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Lyman Continuum Leakage from Massive Leaky Starbursts: A Different Class of Emitters?
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Number of Authors: 142025 (English)In: Astrophysical Journal, ISSN 0004-637X, E-ISSN 1538-4357, Vol. 992, no 1, article id 91Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The origin of Lyman continuum (LyC) photons responsible for reionizing the Universe remains largely unknown, with the fraction of escaping LyC photons from galaxies at z ∼ 6 to 12 still uncertain. Direct detection of LyC photons from this epoch is challenging due to intergalactic medium absorption, making lower-redshift analogs valuable for studying LyC leakage. In this study, we present Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph observations of five low-redshift (z ∼ 0.3) massive starburst galaxies, selected for high stellar mass and weak [S II] nebular emission, an indirect tracer of LyC escape. LyC leakage is detected in three of the five galaxies, highlighting weak [S II] as a reliable tracer—a finding supported by recent JWST discoveries of z > 5 galaxies with similarly weak [S II] emission. The dust-corrected LyC escape fractions (fesc,H I), representing LyC photons that would escape without dust, range from 33% to 84%. However, the absolute escape fractions (fesc,tot), accounting for both neutral hydrogen absorption and dust attenuation, are substantially lower, between 1% and 3%. This indicates that, although these galaxies are nearly optically thin to H I, their significant dust content restricts LyC escape. These [S II]-weak, massive leakers differ from typical low-redshift LyC emitters, exhibiting higher metallicity, lower ionization states, greater dust extinction, and higher star formation surface densities. We suggest that feedback-driven winds in these compact starbursts generate ionized channels, allowing LyC escape in line with a “picket-fence” model, indicating a distinct mechanism for LyC leakage.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. Vol. 992, no 1, article id 91
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Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
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URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-248345DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/adff5eISI: 001590656500001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105018365850OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-248345DiVA, id: diva2:2008561
Available from: 2025-10-23 Created: 2025-10-23 Last updated: 2025-10-23Bibliographically approved

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Hayes, Matthew J.Östlin, Göran

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Department of AstronomyThe Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmo Particle Physics (OKC)
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