Research project How the Universe was Reionized
This beautiful, glittering swirl is named, rather unpoetically, J125013.50+073441.5. A glowing haze of material seems to engulf the galaxy, stretching out into space in different directions and forming a fuzzy streak in this image. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Hayes
The most recent of these transitions is known as cosmic reionization, during which the overwhelming majority of intergalactic matter (mostly hydrogen gas) was transformed from a cool, neutral state to a warm, ionized medium. There is little doubt that this process was driven by ultraviolet radiation emitted by the first stars and black hole-related phenomena in proto-galactic structures. However, understanding the nature of these objects, as well as how much energy they radiate into the early universe, remain tremendously challenging.
This KAW-funded project aims to take a multifaceted approach to cosmic reionization and the astrophysical objects that were responsible, using an array of modern telescopes. For example:
- We are leading efforts to identify some of the first black-holes using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).
- We participate in four HST Large Programs, one of which we lead, to study local ‘starburst galaxies’ (similar in their properties to those that reionized the universe)
- We are leading the ‘first galaxies’ aspects of the largest JWST campaign to be awarded during the first cycle of the observatory – the Parallel Application of Slitless Spectroscopy for Galaxy Evolution (PASSAGE).
- All the above is supported by any number of observational campaigns on the largest ground-based telescopes, lead both by group members and through international collaborations.