We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2010
We review the recent measurements on the cosmic infrared background (CIB) and their implications for the physics of the first-stars era, including Population III stars. The recently obtained CIB results range from the direct measurements of CIB fluctuations from distant sources using deep Spitzer data to strong upper limits on the near-IR CIB from blazar spectra. This allows us to compare the Population III models with the CIB data to gain direct insight into the era of the first stars, the formation and evolution of Population III stars, and the microphysics of the feedback processes in the first halos of collapsing material. We also discuss the cosmological confusion resulting from these CIB sources and the prospects for resolving them individually with NASA's upcoming space instruments, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Introduction
The very first stars to form in the universe, commonly called Population III stars, are now thought to have been very massive stars forming out of primordial metal-free gas at redshifts exceeding z ∼ 10 (see review by Bromm & Larson 2004). Assuming that the density field responsible for structure formation is given by the ∧ Cold Dark Matter (CDM) model, the first collapsing haloes hosting such stars may be too faint to be observed with present telescopes. Their studies may, however, be possible via the cumulative radiation emitted by the first luminous objects, most of which has by now been shifted into the near-IR wavelengths of ∼1–10 μm.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
