Constraining the Tail-End of Reionization Using Lyman-α Transmission Spikes

We investigate Lyman-$\alpha$ transmission spikes at $z > 5$ in synthetic quasar spectra, and discuss their connection to the properties of the intergalactic medium and their ability to constrain reionization models. We use state-of-the-art radiation-hydrodynamic simulations from the Cosmic Reionization On Computers series to predict the number of transmission spikes as a function of redshift, both in the ideal case of infinite spectral resolution and in a realistic observational setting. Transmission spikes are produced in highly-ionized underdense regions located in the vicinity of UV sources. We find that most of the predicted spikes are unresolved by current observations, and show that our mock spectra are consistent with observations of the quasar ULAS J1120+0641 in about 15% of the realizations. The spike height correlates with both the gas density and the ionized fraction, but the former link is erased when synthetic spectra are smoothed to realistically achievable spectral resolutions. There exists a linear relationship between spike width and the extent of the associated underdense region, with a slope that is redshift-dependent. In agreement with observations, the spike transmitted flux is suppressed at small distance from bright galaxies as these reside in overdense regions. We argue that this anti-correlation can be used to constrain large-scale density modes.