Speaker
Description
Lyman-alpha absorption systems, ranging from the low-density Lyman-alpha forest to High Column Density (HCD) regimes such as Damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs), are crucial probes of the intergalactic medium and the large-scale structure of the Universe. In the upcoming era of high-precision cosmology, accurately modeling these systems is essential for interpreting observational data and testing the current cosmological paradigm. This work focuses on developing robust methodologies to extract observable signatures of DLAs from state-of-the-art cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. Specifically, we utilize simulation data from the IllustrisTNG and MillenniumTNG suites to generate synthetic spectra and model high column density absorbers, and also re-simulations changing baryonic parameters and seeing which is the effect on the absorptions. The primary goal is to refine the extraction techniques to better map the distribution of neutral hydrogen and its correlation with underlying dark matter halos. In this work, I will discuss the computational pipelines we are developing to process these simulations and analyze how to improve the theoretical modeling of DLAs. By comparing different simulation environments, we aim to understand the systematic effects involved in modeling these absorbers. Ultimately, bridging the gap between hydrodynamical simulations and observable Lyman-alpha spectra will contribute to minimizing theoretical uncertainties in future large-scale structure surveys.