Obiettivo The formation of stars and galaxies in the first billion of years after the Big Bang presents many open questions and opportunities for (unexpected) discoveries. How and when the first stars and galaxies were formed? How do they evolve with time into the galaxies, stars and black holes that we observe today? To address these fundamental questions, we propose to study star formation in the first protoclusters of galaxies during the infancy of the Universe. We started finding these rare overdensities with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) as early as 650 million years after the Big Bang (at redshift z~8, more than 13 billion light years from us). Now, we aim at characterizing their properties. Our approach is based on combining observations using the most powerful telescopes, such as HST, Spitzer, ALMA, VLT and Keck, with computer simulations and theoretical modeling to interpret the datasets. Protocluster galaxies live in overdense regions with an earlier than average assembly history, hence they are ideal to investigate the very first instances of star formation and cosmic reionization. Our project will (1) characterize galaxies in the most distant protocluster known to date, which we discovered thanks to a large HST campaign; (2) discover new protoclusters at similar redshift in the short term, and out to redshift z~15 (300 Myr after the Big Bang) in the future with the James Webb Space Telescope; (3) model the formation and evolution of these systems across cosmic time, testing not only our understanding of how stars and galaxies are born, but also of the fundamental nature of dark matter particles. The project is based on ongoing observations and modeling started in the United States, and supported by ample NASA funding awarded to the researcher before his reintegration into the EU. The award of a CIG will ensure that the scientific leadership is permanently established in the EU, contributing to its scientific excellency. Campo scientifico natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyobservational astronomyoptical astronomynatural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyphysical cosmologybig bangnatural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyastrophysicsblack holesnatural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyastrophysicsdark matternatural sciencesmathematicsapplied mathematicsmathematical model Programma(i) FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Argomento(i) FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG - Marie-Curie Action: "Career Integration Grants" Invito a presentare proposte FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG Vedi altri progetti per questo bando Meccanismo di finanziamento MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG) Coordinatore THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE Contributo UE € 100 000,00 Indirizzo TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS CB2 1TN Cambridge Regno Unito Mostra sulla mappa Regione East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC Tipo di attività Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Contatto amministrativo Renata Schaeffer (Ms.) Collegamenti Contatta l’organizzazione Opens in new window Sito web Opens in new window Costo totale Nessun dato