Institute for Advanced Study Informal Astrophysics Seminar

Lyman Alpha Emitters (LAEs) are becoming an important probe of the reionization of the universe. To correctly interpret the observations of LAEs, the effect of resonant scattering of Lyman-alpha photons has to be accounted for. I will present results from a theoretical study of z>~ 5.7 LAEs, which combines a state-of-the-art cosmological reionization simulations (Trac, Cen, & Loeb 2008) and a Monte Carlo Lyman-alpha radiative transfer code. The detailed radiative transfer calculation of Lyman-alpha photons shows that the spatial and frequency diffusions of Lyman-alpha photons are important in determining the observability of high-z LAEs and predicts new features in the clustering of LAEs that are observable in future surveys. Based on these results, I will discuss implications in using LAEs for cosmology study.