Central powering of the largest Lyman-α nebula is revealed by polarized radiation

Matthew Hayes (), Claudia Scarlata and Brian Siana
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Matthew Hayes: Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP, Toulouse, France
Claudia Scarlata: Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota
Brian Siana: California Institute of Technology, MS 249-17, Pasadena, California 91125, USA

Nature, 2011, vol. 476, issue 7360, 304-307

Abstract: Polarized light from a 'Lyman-α blob' High-redshift Lyman-α (Ly-α) blobs are extended, luminous structures that seem to be associated with the highest peaks in the matter density of the Universe. The polarization of the Ly-α emission can, in principle, distinguish between the various options, but a previous attempt to detect this signature returned a null detection. Hayes et al. report observations of polarized Ly-α from the LAB1 nebula, the largest and most luminous of these objects. The central region of LAB1 shows no measurable polarization, but the polarized fraction increases to about 20% at a radius of 45 kiloparsecs. This suggests that the Ly-α photons must have been produced in the galaxies hosted within the nebula, and re-scattered by neutral hydrogen.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature10320

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