Related papers: Quasar Elemental Abundances at High Redshifts
Based on the gamma-ray burst (GRB) event rate at redshifts of $4 \leq z \leq 12$, which is assessed by the spectral peak energy-to-luminosity relation recently found by Yonetoku et al., we observationally derive the star formation rate…
The detection of two $z\sim 13$ galaxy candidates has opened a new window on galaxy formation at an era only $330$ Myr after the Big Bang. Here, we investigate the physical nature of these sources: are we witnessing star forming galaxies or…
The broad emission lines (BELs) of quasars and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are important diagnostics of the relative abundances and overall metallicity in the gas. Here we present new theoretical predictions for several UV BELs. We focus…
Damped Lyman-alpha absorption systems found in the spectra of high redshift quasars are believed to trace the interstellar gas in high redshift galaxies. In this paper, we study the elemental abundances of C, N, O, Al, Si, S, Cr, Mn, Fe,…
The cosmological background of ionizing radiation has been dominated by quasars once the Universe aged by ~2 billion years. At earlier times (redshifts z>3), the observed abundance of bright quasars declined sharply, implying that cosmic…
We present an analysis of the emission line property and the broad band spectral energy distribution of the ultra-luminous infrared Type II quasar Q132+058. The optical and ultraviolet emission lines show four distinct components: a…
It is currently unknown whether the Universe was reionized by quasars or stars at z>5. We point out that quasars can be best distinguished from stellar systems by their X-ray emission. Based on a simple hierarchical CDM model, we predict…
Models predict that chemical enrichment and gas redistribution should proceed rapidly once star formation begins, yet direct observational constraints at the earliest cosmic epochs have been scarce. Here we present evidence that…
We have collected an heterogeneous sample of galaxies at redshifts 0.001<z<3.35 with the aim of exploring the evolution of the physical parameters and of the element abundances calculated by modelling the observed spectra. The evolution…
The cosmic star formation rate density first increases with time towards a pronounced peak 10 Gyrs ago (or z=1-2) and then slows down, dropping by more than a factor 10 since z=1. The processes at the origin of the star formation quenching…
Observations of the most luminous quasars at redshift z>6 reveal the existence of numerous supermasssive black holes (>10^9 Msun) already in place about twelve billion years ago. In addition, the interstellar medium of the galaxies hosting…
We assess the most plausible scenarios for generating large amounts of dust in high-z quasars (QSOs) on the basis of observationally derived physical properties of QSOs at z > 6. We use a chemical evolution model to compute the temporal…
It appears that the Lyman alpha forest is becoming thick at a redshift of about 5.5, cutting off the higher redshift intergalactic medium from view in neutral hydrogen. However, the effects of star formation at higher redshift are still…
In popular cold dark matter cosmological scenarios, stars may have first appeared in significant numbers around a redshift of 10 or so, as the gas within protogalactic halos with virial temperatures in excess of 20,000 K (corresponding to…
How and when did the first generation of stars form at the end of the cosmic dark ages? Quite generically, within variants of the cold dark matter model of cosmological structure formation, the first sources of light are expected to form in…
We study the baryonic, chemical and dynamical properties of a significantly large sample of early proto-galaxies in the first 500 Myr of the Universe (redshift z>9), obtained from high-resolution numerical, N-body, hydrodynamical, chemistry…
We estimate the metallicity in the broad emission-line region of the redshift z=4.16 quasar, BR2248-1242, by comparing line ratios involving nitrogen to theoretical predictions. BR2248-1242 has unusually narrow emission lines with large…
Reionization is thought to have occurred in the redshift range of $6 < z < 9$, which is now being probed by both deep galaxy surveys and CMB observations. Using halo abundance matching over the redshift range $5<z<8$ and assuming smooth,…
We present abundance measurements of elements O, C, Si and Fe for three gas-rich galaxies at z~5 using observations from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Keck telescope in order to better constrain the early chemical enrichment of…
We simulate a plausible cosmological model in considerable physical and numerical detail through the successive phases of reheating (at 10<z<20), formation of Pop III stars at z=15 (due to molecular hydrogen cooling), with subsequent…