S19A0043abst

S19A0043

Determining the physical nature of high redshift galaxies is key to understanding whether they were responsible for cosmic reionization. A fundamental question is the fraction of ionizing photons that escape from such sources into the intergalactic medium (IGM). At redshifts where such Lyman continuum leakage can be directly measured, typical escape fractions are 0-5%, well below that required to drive reionization. However, a new HST survey of z = 3.1 metal-poor low mass Lyα emitting galaxies thought to be typical of sources in the reionization era has revealed many with escape fractions ranging from 15 to 75%. Such high escape fractions may arise when feedback and instabilities create a turbulent interstellar gas enabling leakage through porous low density channels. We propose to test this important claim via OSIRIS IFU spectroscopy of a representative sample of our z = 3.1 galaxies, correlating our HST-determined escape fractions with the spatially resolved distribution and kinematics of nebular emission.

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