THE LYMAN-ALPHA FOREST AT LOW REDSHIFT: TRACING THE DARK MATTER FILAMENTS

We study the distribution of low-redshift Ly$\alpha$ clouds in a CDM model using numerical simulations including photoionization and cooling of the baryonic component. The ionizing background is found to be efficient enough to keep most of the gas warm ($T$~=~1--5~10$^4$~K) and to prevent most of it from collapsing. In this scenario, the numerous low redshift ($z$~$<$~0.5) neutral hydrogen Ly$\alpha$ lines recently revealed by HST observations of QSOs originate in the warm gas that traces the potential wells of filamentary structures defined by the dark matter. The predicted line number density is consistent with observations. About 25\% of the Ly$\alpha$ lines are found to arise in extended envelopes of luminous galaxies or groups of galaxies ($M$~$>$~3~10$^{11}$~M$_{\odot}$) of radius of the order of 1.5~Mpc. The exact number, however, is model dependent. The remainder arises in gas independent of any galaxy and at a distance of 2 to 7~Mpc from the first neighbour galaxy.