Physics of Cosmic Dawn and Reionization in the SKA Era

LOCATION: Sport & Kurhotel at Bad Moos - Via Val Fiscalina 27, 39030, Sexten

DETAILS

The dawn of the first luminous objects is one of the most important processes marking the evolution of the Universe. During these epochs hydrogen, the main constituent of baryonic matter, is gradually heated and ionized. As reionization is intimately linked to the properties and evolution of the first sources of ionizing radiation, its study will enable us to describe in full detail the process of structure formation during the first cosmic billion years. The most powerful probe of these fundamental milestones will be 21 cm interferometry, providing tomographic maps of the thermal and ionization state of the cosmic gas. In addition, the redshifted 21 cm line can help us understand important physical processes such as, e.g., the suppression of star formation in the smallest systems and gas photo-evaporation from them, or pre-heating of the intergalactic medium by X-ray sources.

The study of Cosmic Dawn/EoR is one of the two core-science themes of the Square Kilometer Array, a project that is witnessing in these days a very strong acceleration (first light expected in 2020). It is therefore mandatory that the community working in this area can be organized efficiently so to exploit at best such opportunity. This is particularly true for Italy, which has made in the last months extremely large investments in the SKA project and whose scientists are deeply involved in SKA Science Working Groups. A well-balanced mix of radio observers and theorists getting together in an informal but coherent working environment as that provided by the Sexten CfA meets perfectly the above needs. For all these reasons we believe that the proposed workshop would be then particularly timely and useful.

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ORGANIZERS

Organisers Andrea Ferrara Andrei Mesinger