The impact of varying inhomogeneous reionization histories on metrics of Ly$\alpha$ opacity

Understand

The epoch of hydrogen reionization is complete by $z=5$, but its progression at higher redshifts is uncertain.

• Measurements of Ly$\alpha$ forest opacity show large scatter at $z<6$, suggestive of spatial fluctuations in neutral fraction ($x_\mathrm{HI}$), temperature, or ionizing background, either individually or in combination.
• However, these effects are degenerate, necessitating modeling these physics in tandem in order to properly interpret the observations.
• We begin this process by developing a framework for modeling the reionization history and associated temperature fluctuations, with the intention of incorporating ionizing background fluctuations at a later time.