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We combine fast radiative transfer calculations with high resolution hydrodynamical simulations to study an epoch of early hydrogen reionisation by primordial stellar sources at redshifts 15<z<30. With relatively conservative assumptions,…
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 recent detection of the sky-averaged 21-cm cosmological signal indicates a stronger absorption than the maximum allowed value based on the standard model. One explanation for the required colder primordial gas is the energy transfer…
Motivated by the WMAP results indicating an early epoch of reionization, we consider alternative cosmic star formation models which are capable of reionizing the early intergalactic medium. We develop models which include an early burst of…
Standard analyses of the reionization history of the universe from Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization measurements consider only the overall optical depth to electron scattering ($\tau$), and further assume a step-like…
The WMAP satellite has provided a new measurement of the age of the Universe, of $13.7 \pm 0.2$ Gyr. A comparison of this limit with constraints from stellar evolution imply that the oldest globular clusters in the Milky Way galaxy have a…
Simulating Population (Pop.) III star formation in mini-halos in a large cosmological simulation is an extremely challenging task but it is crucial to estimate its impact on the 21cm power spectrum. In this work, we develop a framework…
Cosmic reionization and dark matter decay can impact observations of the cosmic microwave sky in a similar way. A simultaneous study of both effects is required to constrain unstable dark matter from cosmic microwave background…
We perform an analysis of the recent WMAP7 data considering physically motivated and viable reionization scenarios with the aim of assessing their effects on cosmological parameter determinations. The main novelties are: (i) the combination…
Population III stars supplied the first light and metals in the Universe, setting the pace of re-ionisation and early chemical enrichment. In dense haloes their evolution can be strongly influenced by the energy released when WIMPs…
Molecular hydrogen allows cooling in primordial gas, facilitating its collapse into Population III stars within primordial halos. Lyman-Werner (LW) radiation from these stars can escape the halo and delay further star formation by…
In reionized regions of the Universe, gas can only collapse to form stars in dark matter (DM) haloes which grow to be sufficiently massive. If star formation is prevented in the minihalo progenitors of such DM haloes at redshifts z >~ 20,…
We construct star formation histories at redshifts z > 5 for two physically distinct populations of primordial, metal-free stars, motivated by theoretical and observational arguments that have hinted towards the existence of an intermediate…
We present constraints on cosmological and star formation parameters based on combining observations of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and high-redshift quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We use a…
We provide a status report on our current understanding of the mass scales for Pop III.1 and Pop III.2 stars. Since the last review (Norman 2008), substantial progress has been made both numerically and analytically on the late stages of…
The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) experiment has detected reionization at the $5.5 \sigma$ level and has reported a mean optical depth of $0.088 \pm 0.015$. A powerful probe of reionization is the large-angle $EE$ polarization…
Recent studies have highlighted that galaxies at z = 6-8 fall short of producing enough ionizing photons to reionize the IGM, and suggest that Population III stars could resolve this tension, because their harder spectra can produce ~10x…
Our understanding of the nature of the extragalactic background light (EBL) has improved with the recent development of gamma-ray observation techniques. An open subject in the context of the EBL is the reionization epoch, which is an…
The nature of the first, so-called Population III (Pop III) stars has for long remained largely unconstrained. However, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) finally opened new concrete prospects for their detection during the Epoch of…
We investigate the transition from primordial Population III (Pop III) star formation to normal Pop II star formation in the first galaxies using new cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. We find that while the first stars seed their host…