Dissecting galaxies at the cosmic dawn
Lead Research Organisation:
Liverpool John Moores University
Department Name: Astrophysics Research Institute
Abstract
Contemplating our origins is a key part of what makes us human, and has provoked ideas and stories in every civilisation. My research is similarly motivated by this curiosity. I am driven by questions such as: How were stars and galaxies first formed after the creation of the Universe in the Big Bang? How did they differ from those we see around us in the local Universe? When were the elements necessary for life, such as oxygen, carbon and nitrogen, first created? The formation of the first stars and their assembly into the first galaxies is now a frontier focus of modern physics, and the subject of intensifying research activity.
Owing to the finite speed of light, we see galaxies farther back in time by observing more distant examples. The scrutiny and refinement of models of structure formation in the early Universe therefore requires direct observation of the most-distant galaxies. The installation in 2009 of new instrumentation aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) enabled it to detect starlight that travelled across the cosmos for 13.4 billion years, emitted from galaxies seen only 400 million years after the Big Bang. These remarkable observations proved that galaxies, and the elements needed for life, were present mere moments into cosmic history.
Hubble's forthcoming successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), aims to discover the forebears of these systems and characterise the physical processes governing the growth of the very first generation of galaxies. Due to launch in 2021, JWST's instruments will reveal galaxies seen 100 million years after the Big Bang. Over the next five years I will exploit the world's premier ground-based telescopes, and JWST, to answer fundamental questions such as: When did the first stars and galaxies form? How rapidly did the first galaxies evolve, and which physical processes regulated their growth? Which galaxies were responsible for ionising the intergalactic neutral hydrogen that pervaded the early Universe? Did the stars within galaxies dominate this process, or was it driven by the first population of black holes?
My analyses will deliver measurements of the fundamental diagnostic quantities that describe the formation and evolution of the first galaxies. They will thus enable refinement of galaxy evolution models in a regime that is at present wholly unconstrained by observations. Such measurements are the crucial ingredient needed to foster the next major development in our understanding of the structures that first illuminated the cosmos.
Owing to the finite speed of light, we see galaxies farther back in time by observing more distant examples. The scrutiny and refinement of models of structure formation in the early Universe therefore requires direct observation of the most-distant galaxies. The installation in 2009 of new instrumentation aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) enabled it to detect starlight that travelled across the cosmos for 13.4 billion years, emitted from galaxies seen only 400 million years after the Big Bang. These remarkable observations proved that galaxies, and the elements needed for life, were present mere moments into cosmic history.
Hubble's forthcoming successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), aims to discover the forebears of these systems and characterise the physical processes governing the growth of the very first generation of galaxies. Due to launch in 2021, JWST's instruments will reveal galaxies seen 100 million years after the Big Bang. Over the next five years I will exploit the world's premier ground-based telescopes, and JWST, to answer fundamental questions such as: When did the first stars and galaxies form? How rapidly did the first galaxies evolve, and which physical processes regulated their growth? Which galaxies were responsible for ionising the intergalactic neutral hydrogen that pervaded the early Universe? Did the stars within galaxies dominate this process, or was it driven by the first population of black holes?
My analyses will deliver measurements of the fundamental diagnostic quantities that describe the formation and evolution of the first galaxies. They will thus enable refinement of galaxy evolution models in a regime that is at present wholly unconstrained by observations. Such measurements are the crucial ingredient needed to foster the next major development in our understanding of the structures that first illuminated the cosmos.
Organisations
- Liverpool John Moores University (Fellow, Lead Research Organisation)
- University of Arizona (Collaboration)
- Leiden University (Collaboration)
- Hiroshima University (Collaboration)
- University of Geneva (Collaboration)
- Swinburne University of Technology (Collaboration)
- University of Chile (Collaboration)
- Space Telescope Science Institute (Collaboration)
- European Space Agency (Collaboration)
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (Collaboration)
Publications
Bouwens R. J.
(2021)
Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey: Selection and Characterization of Luminous Interstellar Medium Reservoirs in the z>6.5 Universe
in arXiv e-prints
Endsley Ryan
(2021)
Radio and Far-IR Emission Associated with a Massive Star-forming Galaxy Candidate at z$\simeq$6.8: A Radio-Loud AGN in the Reionization Era?
in arXiv e-prints
Curtis-Lake Emma
(2022)
Spectroscopic confirmation of four metal-poor galaxies at z=10.3-13.2
in arXiv e-prints
Barrufet L.
(2022)
Unveiling the Nature of Infrared Bright, Optically Dark Galaxies with Early JWST Data
in arXiv e-prints
Endsley Ryan
(2022)
ALMA Confirmation of an Obscured Hyperluminous Radio-Loud AGN at $z=6.853$ Associated with a Dusty Starburst in the 1.5 deg$^2$ COSMOS Field
in arXiv e-prints
Robertson B. E.
(2022)
Discovery and properties of the earliest galaxies with confirmed distances
in arXiv e-prints
Schouws Sander
(2021)
Significant Dust-Obscured Star Formation in Luminous Lyman-break Galaxies at $z$$\sim$$7$$-$$8$
in arXiv e-prints
Witstok J
(2021)
Prospects for observing the low-density cosmic web in Lyman- a emission
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Posses A
(2023)
Structure and kinematics of a massive galaxy at z ~ 7
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Witstok J
(2023)
Inside the bubble: exploring the environments of reionisation-era Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies with JADES and FRESCO
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
| Title | On the origin of [CII] in the Epoch of Reionization |
| Description | ALMA program 2018.1.01551.S. This program is a pilot to understand the interstellar medium of galaxies in the first billion years of cosmic time, searching for the presence of the diffuse ionised medium. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Published in Witstok et al. 2022 |
| URL | https://almascience.eso.org/aq/?result_view=observations&projectCode=2018.1.01551.S |
| Title | Resolving disks and mergers in the Epoch of Reionization |
| Description | New data-set approved and currently data is being collected. This is a direct follow-up from key science goals of the award. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Only a small subset of data has been taken, but my PhD student Sian Phillips will be writing her thesis on this new data. |
| URL | https://almascience.nrao.edu/aq/?result_view=projects&projectCode=2022.1.01131.S |
| Title | Resolving the kinematic structure of a [CII] emitter 800 million years after the Big Bang |
| Description | ALMA data-set 2017.1.00604.S. The deepest ever look at the dust and cool gas in a galaxy in the first billion years of cosmic time. One of the key aims is to confirm the nature of disk kinematics in this early system. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Preliminary analysis has been used to successfully obtain larger data samples. |
| URL | https://almascience.eso.org/aq/?result_view=observations&projectCode=2017.1.00604.S |
| Title | The ISM conditions of UV-selected galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization |
| Description | ALMA program 2018.1.00429.S. This program aims to uncover the physical properties of star-forming regions in two pilot sources in the first billion years of cosmic time. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The preliminary pilot results were used to successfully obtain a larger data-sample. Results published in Witstok et al. 2022 |
| URL | https://almascience.eso.org/aq/?result_view=observations&projectCode=2018.1.00429.S |
| Title | Using [OIII] to reveal the ISM conditions of UV-selected galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization |
| Description | ALMA program 2019.1.01524.S. This program aims to expand the sample of sources for which we can study the physical properties of the star-forming regions in galaxies in the first billion years of cosmic time. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Published in Witstok et al. 2022 |
| URL | https://almascience.eso.org/aq/?result_view=observations&projectCode=2019.1.01524.S |
| Description | JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Department | European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I have contributed to the target selection and spectroscopic redshift analysis for the JADES survey. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The NIRSpec GTO team is led from ESA ESTEC. |
| Impact | Data is expected to start coming in from fall 2022. 3 publications are listed under my portfolio that are associated with this collaboration based on simulated data: Chevallard et al. (2019) doi:10.1093/mnras/sty2426, Williams et al. (2018) doi:10.3847/1538-4365/aabcbb, Hainline et al. (2020) doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab7dc3 |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Local analogs of z>6 galaxies |
| Organisation | Space Telescope Science Institute |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I have co-written all telescope proposals for this project, resulting in a 10 orbit Hubble Space Telescope program (in-kind $25,000), complemented by 4 hours on the Gemini telescope (in-kind $15,000). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Nimisha Kumari, a research fellow at the Space Telescope Science Institute, who is my co-PI for these proposals, has analysed archival data available on local analog of the distant galaxies I observe with ALMA. |
| Impact | A paper on the Hubble Space Telescope data is being prepared by Nimisha Kumari. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | REBELS: Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey |
| Organisation | Hiroshima University |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I am a leading member of the international REBELS team, sitting on its management board and responsible for data-processing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | I have listed my collaborators on the management board and collaborators that have unique telescope data access though their country and/or University. |
| Impact | We are collecting the largest data-set of galaxies in the first billion years of cosmic time with the ALMA telescope. Data collection is 80% completed |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | REBELS: Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey |
| Organisation | Leiden University |
| Department | Leiden Observatory |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I am a leading member of the international REBELS team, sitting on its management board and responsible for data-processing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | I have listed my collaborators on the management board and collaborators that have unique telescope data access though their country and/or University. |
| Impact | We are collecting the largest data-set of galaxies in the first billion years of cosmic time with the ALMA telescope. Data collection is 80% completed |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | REBELS: Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey |
| Organisation | Swinburne University of Technology |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I am a leading member of the international REBELS team, sitting on its management board and responsible for data-processing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | I have listed my collaborators on the management board and collaborators that have unique telescope data access though their country and/or University. |
| Impact | We are collecting the largest data-set of galaxies in the first billion years of cosmic time with the ALMA telescope. Data collection is 80% completed |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | REBELS: Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey |
| Organisation | University of Arizona |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I am a leading member of the international REBELS team, sitting on its management board and responsible for data-processing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | I have listed my collaborators on the management board and collaborators that have unique telescope data access though their country and/or University. |
| Impact | We are collecting the largest data-set of galaxies in the first billion years of cosmic time with the ALMA telescope. Data collection is 80% completed |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | REBELS: Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey |
| Organisation | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I am a leading member of the international REBELS team, sitting on its management board and responsible for data-processing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | I have listed my collaborators on the management board and collaborators that have unique telescope data access though their country and/or University. |
| Impact | We are collecting the largest data-set of galaxies in the first billion years of cosmic time with the ALMA telescope. Data collection is 80% completed |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | REBELS: Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey |
| Organisation | University of Chile |
| Country | Chile |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I am a leading member of the international REBELS team, sitting on its management board and responsible for data-processing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | I have listed my collaborators on the management board and collaborators that have unique telescope data access though their country and/or University. |
| Impact | We are collecting the largest data-set of galaxies in the first billion years of cosmic time with the ALMA telescope. Data collection is 80% completed |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | REBELS: Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey |
| Organisation | University of Geneva |
| Department | Geneva Observatory |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I am a leading member of the international REBELS team, sitting on its management board and responsible for data-processing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | I have listed my collaborators on the management board and collaborators that have unique telescope data access though their country and/or University. |
| Impact | We are collecting the largest data-set of galaxies in the first billion years of cosmic time with the ALMA telescope. Data collection is 80% completed |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | BBC 5 Live interview on DART mission |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | BBC 5 Live interview on DART mission |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | BBC 5 Live interview on new Hubble study of Comet |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | BBC 5 Live interview on new Hubble study of Comet |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | BBC Cambridgeshire radio interview on JWST |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to share my expertise on JWST for a short segment on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | BBC Jersey radio interview on JWST |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to share my expertise on JWST for a short segment on BBC Radio Jersey. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | BBC Kent Radio interview on DART mission |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | BBC Kent Radio interview on DART mission |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | BBC Kent Radio interview on JWST first data |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | BBC Kent Radio interview on JWST first data |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | BBC Kent radio interview on JWST |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to share my expertise on JWST on the local BBC Radio Kent |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | BBC Merseyside radio interview on JWST |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to share my expertise on JWST for a short segment on BBC Radio Merseyside |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | BBC News Channel TV interview on JWST in orbit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to share my expertise on a live TV interview on the BBC News channel for a special on the James Webb Space Telescope getting to orbit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | BBC News Channel TV interview on JWST mirror unfolding |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to share my expertise on a live TV interview on the BBC News channel for a special on the James Webb Space Telescope unfolding its mirror. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | BBC News Channel TV interview on JWST sunshield |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to share my expertise on a BBC News Channel special on JWST unfolding its sunshield. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | BBC Scotland Radio interview on JWST |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to share my expertise on a Radio interview for BBC Scotland on a little segment about JWST. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | BBC Scotland TV interview on JWST |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to share my expertise on the BBC Scotland program 'The Seven' on a special about the James Webb Space Telescope |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | BBC Shropshire radio interview on JWST |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to share my expertise on JWST for a short segment on BBC Radio Shropshire. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | BBC Wiltshire radio interview on JWST |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to share my expertise on JWST for a short segment on BBC Radio Wiltshire. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | BBC World News TV interview on JWST micrometeorite impact |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | BBC World News TV interview on JWST micrometeorite impact |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | BBC World service radio interview on JWST |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to share my expertise on a radio interview on JWST for BBC world service. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Guest lecturer University of Amsterdam |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to deliver a lecture, including student discussion, on the formation of the first stars and galaxies for an interdisciplinary undergraduate module on the topic of 'Big History' at the University of Amsterdam. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.uva.nl/en/programmes/open-programmes-iis/big-history-en/big-history-kopie.html?cb |
| Description | Lecturer International Summer School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited as a lecturer for a First Light Summer School in Sao Paulo, Brazil, attended by 100 undergraduate and graduate students in Physics in Astronomy in 2020. Lectures sparked discussion afterwards. By demand, a virtual return of the school was organised in 2021. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://www.firstlight.iag.usp.br/ |
| Description | Popular Science magazine interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview for article in online popular science magazine about new discoveries with JWST. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.popsci.com/science/big-bang-galaxy-james-webb-space-telescope/ |
| Description | press release 'Unveiling galaxies at Cosmic Dawn that were hiding behind the dust' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Press release associated with Fudamoto et al. (2021, Nature), www.waseda.jp/top/en/news/74857. Press release was translated in multiple languages and picked up with news outlets around the world, including The Independent, Al Jazeera and VICE. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://www.waseda.jp/top/en/news/74857 |
| Description | press release most distant galaxies confirmed |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Press release received coverage in BBC online, TIME megazine, New York Times, Daily Mail, Evening Standard, independent, Daily express |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |