Inception of the Chemical Elements

Studying the chemical evolution of galaxies across the history of the Universe is central to our efforts to understand the physical processes governing galaxy formation. Over the coming years, transformative instruments such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Multi-Object Near-infrared Spectrograph (MOONS) promise to revolutionise the field. Building on my recent success investigating the stellar
metallicities of galaxies at 2.5 < z < 5.0 from the VANDELS survey, I propose to construct a research team that will fully exploit the potential of this next generation of instruments. The three primary science goals of the proposal can be summarized as follows: (i) to establish a complete understanding of galaxy stellar metallicities at z = 3.5; (ii) to extend the study of galaxy metallicities into the redshift range 4 < z < 10 by exploiting the transformative capabilities of JWST; and (iii) to perform the first investigations of the environment dependence on galaxy stellar metallicities at 1 < z < 3 with MOONS. These goals will be made possible by leveraging my recent publication history, as well as my leading roles within the VANDELS survey, three large JWST Cycle 1 programs, and the MOONS GTO survey MOONRISE. In addition to these core observational goals, my team will also develop novel state-of-the-art methods for performing accurate comparisons with cosmological simulations, moving beyond simple parameter comparisons and constructing fully realistic mock observations. In summary, the aim of this proposal is to build a research team with the interdisciplinary skills necessary to fully exploit upcoming transformative datasets and maximise their potential by performing detailed comparisons with cosmological simulations. This project will significantly enhance our understanding of the chemical evolution of the Universe over the first 6 Gyr of cosmic time - charting the astrophysical origin of the periodic table of elements.