Related papers: Molecules in the early Universe
Current data of high-redshift absorption-line systems imply that hydrogen reionization occurred before redshifts of about 5. Previous works on reionization by the first stars or quasars have shown that such scenarios are described by a…
Hydrogen recombination is one of the most important atomic processes in many astrophysical objects such as Type II supernova (SN~II) atmospheres, the high redshift universe during the cosmological recombination era, and H II regions in the…
Cosmic gas makes up about 90% of baryonic matter in the Universe and H$_2$ is the closest molecule to star formation. In this work we study cold neutral gas and its H$_2$ component at different epochs, exploiting state-of-the-art…
The recombination of hydrogen and helium at z~1000-7000 gives unavoidable distortions to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) spectrum. We present a detailed calculation of the line intensities arising from the Ly-alpha (2p-1s) and…
We describe results from a fully self-consistent three dimensional hydrodynamical simulation of the formation of one of the first stars in the Universe. Dark matter dominated pre-galactic objects form because of gravitational instability…
The thermochemistry of H2 and HD in non-collapsed, non-reionized primordial gas up to the end of the dark age is investigated with recent radiation-matter and chemical reaction rates taking into account the efficient coolant HD, and the…
Recent experimental results about the formation of molecular hydrogen on astrophysically relevant surfaces under conditions close to those encountered in the interstellar medium are analyzed using rate equations. The parameters of the rate…
Large-scale cosmological simulations of galaxy formation currently do not resolve the densities at which molecular hydrogen forms, implying that the atomic-to-molecular transition must be modeled either on the fly or in postprocessing. We…
Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the Universe, has traditionally been used to investigate astrophysical processes within and around our own Galaxy. In its chemically neutral, atomic form (known as HI in the astronomical literature),…
A mildly inhomogeneous universe with a cosmological constant may look like it contains evolving dark energy. We show that could be the case by modelling the inhomogeneities and their effects in three different ways: as clumped matter…
The basic processes of the formation of the first stars in the primordial Universe are outlined and the implications for cosmological structure formation discussed. By employing theoretical and numerical models of cosmic structure evolution…
We have reviewed the chemistry and cooling behaviour of low-density (n<10^4 cm^-3) primordial gas and devised a cooling model wich involves 19 collisional and 9 radiative processes and is applicable for temperatures in the range (1 K < T <…
Primordial molecules were formed during the Dark Ages, i.e. the time between recombination and reionization in the early Universe. The purpose of this article is to analyze the formation of primordial molecules based on heavy elements…
The formation of the first stars in the high-redshift Universe is a sensitive probe of the small-scale, particle physics nature of dark matter (DM). We carry out cosmological simulations of primordial star formation in ultra-light,…
Molecular hydrogen has an important role in the early stages of star formation as well as in the production of many other molecules that have been detected in the interstellar medium. In this review we show that it is now possible to study…
Cosmology and astroparticle physics give strongest possible evidence for the incompleteness of the Standard Model of particle physics. Leaving aside misterious dark energy, which may or may not be just the cosmological constant, two…
The transformation of cold neutral intergalactic hydrogen into a highly ionized warm plasma marks the end of the cosmic dark ages and the beginning of the age of galaxies. The details of this process reflect the nature of the early sources…
Observational cosmology is in its "golden age" with a vast amount of recent data on the distribution of matter and light in the universe. This data can be used to probe theories of the very early universe. It is small amplitude cosmological…
A dark photon may kinetically mix with the Standard Model photon, leading to observable cosmological signatures. The mixing is resonantly enhanced when the dark photon mass matches the primordial plasma frequency, which depends sensitively…
The question of classicality is addressed in relation with the shape of the nuclear skeleton of molecular systems. As the most natural environment, the electrons of the molecule are considered as continuously monitoring agents for the…