Unveiling True Galaxy Abundance Evolution at z=6-15 with Precision Simulations and Analysis

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

The aim of the proposal is to conduct cutting-edge computer simulations to help understand the increasingly rich observations of the young Universe. The simulations will study the damage wrought by the brilliant life and explosive death of the first stars. The material between the stars is cooked by intense, high-energy radiation and the simulations will study the consequences of that cooking. Particles of dark, non-radiating matter respond to the force of gravity, so dark matter could influence the formation of the first stars and galaxies. The simulations will study how this influence depends on the mass assumed for these poorly-understood particles. Comparisons between the simulations and the growing body of ground- and space-based observations of the young Universe will significantly strengthen the inferences drawn from those observations. The new simulations will be suitably visualized and shown to the public in the IMAX theatre of the Rose-Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Prior videos from this team have been featured daily in that venue, making it an effective point of public access especially for young viewers.