RISEandFALL - The rise and fall of galaxies in the early Universe
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Understanding the nature of the very first galaxies and the physical processes responsible for the build up of their stellar mass and chemical enrichment, as well as their subsequent decline in terms of star formation, are some of the ultimate goals of extragalactic astrophysics. This project will primarily exploit access to two forthcoming, cutting-edge observing facilities, the James Webb Space Telescope and the MOONS spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope, as well as data from the Atacama Large (sub-)Millimetre Array, to achieve an unprecedented leap forward on these topics. The project is divided in two main parts: the first one investigating galaxies in their infancy and their rapid growth and chemical enrichment during the early cosmic epochs; the second part will investigate the competing processes that quench star formation resulting in the emergence of passive systems. Understanding the 'Rise and Fall' of galaxies across the cosmic epochs is a vast area of research. The proposal will focus on the following, ambitious goals: 1) identify and reveal the nature of the first population of galaxies and of their black hole seeds; 2) determine the early evolution of the stellar mass growth and associated chemical enrichment to constrain the primary galaxy evolutionary mechanisms in the early Universe; 3) determine the primary processes responsible for quenching star formation in galaxies across the cosmic epochs.
Organisations
- University of Cambridge (Lead Research Organisation)
- Leiden University (Collaboration)
- National Research Council of Canada (Collaboration)
- Max Planck Society (Collaboration)
- University of Oxford (Collaboration)
- European Space Agency (Collaboration)
- Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) (Collaboration)
- Paris Institute of Astrophysics (Collaboration)
Publications
Ãœbler H
(2024)
GA-NIFS: JWST discovers an offset AGN 740 million years after the big bang
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ãœbler H
(2023)
GA-NIFS: A massive black hole in a low-metallicity AGN at z ~ 5.55 revealed by JWST/NIRSpec IFS
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Ãœbler H
(2024)
GA-NIFS: NIRSpec reveals evidence for non-circular motions and AGN feedback in GN20
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zhao D
(2025)
From Halos to Galaxies. VI. Improved Halo Mass Estimation for SDSS Groups and Measurement of the Halo Mass Function
in The Astrophysical Journal
Witten C
(2025)
Rising from the ashes: evidence of old stellar populations and rejuvenation events in the very early Universe
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Witstok J
(2025)
JADES: primaeval Lyman a emitting galaxies reveal early sites of reionization out to redshift z ~ 9
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Williams C
(2024)
The Galaxies Missed by Hubble and ALMA: The Contribution of Extremely Red Galaxies to the Cosmic Census at 3 < z < 8
in The Astrophysical Journal
Wan J
(2024)
Stochastic prior for non-parametric star-formation histories
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Venturi G
(2024)
Gas-phase metallicity gradients in galaxies at z ~ 6-8
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Vallini L
(2024)
Spatially resolved Kennicutt-Schmidt relation at z ˜ 7 and its connection with the interstellar medium properties
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ulivi L
(2024)
Feedback and ionized gas outflows in four low-radio power AGN at z ~ 0.15
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Ulivi L
(2025)
JWST/NIRSpec insights into the circumnuclear region of Arp 220: A detailed kinematic study
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Tripodi R
(2024)
Spatially resolved emission lines in galaxies at 4 = z < 10 from the JADES survey: Evidence for enhanced central star formation
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Tripodi R
(2024)
HYPERION Coevolution of supermassive black holes and galaxies at z > 6 and the build-up of massive galaxies
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Tortosa A
(2024)
HYPERION. Shedding light on the first luminous quasars: A correlation between UV disc winds and X-ray continuum
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Topping M
(2024)
The UV continuum slopes of early star-forming galaxies in JADES
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Tang M
(2024)
Lya emission in galaxies at z ? 5-6: new insight from JWST into the statistical distributions of Lya properties at the end of reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Simmonds C
(2024)
Ionizing properties of galaxies in JADES for a stellar mass complete sample: resolving the cosmic ionizing photon budget crisis at the Epoch of Reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Siebert M
(2024)
Discovery of a Relativistic Stripped-envelope Type Ic-BL Supernova at z = 2.83 with JWST
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Scholtz J
(2024)
GN-z11: The environment of an active galactic nucleus at z = 10.603 New insights into the most distant Ly a detection
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Schneider R
(2024)
The formation and cosmic evolution of dust in the early Universe: I. Dust sources
in The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review
Saxena A
(2024)
JADES: The production and escape of ionizing photons from faint Lyman-alpha emitters in the epoch of reionization
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sandles L
(2024)
JADES: Balmer decrement measurements at redshifts 4 < z < 7
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Saccheo I
(2025)
HYPERION: Broad-band X-ray-to-near-infrared emission of quasars in the first billion years of the Universe
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
RodrÃguez Del Pino B
(2024)
GA-NIFS: Co-evolution within a highly star-forming galaxy group at z ~ 3.7 witnessed by JWST/NIRSpec IFS
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Robertson B
(2024)
Earliest Galaxies in the JADES Origins Field: Luminosity Function and Cosmic Star Formation Rate Density 300 Myr after the Big Bang
in The Astrophysical Journal
Pérez-González P
(2024)
Feedback mechanisms stopping the star formation in a pair of massive galaxies in the early Universe
Pierel J
(2024)
Discovery of an Apparent Red, High-velocity Type Ia Supernova at z = 2.9 with JWST
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Perna M
(2025)
GA-NIFS: A galaxy-wide outflow in a Compton-thick mini-broad-absorption-line quasar at z = 3.5 probed in emission and absorption
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Perna M
(2024)
No evidence of active galactic nucleus features in the nuclei of Arp 220 from JWST/NIRSpec IFS
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Parlanti E
(2025)
GA-NIFS: Multiphase analysis of a star-forming galaxy at z ~ 5.5
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Parlanti E
(2024)
GA-NIFS: Early-stage feedback in a heavily obscured active galactic nucleus at z = 4.76
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Nelson E
(2024)
Ionized Gas Kinematics with FRESCO: An Extended, Massive, Rapidly Rotating Galaxy at z = 5.4
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
McClymont W
(2024)
The nature of diffuse ionized gas in star-forming galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mazzolari G
(2024)
New AGN diagnostic diagrams based on the [OIII] ? 4363 auroral line
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Maseda M
(2024)
The NIRSpec Wide GTO Survey
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Marconi A
(2024)
HOMERUN: A new approach to photoionization modeling I. Reproducing observed emission lines with percent accuracy and obtaining accurate physical properties of the ionized gas
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Marconcini C
(2024)
GA-NIFS: the interplay between merger, star formation, and chemical enrichment in MACS1149-JD1 at z = 9.11 with JWST/NIRSpec
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Maiolino R
(2024)
Author Correction: A small and vigorous black hole in the early Universe
in Nature
Maiolino R
(2024)
JADES Possible Population III signatures at z = 10.6 in the halo of GN-z11
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Maiolino R
(2024)
JADES The diverse population of infant black holes at 4 < z < 11: Merging, tiny, poor, but mighty
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lyu C
(2024)
From Halos to Galaxies. IX. Estimate of Halo Assembly History for SDSS Galaxy Groups
in The Astrophysical Journal
Looser T
(2024)
The stellar fundamental metallicity relation: the correlation between stellar mass, star formation rate, and stellar metallicity
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lim S
(2024)
The FLAMINGO simulation view of cluster progenitors observed in the epoch of reionization with JWST
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lamperti I
(2024)
GA-NIFS: JWST/NIRSpec IFS view of the z ~ 3.5 galaxy GS5001 and its close environment at the core of a large-scale overdensity
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Juodžbalis I
(2024)
A dormant overmassive black hole in the early Universe
in Nature
| Description | JWST-NIRSpec Instrument Science Team |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Department | European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Coordination and planning of the NIRSpec GTO survey trough simulations and tradeoff analysis Identification of the primary science cases and of their requirements Coordinator of the JADES and WIDE Multi-Object surveys Co-leadership of the IFS survey Development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Membership of the JWST Science Working Group Contribution to the laboratory testing |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Simulations and development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Development of the commissioning plans, tools for data processing, simulations Definition of science readiness criteria Laboratory testing and performance verification of the instrument |
| Impact | NIRSpec instrument design and definition of its observing modes Characterisation of the instrument and laboratory tests GTO surveys plan and submission for scheduling End-to-end simulations of the various observing modes and various observing strategies Tools for the data processing and data analysis |
| Description | JWST-NIRSpec Instrument Science Team |
| Organisation | Leiden University |
| Department | Leiden Observatory |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Coordination and planning of the NIRSpec GTO survey trough simulations and tradeoff analysis Identification of the primary science cases and of their requirements Coordinator of the JADES and WIDE Multi-Object surveys Co-leadership of the IFS survey Development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Membership of the JWST Science Working Group Contribution to the laboratory testing |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Simulations and development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Development of the commissioning plans, tools for data processing, simulations Definition of science readiness criteria Laboratory testing and performance verification of the instrument |
| Impact | NIRSpec instrument design and definition of its observing modes Characterisation of the instrument and laboratory tests GTO surveys plan and submission for scheduling End-to-end simulations of the various observing modes and various observing strategies Tools for the data processing and data analysis |
| Description | JWST-NIRSpec Instrument Science Team |
| Organisation | Max Planck Society |
| Department | Max Planck Institute for Astronomy |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Coordination and planning of the NIRSpec GTO survey trough simulations and tradeoff analysis Identification of the primary science cases and of their requirements Coordinator of the JADES and WIDE Multi-Object surveys Co-leadership of the IFS survey Development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Membership of the JWST Science Working Group Contribution to the laboratory testing |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Simulations and development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Development of the commissioning plans, tools for data processing, simulations Definition of science readiness criteria Laboratory testing and performance verification of the instrument |
| Impact | NIRSpec instrument design and definition of its observing modes Characterisation of the instrument and laboratory tests GTO surveys plan and submission for scheduling End-to-end simulations of the various observing modes and various observing strategies Tools for the data processing and data analysis |
| Description | JWST-NIRSpec Instrument Science Team |
| Organisation | National Research Council of Canada |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Coordination and planning of the NIRSpec GTO survey trough simulations and tradeoff analysis Identification of the primary science cases and of their requirements Coordinator of the JADES and WIDE Multi-Object surveys Co-leadership of the IFS survey Development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Membership of the JWST Science Working Group Contribution to the laboratory testing |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Simulations and development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Development of the commissioning plans, tools for data processing, simulations Definition of science readiness criteria Laboratory testing and performance verification of the instrument |
| Impact | NIRSpec instrument design and definition of its observing modes Characterisation of the instrument and laboratory tests GTO surveys plan and submission for scheduling End-to-end simulations of the various observing modes and various observing strategies Tools for the data processing and data analysis |
| Description | JWST-NIRSpec Instrument Science Team |
| Organisation | Paris Institute of Astrophysics |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Coordination and planning of the NIRSpec GTO survey trough simulations and tradeoff analysis Identification of the primary science cases and of their requirements Coordinator of the JADES and WIDE Multi-Object surveys Co-leadership of the IFS survey Development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Membership of the JWST Science Working Group Contribution to the laboratory testing |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Simulations and development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Development of the commissioning plans, tools for data processing, simulations Definition of science readiness criteria Laboratory testing and performance verification of the instrument |
| Impact | NIRSpec instrument design and definition of its observing modes Characterisation of the instrument and laboratory tests GTO surveys plan and submission for scheduling End-to-end simulations of the various observing modes and various observing strategies Tools for the data processing and data analysis |
| Description | JWST-NIRSpec Instrument Science Team |
| Organisation | Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) |
| Country | Spain |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Coordination and planning of the NIRSpec GTO survey trough simulations and tradeoff analysis Identification of the primary science cases and of their requirements Coordinator of the JADES and WIDE Multi-Object surveys Co-leadership of the IFS survey Development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Membership of the JWST Science Working Group Contribution to the laboratory testing |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Simulations and development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Development of the commissioning plans, tools for data processing, simulations Definition of science readiness criteria Laboratory testing and performance verification of the instrument |
| Impact | NIRSpec instrument design and definition of its observing modes Characterisation of the instrument and laboratory tests GTO surveys plan and submission for scheduling End-to-end simulations of the various observing modes and various observing strategies Tools for the data processing and data analysis |
| Description | JWST-NIRSpec Instrument Science Team |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Department of Physics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Coordination and planning of the NIRSpec GTO survey trough simulations and tradeoff analysis Identification of the primary science cases and of their requirements Coordinator of the JADES and WIDE Multi-Object surveys Co-leadership of the IFS survey Development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Membership of the JWST Science Working Group Contribution to the laboratory testing |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contribution to the design and observing strategies of the instrument Simulations and development of tools for the processing and analysis of the data Development of the commissioning plans, tools for data processing, simulations Definition of science readiness criteria Laboratory testing and performance verification of the instrument |
| Impact | NIRSpec instrument design and definition of its observing modes Characterisation of the instrument and laboratory tests GTO surveys plan and submission for scheduling End-to-end simulations of the various observing modes and various observing strategies Tools for the data processing and data analysis |