Title: Tracing cosmic dawn
Abstract:
The first billion years of cosmic history hold the key to unlocking many of the remaining mysteries in
astronomy, cosmology and physics. However, due to the lack of direct observations, we know almost
nothing about the objects (the first stars, galaxies, and quasars) that form at that time. Fortunately,
groundbreaking international projects that span the electromagnetic spectrum are soon to come on line, e.g.
the Square Kilometer Array (SKA; radio), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST; infrared),
and the Athena Observatory (X-ray). The wealth of data that these projects will generate
will revolutionise our knowledge of the first billion years. In my talk I will describe what can we learn about the
first billion years using the redshifted 21-cm line of neutral hydrogen. I will also mention other potentially
interesting tracers of the Cosmic Dawn.