Résumé / Abstract Seminaire_IAP
« Reconstructing the cosmic dawn »

Raffaella Schneider
Ist. Astron., Univ. Rome I (Rome, Italie)

At the end of the cosmic dark ages, the Universe was transformed from its initial simple state to a highly complex system through the injection of the first heavy elements from supernovae and the emission of light from the first stars and accreting black holes. It also witnessed the assembly of the first galaxies that, according to the hierarchical structure formation paradigm, represent the building blocks of larger systems, such as our own Milky Way. Recent observations are providing conflicting evidence on these remote cosmic epochs: chemically mature galaxies and quasars are already formed at z ~ 7 - 11. At the same time, the Planck satellite measured a low value of the cosmic microwave background optical depth due to electron scattering, placing a strong upper limit to high redshift star formation. In this talk, I will attempt to review the current status of the field and present some recent theoretical results based on observations of high redshift galaxies and on stellar archaeology in the Galactic halo and in nearby dwarfs.
vendredi 25 mars 2016 - 11:00
Salle des séminaires Évry Schatzman, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
Page web du séminaire / Seminar's webpage