Objective 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. Fields of science natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyobservational astronomyoptical astronomynatural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyphysical cosmologybig bangnatural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyastrophysicsblack holesnatural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyastrophysicsdark matternatural sciencesmathematicsapplied mathematicsmathematical model Programme(s) FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG - Marie-Curie Action: "Career Integration Grants" Call for proposal FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG) Coordinator THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE EU contribution € 100 000,00 Address TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS CB2 1TN Cambridge United Kingdom See on map Region East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Renata Schaeffer (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data
