The Contribution of Galaxies to the Reionization of the Universe

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Speaker(s): Alice Shapley

There are critical outstanding questions about the formation of galaxies, and their impact on the intergalactic medium (IGM). One important goal is to determine the origin of the ultraviolet radiation field that reionized the universe and maintained the ionization of the IGM. This question becomes more pressing as we discover ever more distant galaxies, probing back to the earliest epochs and approaching the formation of the first stars. Simultaneously, we are preparing for novel radio telescopes to come on-line and probe the global phase transition of gas in the early universe. I will review the latest observational results about the escape of ionizing radiation from star-forming galaxies in the early universe, and highlight several promising new directions forward.

Colloquium

Junior and senior physics majors attend our biweekly colloquium series, held on Tuesday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. in Shanahan B460. The talks are open to all students and to the public, and are frequently attended by scientists from the other Claremont Colleges, Cal Poly Pomona, and others. The series features speakers from a broad range of institutions and fields of physics.