Related papers: A complex multi-notch astronomical filter to suppr…
Observations at long wavelengths, in the wide interval from a few to 1000 micron, are essential to study diffuse media in galaxies, including all kinds of atomic, ionic and molecular gases and dust grains. Hence they are particularly suited…
We study the fundamental limits of detection for astrophysical observations in the far infrared. Understanding these fundamental limits is critical to the planning and analysis of experiments in this region. We specifically characterize the…
Although dust emission at cosmological distances has only been detected a little more than a decade ago, remarkable progress has been achieved since then in characterizing the far-infrared emission of high-redshift systems. The mere fact…
Imaging and spectroscopic observations in the mid-infrared wavelength range (5$\mu$m--30$\mu$m) offer valuable insight into the origins of stars and planets. Sensitive new array detectors on 8-meter class telescopes make it possible to…
One of the major goals of observational cosmology is to acquire empirical data that has the diagnostic power to develop the theoretical modelling of the high-redshift universe, ultimately leading to an accurate understanding of the…
Thanks to the high spatial resolution afforded by 8-10m class telescopes, we are beginning to learn that some sources are extended in their mid-infrared emission because of dusty outflows or heated outflow cavity walls. Therefore one must…
The statistical power of weak lensing measurements is principally driven by the number of high redshift galaxies whose shapes are resolved. Conventional wisdom and physical intuition suggest this is optimised by deep imaging at long (red or…
Stellar emission and absorption lines are routinely observed in galaxies at redshifts up to 5 with spectrographs on 8-10m class telescopes. While the overall spectra are well understood and have been successfully modeled using empirical and…
I review selected current observations of distant galaxies and our interpretation of the fragile (and occasionally contradictory) data. Galaxies at the ``contemporary limit'' of technology and redshift (z~6) are difficult to locate in the…
Massive stars are at the core of our observations of the Universe up to the reionization epoch, both through their intense ionizing fluxes and through the energetic end products that release fresh elements into the interstellar medium. Our…
The construction of the James Webb Space Telescope has brought attention to infrared astronomy and cosmology. The potential information about our universe to be gained by this mission and future infrared telescopes is staggering, but…
Several lines of evidence and theoretical arguments suggest that a large fraction of starlight is absorbed by interstellar dust and re-radiated at far-IR wavelengths, particularly during early evolutionary phases of early type galaxies,…
The long-awaited promise of studying high-redshift galaxies at long wavelengths has been partially eclipsed by progress at optical wavelengths, mostly because of the number of available pixels. It is nonetheless essential to study optically…
Distant starlight passing through the Earth's atmosphere is refracted by an angle of just over one degree near the surface. This focuses light onto a focal line starting at an inner (and chromatic) boundary out to infinity - offering an…
To study large-scale structure in the Universe a full census of the contents are required. This is even more important when the processes of galaxy formation are being investigated. In the last year the population of distant galaxies that…
One of the outstanding problems of current observational cosmology is to understand the nature of sources that produced the bulk of the ionizing radiation after the Cosmic Dark Age. Direct detection of these reionization sources is…
The sustained increase of emissions of artificial light is causing a progressive brightening of the night sky in most of the world. This process represents a threat for the long-term sustainability of the scientific and educational activity…
High redshift star-forming galaxies are discovered routinely through a flux excess in narrowband filters (NB) caused by an emission line. In most cases, the width of such filters is broad compared to typical line widths, and the throughput…
A significant fraction of the energy emitted in the early Universe came from very luminous galaxies that are largely hidden at optical wavelengths (because of interstellar dust grains); this energy now forms part of the cosmic background…
We describe a new approach to studying the intergalactic and circumgalactic medium in the local Universe: direct detection through narrow-band imaging of ultra-low surface brightness visible-wavelength line emission. We use the…