Author: Laura Pentericci

https://deep24.org/

After the success of the first two installments of this conference series (“At the Edge of the Universe” in 2006 and “Back at the Edge of the Universe” in 2015), it’s time to return to beautiful Sintra and discuss the latest achievements of the deepest observations of the Universe.

This time, we find ourselves exploring the observations that were so eagerly anticipated 9 years ago (and mostly only dreamt of 18 years ago), in what is truly a transformative epoch in our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. With remarkable observational facilities pushing the boundaries of the observable Universe to uncharted territory, from X-rays to radio wavelengths, we are now closer than ever to witnessing the formation of the first structures (stars, galaxies, clusters) in the Universe.

Are we living the moment when we finally grasp how galaxies form? Can we unveil the emergence of the first stars and determine if they fully account for the energetic radiation that reionised the neutral intergalactic medium? Can we finally pinpoint the role of  supermassive black holes for galaxy assembly, and how they come to exist within a few hundred Myr after the Big Bang? Can the deepest observations reveal the intricate and evolving relationship between star-formation and AGN activity, leading to the quick establishment of galaxies?

Is the current generation of powerful space-based telescopes like JWST and EUCLID, and ground-based facilities such as ALMA, VLT or the SKA-precursors, able to settle one of the most pressing issues of modern research?

Continuing the tradition set by previous editions of this nine-year conference, we aim to analyse galaxy formation and evolution in the light of the deepest astronomical observations. The focus is on the latest observational results, and on how they shape, and are interpreted by, the latest theoretical framework.

Main Topics:

• Galaxy formation, the first billion years
• Reionization
• High-redshift star-forming galaxies
• Early AGN activity
• High-z quiescent galaxies
• Environments at high redshifts
• Gas and dust at early epochs
• Feedback processes
• Galaxy mergers and morphological evolution
• Galaxy mass assembly
• Star-formation History
• Extragalactic backgrounds
• The next generation of deep surveys

https://indico.ict.inaf.it/event/2683/overview

The star-formation properties of galaxies and the central supermassive black holes that they host follow a tight co-evolution. Current structure formation models invoke Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) feedback via quasar or radio modes at the high stellar mass ends, as well as feedback from supernovae at low stellar masses, to explain the observed number density of galaxies as a function of stellar mass and redshift. However, despite decades-long efforts both simulations and observations still struggle to reach a consensus on the physical mechanisms regulating star formation and feedback across all scales (from sub-parsec to mega-parsec) and across cosmic history (from the local universe to the first galaxies). The advancements of hydrodynamical and semi-analytical simulations in terms of improved physically motivated models, code efficiency, and hardware for HPC infrastructures now allow us to reach unprecedented numerical accuracy, but the sensitivity leap in recent and current observations is further challenging our understanding of galaxy formation in a cosmological context.

The conference will gather major experts to review the recent advancements in the field in the context of multi-wavelength observations and their comparison with  theoretical and numerical models.

https://www.sexten-cfa.eu/event/i2i24/

After the success of the i2i conference (2022), we would like to re-apply for a follow-up workshop entitled “i2i: back again to linking galaxy physics from ISM to IGM scales”. Our application for a workshop is motivated by the fact that the datasets from facilities such as ALMA, NOEMA, MUSE and JWST are providing unrivaled glimpses of the earliest galaxies assembling in an infant Universe. These provide an unprecedented opportunity to baseline and enhance theoretical models. In this era forthcoming facilities including Euclid, SKA, ELT, EUCLID and LISA, it is also pertinent to discover and exploit the synergies between these different instruments in order to build a coherent picture of the Universe. Bringing together experts in ISM/CGM, galaxy formation and large-scale structure formation, our aim is to continue the discussion on establishing synergies between next-generation observatories using a combination of theoretical modelling and observations. We will address key outstanding questions including:

1. What is the key ISM physics governing the emission lines seen at high-redshifts?
2. What are the properties of the CGM that hold an appreciable gas component?
3. What were the IGM conditions (temperatures, ionization, metallicity) at early epochs?
4. How were galaxy formation and reionization driven by the interplay between galaxies and the IGM?

https://andymelandri.wixsite.com/scia2023

Effective communications skills, both oral and written are an essential part of scientific research. Whether you want to write a peer review article, a telescope proposal, or a research grant application, the outcome will depend critically on your ability to write with clarity, ambition and authority.

The school will be held in english, in person, and organized with lectures in the morning and practical hands-on session in small groups in the afternoon. The SOC will help the lecturers for these exercise sessions.

The meeting will be held in person. Information to reach the school location (Centro Universitario di Bertinoro) can be found here (https://www.ceub.it/contatti/?lang=en)
There will be 2 buses from and to Bologna Centrale train station on Sunday, 1st of October (indicative departure time at 3pm and 6pm) and Friday, 6th of October.

https://www.sexten-cfa.eu/event/understanding-the-epoch-of-cosmic-reionization/

The birth of the first stars, galaxies and black holes heralded the end of the cosmic Dark Ages, ushering in the Cosmic Dawn. Light from these objects spread out, heating and ionizing virtually every baryon in our Universe. This Epoch of Reionization (EoR) was the last major phase change of our Universe, encoding a wealth of information about the unseen first galaxies and structures in the intergalactic medium (IGM). Despite spanning the majority of our visible Universe, the EoR has only recently begun to be explored.

We now have many observational clues of the EoR, including from:
(i) the opacity of the Lyman alpha and beta forests;
(ii) damping wing imprints in QSO spectra;
(iii) evolution of Lyman alpha emitting galaxies;
(iv) clustering of Lyman alpha emitters;
(v) CMB polarization power spectra;
(vi) the kinetic Sunyaev-Zel’Dovich effect in CMB temperature fluctuations;
(vii) the cosmic 21-cm signal.
However, interpreting these observations is challenging, requiring careful modeling of both the cosmic signal as well as associated systematics.

This workshop will focus on putting together these pieces of the puzzle of reionization. What was the timing of the EoR? What sources were responsible? How did they interact with themselves and their surroundings through feedback mechanisms? What are the associated observational signatures? What was the role of IGM structures? How can we improve models of the EoR? How do we best build forward models, accounting for relevant theoretical and observational systematics? Where are the next observational breakthroughs? How do we best prepare for upcoming data from next generation telescopes like JWST and SKA?