Evolution of the EUV Background from Quasar Absorption Line Studies

Abstract

The integrated extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation from quasars and other high redshift sources provides an ambient ionizing radiation field which may photoionize the gas seen as quasar absorption lines. In particular, the observed evolution of the Lyα forest clouds probably results in part from the evolution of the EUV metagalactic field. Estimates of the EUV field as a function of redshift can be made from measuring the “proximity effect” in quasar spectra; uncertainties in these estimates may be large. Given the uncertainties, the estimated EUV field at z≈3 derived from the proximity effect is in reasonable agreement with the expected contribution from luminous quasars.