Lyman Alpha Emitter Evolution in the Reionization Epoch
  Combining cosmological SPH simulations with a previously developed Lyman
Alpha production/transmission model and the Early Reionization Model (ERM,
reionization ends at redshift z~7), we obtain Lyman Alpha and UV Luminosity
Functions (LFs) for Lyman Alpha Emitters (LAEs) for redshifts between 5.7 and
7.6. Matching model results to observations at z~5.7 requires escape fractions
of Lyman Alpha, f_alpha=0.3, and UV (non-ionizing) continuum photons, f_c=0.22,
corresponding to a color excess, E(B-V)=0.15. We find that (i) f_c increases
towards higher redshifts, due the decreasing mean dust content of galaxies,
(ii) the evolution of f_alpha/f_c hints at the dust content of the ISM becoming
progressively inhomogeneous/clumped with decreasing redshift. The clustering
photoionization boost is important during the initial reionization phases but
has little effect on the Lyman Alpha LF for a highly ionized IGM. Halo
(stellar) masses are in the range 10.0 < \log M_h < 11.8 (8.1 < \log M_* <
10.4) with M_h \propto M_*^{0.64}. The star formation rates are between 3-120
solar masses per year, mass-weighted mean ages are greater than 20 Myr at all
redshifts, while the mean stellar metallicity increases from Z=0.12 to 0.22
solar metallicity from z~7.6 to z~5.7; both age and metallicity positively
correlate with stellar mass. The brightest LAEs are all characterized by large
star formation rates and intermediate ages (~200 Myr), while objects in the
faint end of the Lyman Alpha LF show large age and star formation rate spreads.
With no more free parameters, the Spectral Energy Distributions of three LAE at
z~5.7 observed by Lai et al. (2007) are well reproduced by an intermediate age
(182-220 Myr) stellar population and the above E(B-V) value.
