Escape of Lyman continuum radiation from local galaxies

Abstract

Context. It has been suggested that the escape fraction of hydrogen ionizing photons (fesc) from galaxies is evolving with time, but the picture is far from clear. While evidence for significant escape fractions has been found at high redshifts in several studies, the picture looks different in the closer universe. The lack of local detections could in principle be a combined effect of an evolving escape fraction, the low number galaxies observed, the selection criteria of these targets, and technical problems associated with the instrument best adapted for low redshift targets, the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE).