Full Description
This book is based in part on classroom tested lectures related to the first stars (Pop III stars), but also draws from the author's review articles of the main physical principles involved. The book will thus combine pedagogical introductory chapters with more advanced ones to survey the cutting-edge advances from the frontier of research.
The formation of Pop III stars and galaxies is one of the great outstanding challenges in modern astrophysics and cosmology. The first stars are likely key drivers for early cosmic evolution and will be at the center of attention over the next decade. The best available space and ground-based telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope probe the Universe to high redshifts and provide us with tantalizing hints; but they cannot yet directly detect the first generation of stars and the formation of the first galaxies. This is left as key science for future telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope.
The book covers the theoryof first star formation, the relation between first stars and dark matter, their impact on cosmology, their observational signatures, the transition to normal star formation as well as the assembly of the first galaxies. It will prepare advanced students and researchers entering the field for interpreting observational findings and their cosmological implications.
Contents
Introduction: the first stars and galaxies as key drivers of early cosmic evolution; key science for the upcoming JWST.- The Cosmological Context: CDM cosmology; cooling in primordial gas; Rees-Ostriker criterion; prediction of minihalos as sites of first star formation.- Population III Star Formation: gravitational instability and initial collapse; protostellar accretion; feedback processes: the final stellar mass; binaries, multiples, clusters; neglected processes in the 'Standard Model' - magnetic fields, cosmic rays.- Dark Matter and the First Stars: warm dark matter: - implies different star formation sites - suppresses star formation rate; 'Dark Stars': DM heating - Pop III red supergiants.- Impact on cosmology: radiative feedback and the beginning of reionization; chemical feedback: the first supernova explosions.- Transition to normal star formation: physics of the 'Critical Metallicity'; turbulence and formation of star clusters.- Formation of the First Galaxies.- Observational signature: recombination line radiation; supernova searches with JWST; stellar archaeology; cosmic backgrounds: 21 cm radiation, infrared background.- Epilogue.
