Related papers: Starlight in the Universe
In this review I will describe a number of recent advances in extragalactic astronomy. First of all I will describe our current best estimates of the star formation history of the Universe. Then I will describe measurements of local…
The globally-averaged star formation rate in the Universe has been steadily declining since at least z~1. This may be due either to very local processes operating within the average galaxy, or to external, environmental effects.…
The formation of the first stars and quasars marks the transition between the smooth initial state and the clumpy current state of the Universe. In popular CDM cosmologies, the first sources of light started to form at a redshift z=30 and…
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…
Star forming galaxies represent a valuable tracer of cosmic history. Recent observational progress with Hubble Space Telescope has led to the discovery and study of the earliest-known galaxies corresponding to a period when the Universe was…
If we are to develop a comprehensive and predictive theory of galaxy formation and evolution, it is essential that we obtain an accurate assessment of how and when galaxies assemble their stellar populations, and how this assembly varies…
Analysis of the deepest available images of the sky, obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals a large number of candidate high-redshift galaxies. A catalogue of 1,683 objects is presented, with estimated redshifts ranging from $z=0$…
The redshifted ultraviolet light from early stars at z ~ 10 contributes to the cosmic near infrared background. We present detailed calculations of its spectrum with various assumptions about metallicity and mass spectrum of early stars. We…
We show that the accumulated light of galaxies in the ultraviolet can be evaluated from their luminosity density as a function of the evolution of the cosmic star formation rate and dust extinction properties. Constraints on the evolution…
I review progress in understanding the evolution of normal field and cluster galaxies through the combination of HST imaging and ground-based spectroscopy. These data suggest that the bulk of the star formation producing the present-day…
We present a new measurement of the evolving galaxy far-IR luminosity function (LF) extending out to redshifts z~5, with resulting implications for the level of dust-obscured star-formation density in the young Universe. To achieve this we…
From the time the first stars formed over 13 billion years ago to the present, star formation has had an unexpectedly dynamic history. At first, the star formation rate density increased dramatically, reaching a peak 10 billion years ago…
We use a deep K(AB)<25 galaxy sample in the Hubble Deep Field South to trace the evolution of the cosmological stellar mass density from z~ 0.5 to z~3. We find clear evidence for a decrease of the average stellar mass density at high…
We investigate the implications of the intergalactic opacity for the evolution of the cosmic UV luminosity density and its sources. Our main constraint is our measurement of the Lya forest opacity at redshifts 2<z<4.2 from 86…
We develop a method for interpreting faint galaxy data which focuses on the integrated light radiated from the galaxy population as a whole. The emission history of the universe at ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared wavelengths is…
Observations made using large ground-based and space-borne telescopes have probed cosmic history all the way from the present-day to a time when the Universe was less than a tenth of its present age. Earlier on lies the remaining frontier,…
We reconstruct the history of the cosmic star formation in the universe by means of detailed chemical evolution models for galaxies of different morphological types. We consider a picture of coeval, non-interacting evolving galaxies where…
Star-forming galaxies in the early universe provide us with perhaps the most natural way of explaining the reionization of the universe. Current observational results are sufficiently comprehensive, as to allow us to approximately calculate…
The history of the transition from a neutral intergalactic medium (IGM) to one that is almost fully ionized can reveal the character of cosmological ionizing sources and set important constraints on the stellar birthrate at high redshifts.…
Deep surveys in the far-infrared and sub-millimeter wavebands are revealing a new phase of galactic evolution hidden by dust. Observations with SCUBA on the JCMT show that 25% of the COBE/FIRAS background at 850 microns is being produced by…