mesinger, Andrei","last_name":"Mesinger"},{"full_name":"Haiman, Zoltán","first_name":"Zoltán","last_name":"Haiman","id":"7c006e8c-cc0d-11ee-8322-cb904ef76f36"}],"date_created":"2024-09-06T09:15:25Z","user_id":"317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345","type":"journal_article","publisher":"American Astronomical Society","date_updated":"2024-09-26T07:30:51Z","citation":{"mla":"Mesinger, Andrei, and Zoltán Haiman. “Constraints on Reionization and Source Properties from the Absorption Spectra of z &#62; 6.2 Quasars.” <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>, vol. 660, no. 2, American Astronomical Society, 2007, pp. 923–32, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1086/513688\">10.1086/513688</a>.","ieee":"A. Mesinger and Z. Haiman, “Constraints on reionization and Source Properties from the Absorption Spectra of z &#62; 6.2 quasars,” <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>, vol. 660, no. 2. American Astronomical Society, pp. 923–932, 2007.","ista":"Mesinger A, Haiman Z. 2007. Constraints on reionization and Source Properties from the Absorption Spectra of z &#62; 6.2 quasars. The Astrophysical Journal. 660(2), 923–932.","apa":"Mesinger, A., &#38; Haiman, Z. (2007). Constraints on reionization and Source Properties from the Absorption Spectra of z &#62; 6.2 quasars. <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>. American Astronomical Society. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1086/513688\">https://doi.org/10.1086/513688</a>","short":"A. Mesinger, Z. Haiman, The Astrophysical Journal 660 (2007) 923–932.","chicago":"Mesinger, Andrei, and Zoltán Haiman. “Constraints on Reionization and Source Properties from the Absorption Spectra of z &#62; 6.2 Quasars.” <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>. American Astronomical Society, 2007. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1086/513688\">https://doi.org/10.1086/513688</a>.","ama":"Mesinger A, Haiman Z. Constraints on reionization and Source Properties from the Absorption Spectra of z &#62; 6.2 quasars. <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>. 2007;660(2):923-932. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1086/513688\">10.1086/513688</a>"},"oa_version":"Published Version"}