Understanding the first galaxies

Speaker : Séminaire Joe Lewis Institut Astrophysique de Paris

Abstract :

The James Webb Space Telescope has ushered in a new era for the study
of the first galaxies. However, large gaps persist in our knowledge. Indeed
the most abundant but faintest galaxies will remain extremely difficult to
detect at these epochs, motivating the search for indirect ways of
constraining their nature. One indirect probe of the first galaxies is
Reionization. However, using IGM observations (including the upcoming
21cm signal) requires a thorough theoretical investigation. At the same
time, new observations of galaxies have called into question our
assumptions about early galaxy formation remain. In this talk, I will highlight
various numerical projects aimed at better understanding the formation of
the first galaxies, how they drive Reionization, and advancing the
interpretation of galaxy and IGM observations.