Measuring Omega Baryon from the Helium Lyman-Alpha Forest
Abstract
A new method to extract Omega_b from high redshift intergalactic absorption
is described, based on the distribution of HeII Ly-alpha optical depths in the
voids in the ionization zone of quasars. A preliminary estimate from recent
HST-STIS spectra of PKS 1935-692 at z=3 gives Omega_b h^2 =
0.013^{+0.002}_{-0.001} (1-sigma statistical errors, for a Lambda-CDM cosmology
with additional systematic uncertainties) consistent with other estimates.