In this video Sadegh describes how he simulates the birth of the first galaxies at the cosmic dawn.
Background:
The first billion years of the Universe sees a period of rapid change, going from a mostly neutral state to one in which hydrogen is re-ionized, the first stars, black holes, and proto-galaxies form. It is then, when galaxies go through a growth spurt, doubling their stellar mass on average every 150 Myrs. The importance of this phase for present-day galaxies roughly 13 billion years later is highlighted in massive early-type galaxies, whose majority of stars where formed during the first few billion years of the Universe.
The study of this period of cosmic history is one of the great challenges of modern astrophysical research. Little is known about the details of the galaxy population at these epochs, but the increasing wealth of observational data is allowing us to test predictions of theoretical models. In particular, upcoming space based satellite missions like the James-Webb Telescope will provide constrains unreached so far by any other probe.
Modelling and simulating the birth of galaxies pushes the required computational resources to the limit of what is possible at this point. The First Billions Years (FiBY) simulation project consists of a set of simulations that address the formation of the first stars, galaxies and black holes with unprecedented high resolution. Using the outputs from these simulations we study the physical processes driving the growth of galaxies and make strong testable predictions.
Find out more:
Sadegh’s Edinburgh Research Explorer profile
Contact via:
Sadegh’s departmental staff profile
