Observational tests of intergalactic enrichment models

Abstract

We summarise recent results assessing the carbon and silicon abundances of the intergalactic medium (IGM) using the ‘pixel optical depth’ technique. We briefly discuss the implications of these results for models of intergalactic enrichment, focusing on distinguishing ‘early’ $z \gg 4$ enrichment by the first generations of stars and objects from ‘late’ enrichment by $2 \lesssim z\lesssim 5$ Ly-break galaxies. We then discuss the comparison of observed QSO spectra to simulated spectra generated from cosmological simulations that self-consistently include enrichment, and draw qualitative implications for the general picture of intergalactic enrichment at $z \gtrsim 2$.