Lyman alpha Transfer in a thick, dusty, and static medium

Abstract

We developed a Monte Carlo code that describes the resonant Lyman alpha line transfer in an optically thick, dusty, and static medium. The code was tested against the analytic formula derived by Neufeld (1990). We explain the line transfer mechanism for a wide range of line center optical depths by tracing histories of photons in the medium. We find that photons escape from the medium by a series of wing scatterings, during which polarization may develop. We applied our code to examine the amount of dust extinction around the Lyman alpha in primeval galaxies. Brief discussions on the astrophysical application of our work are presented.