Lyman continuum (LyC) photons are known to be responsible for reionising the universe after the end of the Dark Ages, which marked a period called the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR). While these high-energy photons are thought to predominantly originate from young, hot, massive stars within the earliest galaxies, and contributions from high-energy sources like quasars and AGN, the origins of these photons are yet not well known and highly debated. Detecting LyC photons from the early galaxies near the EoR is not possible as they get completely absorbed by the intergalactic medium (IGM) on their way to us, which has prompted the development of various indirect diagnostics to study the amount of LyC photons contributed by such galaxies by studying their analogues at low redshifts. In this study, we probe the ionised interstellar medium (ISM) of seven Green Pea galaxies through spatially resolved[O III] λ5007/[O II] λ3727 (O32) and [O III] λ5007/Hα λ6562 (O3Hα) emission-line ratio maps, using data from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) onboard the Very large telescope (VLT). Out of the two ratios, the former has proven to be a successful diagnostic in predicting Lyman continuum emitters (LCEs). Along with the line ratio maps, the surface brightness profiles of the galaxies are also studied to examine the spatial distribution of the emission lines and the regions from which they originate. The resulting maps indicate whether the ISM of the galaxies is ionization-bounded or density-bounded. Our analysis reveals that a subset of the galaxies with ionization-bounded ISM exhibits pronounced ionisation channels in the outer regions. These channels are potential pathways through which Lyman continuum photons may escape. For density-bounded ISM, the ionised ISM extends well beyond the stellar regions into the halos of the galaxies, highlighting their potential contribution to the ionising photon budget during the EoR. The findings emphasise the importance of spatially resolved ISM studies in understanding the mechanisms facilitating the escape of LyC photons.

Cosmic reionization was most likely initiated by star forming dwarf galaxies. Little is known about the physical mechanisms allowing ionizing Lyman continuum (LyC) photons to escape from galaxies, but to learn more we can study local galaxies in detail. Until now, there has however only been one claim of a local LyC leaking galaxy, the disputed case of Haro 11. The lack of local detections could in part be a combined effect of technical problems and search strategies. Re-examining the FUSE (Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer) data of Haro 11 led us to develop a new model for the spectral reduction, by which we could confirm an escape fraction of LyC photons (fesc) of 3.3±0.7%. In addition, eight more galaxies from the FUSE archive were examined leading to a new detection, Tol 1247-232, with fesc = 2.4±0.5%. The low value derived from the stacked spectrum of the whole sample, fesc = 1.4±0.4%, could be an indication of an evolving fesc scenario and/or an effect of probing the wrong targets. Local LyC candidates are normally selected among starburst galaxies with high equivalent widths in Hα. This can however give preference to ionization bounded H II regions with low escape fractions. In an attempt to overcome this selection bias, we developed a novel method to select LyC leaking galaxies. The selection is based on a blue continuum and weak emission lines, properties that in combination can be explained only by models with very high fesc. Using these criteria, we selected a sample of leaking candidates at z≈0.03 to be observed in Hα and Johnson B filters. The sample galaxies have properties that strongly favour leakage. Among these are clear signs of mergers and interaction with neighbouring galaxies, off-centre major star forming regions and spectral properties indicating previous starburst activity. The Lyman-alpha (Lyα) line is often used as a tracer for the distant galaxies believed to have reionized the universe. Here, for the first time local face-on spiral galaxies are studied in Lyα imaging. All three galaxies are emitting Lyα photons in the polar direction far out in the spiral arms, in clear contrast to previously studied irregular galaxies where strong emission is seen from the nuclei. If the small sample studied here is representative, it will have implications for detecting Lyα galaxies at high redshifts as it would depend strongly on the viewing angle.

The thesis introduces physical processes that are at work in astrophysical plasmas and reviews the current state of research related to the emission of ionizing photons, i.e. Lyman continuum (LyC). Star forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei are discussed as sources of LyC. Observations of LyC leakage at all redshifts are summarized and escape fractions are brought into a cosmological context, i.e. its implications for the reionization of the Universe, one of the major gas phase changes that was completed already after ∼1Gyr after the Big Bang at redshift z∼6.The main work focuses on observations of the local LyC leaking galaxy Tololo 1247-232. Physical properties of the interstellar medium, its porosity and neutral medium column density, could be derived using newly obtained Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data. The work is based on spectroscopy obtained with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS), as well as optical and ultraviolet multi-band imaging with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). An improved COS data reduction procedure was adopted. The recent detection of ionizing radiation emerging from Tololo 1247-232 could be confirmed. A LyC escape fraction of 6.6% was derived, in agreement with previous results. We used FUV absorption lines of Si II and Si IV as a probe of the neutral and ionized interstellar medium and find that most of the ISM gas is ionized, likely facilitating LyC escape from density bounded regions. Neutral gas covering as a function of line-of-sight velocity is derived using the apparent optical depth method. The ISM is found to be sufficiently clumpy, supporting the direct escape of LyC photons. We further report on broadband UV and optical continuum imaging as well as narrowband imaging of Lyα, Hα and Hβ. We also performed VLA 21cm imaging. The hydrogen hyperfine transition was not detected, but a deep upper limit atomic gas mass of 10^9 Mo could be derived. The upper limit gas fraction is only 20 percent. Evidence is found that the H I gas halo is relatively small compared to other Lyman Alpha emitters.