Objective
Charting the chemical enrichment of galaxies during the first billion years of the Universe represents one of the cornerstones of modern extragalactic astrophysics. For the first time, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has enabled direct measurements of chemical abundances in galaxies only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, offering unprecedented insight into the origins of the first heavy elements and enabling chemistry as a novel chronometer to trace the emergence and growth of the earliest sources. Early JWST observations have revealed a remarkably diverse and complex primordial Universe, bringing into question long-standing paradigms of early galaxy formation and enrichment. The discovery of anomalous elemental abundances, rapid chemical evolution, and complex ionisation structures is difficult to reconcile with theory and simulations, suggesting unexplored modes of star formation, exotic stellar yields, or the need for new physical frameworks. The main questions are now: how did the first galaxies synthesise heavy elements, what were their enrichment histories, and what do their chemical abundance ratios reveal about the stellar populations that forged them?
The Origins of Metal Enrichment in Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn (OMEGA) is an ambitious observational project designed to uncover how, when, and under what physical conditions galaxies began enriching their interstellar media. Leveraging unprecedented spectroscopic data from approved JWST programmes, together with advanced photoionisation modelling and neural-network techniques, OMEGA will identify the ionisation structures of early galaxies, reveal the physical drivers behind anomalous abundance patterns, and chart the pace of metal build-up across cosmic time. These advances will deliver the first coherent physical picture of chemical enrichment in the aftermath of the Big Bang, setting the foundation for future studies with next-generation facilities such as the Extremely Large Telescope.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy physical cosmology big bang
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy astrophysics
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences celestial mechanics
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy physical cosmology galaxy evolution
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy observational astronomy
You need to log in or register to use this function
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2026-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
WC1E 6BT London
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.