Final Report Summary - FIRST (The first stars and galaxies)
The FIRST research team has successfully investigated some of the most important processes that shape the evolution of the infant Universe. New theoretical models have enabled to shed light on cosmic epochs that are not yet accessible to direct observations. Within FIRST, we have interpreted the signatures of the first stars in the most distant galaxies currently known as well as in the oldest and most chemically immature stars in our local neighbourhood. Following the fate of the first black holes formed as leftovers of the first stars, we have reconstructed the possible formation pathways of the super massive black holes heavier than one billion solar masses that light up the nuclei of massive galaxies less than 1 billion years after the Big Bang.