Reionization with galaxies and active galactic nuclei

Understand

In this work we investigate the properties of the sources that reionized the intergalactic medium (IGM) in the high-redshift Universe.

• Using a semi-analytical model aimed at reproducing galaxies and black holes in the first 1.5 Gyr of the Universe, we revisit the relative role of star formation and black hole accretion in producing ionizing photons that can escape into the IGM.
• Both star formation and black hole accretion are regulated by supernova feedback, resulting in black hole accretion being stunted in low-mass halos.
• We explore a wide range of combinations for the escape fraction of ionizing photons (redshift-dependent, constant and scaling with stellar mass) from both star formation ($\langle f_{\rm esc}^{\rm sf} \rangle$) and AGN ($f_{\rm esc}^{\rm bh}$) to find: (i) the ionizing budget is dominated by stellar radiation from low stellar mass ($M_*<10^9 {\rm M_\odot}$ ) galaxies at $z>6$ with the AGN contribution (driven by $M_{bh}>10^6 {\rm M_\odot}$ black holes in $M_* > 10^9 {\rm M_\odot}$ galaxies) dominating at lower redshifts; (ii) AGN only contribute $10-25\%$ to the cumulative ionizing emissivity by $z=4$ for the models that match the observed reionization constraints; (iii) if the stellar mass dependence of $\langle f_{\rm esc}^{\rm sf} \rangle$ is shallower than $f_{\rm esc}^{\rm bh}$, at $z<7$ a transition stellar mass exists above which AGN dominate the escaping ionizing photon production rate; (iv) the transition stellar mass decreases with decreasing redshift.