Kavli Affiliate: Mark Vogelsberger
| First 5 Authors: Meredith Neyer, Meredith Neyer, , ,
| Summary:
We use the THESAN radiation-hydrodynamics simulations to investigate how
Lyman-$alpha$ emitters (LAEs) trace ionized bubble sizes during the Epoch of
Reionization. We generate realistic LAE catalogs by combining accurate
intrinsic Ly$alpha$ production and intergalactic transmission with an
empirical model for dust absorption and gas outflows. By calibrating to
observationally-constrained Ly$alpha$ luminosity functions, we reproduce the
rapid decline in Ly$alpha$ visibility toward higher redshifts while revealing
mild tensions in LAE fractions near the end of reionization. Before the
midpoint of reionization, galaxies within larger line-of-sight bubbles
($gtrsim 10$ cMpc) have higher observed Ly$alpha$ luminosity and equivalent
width (EW), demonstrating that the evolving LAE fraction provides a practical
statistical tracer for bubble size. These correlations weaken as percolation
progresses and the IGM becomes increasingly ionized. In LAE selected samples
with $L_textLyalpha > 10^41.5 texterg s^-1$, Ly$alpha$
properties correlate with bubble size more strongly than UV magnitude,
especially at $z gtrsim 7$. This simulation-based framework maps LAE
selections to bubble-size statistics, clarifies biases in more idealized
models, and will supply public catalogs to interpret current and forthcoming
JWST and narrow-band LAE surveys in terms of the evolving topology of
reionization.
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