Related papers: Low-mass star formation triggered by early superno…
I present a new Galactic chemical evolution model motivated by and grounded in the hierarchical theory of galaxy formation, as expressed by a halo merger history of the Galaxy. This model accurately reproduces the "metallicity distribution…
We study the influence of low levels of metal enrichment on the cooling and collapse of ionized gas in small protogalactic halos using three-dimensional, smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations. Our initial conditions represent…
We study the spatial distribution of Galactic metal-free stars by combining an extremely high-resolution (7.8 X 10^5 solar masses per particle) Cold Dark Matter N-body simulation of the Milky-Way with a semi-analytic model of metal…
We use a spherical hydrodynamics code to show that in cold dark matter cosmologies, the first stars form at z=50 through the direct collapse of gas in low-mass systems (approx 10^4 solar masses). Photons from the first stars easily…
Criteria for gravitational collapse of expanding shells in rotating, shearing galaxy disks were determined using three-dimensional numerical simulations in the thin shell approximation. The simulations were run over a grid of 7 independent…
We present results from three-dimensional numerical simulations of the dynamics of SN-driven bubbles as they propagate through and escape the grasp of subgalactic halos with masses M ~ 10^8 Msun at redshift z=9. The hydrodynamic simulations…
Metals from Population III (Pop III) supernovae led to the formation of less massive Pop II stars in the early universe, altering the course of evolution of primeval galaxies and cosmological reionization. There are a variety of scenarios…
We use detailed nucleosynthesis calculations and a realistic prescription for the environment of the first stars to explore the first episodes of chemical enrichment that occurred during the dark ages. Based on these calculations, we…
We present a detailed chemical abundance and kinematic analysis of six extremely metal-poor ($-4.2 \leq$ [Fe/H] $\leq-$2.9) halo stars with very low neutron-capture abundances ([Sr/H] and [Ba/H]) based on high-resolution Magellan/MIKE…
The origin of supermassive black holes (with $\gtrsim\!10^9\,M_{\odot}$) in the early universe (redshift $z \sim 7$) remains poorly understood. Gravitational collapse of a massive primordial gas cloud is a promising initial process, but…
We present the results of cosmological hydrodynamic simulations with zoom-in initial conditions, and investigate the formation of the first galaxies and their evolution towards observable galaxies at $z \sim 6$. We focus on three different…
These lectures attempt to expose the most important ideas, which have been proposed to explain the formation of stars with particular emphasis on the formation of brown dwarfs and low-mass stars. We first describe the important physical…
We propose a new scenario for supermassive star (SMS;>10^5Msun) formation in shocked regions of colliding cold accretion flows near the centers of first galaxies. Recent numerical simulations indicate that assembly of a typical first galaxy…
Pristine, atomically-cooled haloes may be the sites of primordial quasar formation because atomic cooling triggers rapid baryon collapse that can create 10$^4$ - 10$^5$ M$_{\odot}$ black hole seeds. However, no numerical simulation has ever…
The formation of the first generations of stars at redshifts z > 15-20 signaled the transition from the simple initial state of the universe to one of increasing complexity. We here review recent progress in understanding the assembly…
We use the growing data sets of very-metal-poor stars to study the impact of stellar winds of fast rotating massive stars on the chemical enrichment of the early Galaxy. We use an inhomogeneous chemical evolution model for the Galactic halo…
Studies of the formation of the first stars have established that they formed in small halos of $\sim 10^5 - 10^6 M_{\odot}$ via molecular hydrogen cooling. Since a low level of ultraviolet radiation from stars suffices to dissociate…
While the modern stellar IMF shows a rapid decline with increasing mass, theoretical investigations suggest that very massive stars (>100 solar masses) may have been abundant in the early universe. Other calculations also indicate that,…
The nucleosynthesis in the first massive stars may be constrained by observing the surface composition of long-lived very iron-poor stars born around 10 billion years ago from material enriched by their ejecta. Many interesting clues on…
The origin of supermassive black holes is an open question that has been explored considering gas- and collision-based formation channels to explain the high number of quasars observed in the early Universe. According to numerical…