How ISM properties drive Lyman Continuum Escape

Abstract: The thesis introduces physical processes that are at work in astrophysical plasmas and reviews the current state of research related to the emission of ionizing photons, i.e. Lyman continuum (LyC). Star forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei are discussed as sources of LyC. Observations of LyC leakage at all redshifts are summarized and escape fractions are brought into a cosmological context, i.e. its implications for the reionization of the Universe, one of the major gas phase changes that was completed already after ∼1Gyr after the Big Bang at redshift z∼6.The main work focuses on observations of the local LyC leaking galaxy Tololo 1247-232. Physical properties of the interstellar medium, its porosity and neutral medium column density, could be derived using newly obtained Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data. The work is based on spectroscopy obtained with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS), as well as optical and ultraviolet multi-band imaging with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). An improved COS data reduction procedure was adopted. The recent detection of ionizing radiation emerging from Tololo 1247-232 could be confirmed. A LyC escape fraction of 6.6% was derived, in agreement with previous results. We used FUV absorption lines of Si II and Si IV as a probe of the neutral and ionized interstellar medium and find that most of the ISM gas is ionized, likely facilitating LyC escape from density bounded regions. Neutral gas covering as a function of line-of-sight velocity is derived using the apparent optical depth method. The ISM is found to be sufficiently clumpy, supporting the direct escape of LyC photons. We further report on broadband UV and optical continuum imaging as well as narrowband imaging of Lyα, Hα and Hβ. We also performed VLA 21cm imaging. The hydrogen hyperfine transition was not detected, but a deep upper limit atomic gas mass of 10^9 Mo could be derived. The upper limit gas fraction is only 20 percent. Evidence is found that the H I gas halo is relatively small compared to other Lyman Alpha emitters.