Ly α Intensity Mapping in HETDEX: Galaxy-Ly α Intensity Cross-power Spectrum

Abstract We present a measurement of the Ly α intensity mapping power spectrum from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). We measure the cross-power spectrum of the Ly α intensity and Ly α -emitting galaxies (LAEs) in a redshift range of 1.9 ≤ z ≤ 3.5. We calculate the intensity from HETDEX spectra that do not contain any detected LAEs above a signal-to-noise ratio of 5.5. To produce a power spectrum model and its covariance matrix, we simulate the data using lognormal mocks for the LAE catalog and Ly α intensity in redshift space. The simulations include the HETDEX sensitivity, selection function, and mask. The measurements yield the product of the LAE bias, the intensity bias, the mean intensity of undetected sources, and the ratio of the actual and fiducial redshift-space distortion parameters, b g b I 〈 I 〉 F ¯ RSD / F ¯ RSD fid = (6.7 ± 3.1), (11.7 ± 1.4), and (8.3 ± 1.5) × 10 −22 erg s −1 cm −2 arcsec −2 Å −1 in three redshift bins centered at z ¯ = 2.1 , 2.6, and 3.2, respectively. The results are reasonably consistent with cosmological hydrodynamical simulations that include Ly α radiative transfer. They are, however, significantly smaller than previous results from cross-correlations of quasars with Ly α intensity. These results demonstrate the statistical power of HETDEX for Ly α intensity mapping and pave the way for a more comprehensive analysis. They will also be useful for constraining models of Ly α emission from galaxies used in modern cosmological simulations of galaxy formation and evolution.