Speaker
Description
Lyα forest provides a unique probe of studying IGM matter distribution at high-z & upto small scales. While its 2-point clustering statistics have been studied widely, higher-order statistics remain largely unexplored. In addition to probing non-gaussianity in the density fields, they can also complement 2-point statistics in constraining cosmological & astrophysical parameters. In this talk, I will summarize my works on 3-point correlation. We study correlation as clustering of Voigt-profile decomposed Lyα lines that allows us to associate it with physical properties of the IGM. Observationally, we study redshift-space clustering at both low-z(z<0.5) & intermediate-z(1.7<z<3.5); wherein we report the first detections of 3-point correlation in Lyα absorbers at scales~1Mpc. We also use simulations to explore effects of various parameters on clustering. I will also talk about transverse clustering studies as a sensitive probe of the thermal history using simulated projected QSO triplets.
