Shedding Lyman Alpha Light on Cosmological Reionization

Lyman alpha photons are a powerful tool for studying reionization. They interact strongly with neutral hydrogen, so that neutral intergalactic gas acts to hide Lyman alpha light from our instruments. I will discuss two ongoing narrowband surveys to study the Epoch of Reionization. The Deep And Wide Narrowband (DAWN) survey is a 40 night NOAO survey program to look for Lyman alpha emission at redshift 7.7, using the NEWFIRM camera on the 4m Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. The First Light And Reionization Experiment (FLARE) is pursuing a corresponding survey at redshift 8.8, using the FourStar camera on the Magellan telescope. Both surveys are motivated by the application of Lyman alpha lines to the study of reionization. Reionization marked the first global impact that gravitationally bound objects (stars and/or black holes) had on the universe around them, and also the last time that most hydrogen atoms did anything noteworthy. I will present results from both the DAWN and FLARE surveys, which have identified candidate galaxies near redshifts 7.7 and 8.8 in multiple fields.