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Content archived on 2024-06-20

Probing star formation throughout the Universe with Gamma-Ray Bursts

Objective

The history of structure formation from the first stars and galaxies to the present day is becoming amenable to detailed study for the first time. This project is aimed at better understanding the reionisation of the universe and the star formation history over cosmic time. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the brightest explosions in the universe, offer a direct means of answering these questions via observations of their afterglows and host galaxies. The Swift satellite and its ability to rapidly and accurately locate 100GRBs/yr now make this feasible. This will be complemented with wide-ranging follow-up programmes on numerous telescopes, including automated telescopes and targeted programmes on e.g the Very Large Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope.

The main objectives are to:
(1) Determine the ionisation history of the universe and characterise the sources that drive it. The luminosity of GRB afterglows offers a unique opportunity to measure the evolution of the intergalactic medium out to very high redsh ift. High-z GRBs (z and gt;6) will be found via rapid optical/IR observations, thus enabling rapid spectroscopy to obtain both the redshift and neutral hydrogen fraction. Deep, late time observations will allow the identification of starforming proto-galaxies in the early universe, the very sources leading to reionisation.
(2) Compile a comprehensive, uniformly selected sample of GRBs with measured redshifts and well sampled light curves. This is crucial in order to investigate their energetics and their possible application as "standard candles". It is also a pre-requisite to using the GRB redshift distribution to characterise the star formation history of the Universe.
(3) Understand the nature and evolution of galaxies at high redshift via observations of GRB hosts and their place within the zoo of high-redshift galaxies.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Topic(s)

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Call for proposal

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FP6-2005-MOBILITY-5
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

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EIF - Marie Curie actions-Intra-European Fellowships

Coordinator

THE UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE
EU contribution
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Total cost

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.

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