Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21831402s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #218, #314.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Formation of the first stars and galaxies is initiated by radiative cooling of primordial gas clouds (Population III) and metal-contaminated gas (Population II) in dark-matter halos. The primary coolants are hydrogen (H I, H2, HD) and fine-structure transitions from [C II], [O I], [Si II], [Fe II], the heavy elements formed by nucleosynthesis in early massive stars and supernovae. Enriched by the first stars, metal lines control the high-redshift transition from Pop III to Pop II, once the metallicity rises above a critical value of approximately Z_crit = 0.0003 Z_solar. Direct emission-line detection would quantify the cooling that governs the transition in stellar initial mass function. Because early nucleosynthesis may be biased toward alpha-process (O, Si) and Fe-group elements, the fine-structure line ratios may not reflect solar abundances. Current models of primordial cooling suggest that line-detection sensitivities (BLISS, ALMA) could approach values, 10^-20 W / m^2, at which large cooling gas clouds could be seen. Limits on the integrated backgrounds at wavelengths of [C II] (157.74 microns), [O I] (63.18, 145.5 microns), [Si II] (34.8 microns); [Fe II] (25.99, 35.35 microns) redshifted into the far-IR and sub-mm, could constrain the high-redshift radiative cooling rates associated with early galaxies.
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