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SUMMARY:Exploring the early Universe with super radio-telescopes: HERA and
  SKA - Nicolas Fagnoni
DTSTART:20190212T193000Z
DTEND:20190212T210000Z
UID:TALK117916@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Hannah Sanderson
DESCRIPTION:For decades\, the entire electromagnetic spectrum of the recen
 t Universe has been intensively studied by powerful ground and space teles
 copes. Besides\, its birth is also relatively well known thanks to the det
 ection and characterisation of the Cosmic Microwave Background. However\, 
 the period in between during which the first structures of the Universe st
 arted to emerge remains mysterious. Indeed\, following the emission of the
  CMB\, the universe was dark and mainly filled with neutral hydrogen\, unt
 il the very first stars and galaxies form and ionize the gas in the interg
 alactic medium. Unfortunately\, the emitted light is too faint and so cann
 ot be directly observed with the current instruments. Studying the early U
 niverse is yet fundamental to understand the conditions of its origin\, ev
 olution\, and therefore its present state. In order to complete our knowle
 dge of the history of the Universe\, the University of Cambridge is closel
 y involved in the design and development of two super radio-telescopes: HE
 RA and the SKA\, respectively built in the deserts of South Africa and Aus
 tralia. These two radio-interferometers will probe the early Universe betw
 een 115 million and 1.3 billion years after the Big Bang for HERA\, and ev
 en up to 2.1 billion years for the SKA low frequency array. But instead of
  trying to directly observe the first galaxies\, they will infer informati
 on about their characteristics (size\, formation rate...) by measuring the
  evolution of the distribution of the neutral hydrogen which interacts wit
 h the surrounding galaxies. In this talk\, I will give an overview of thes
 e two radio-telescopes\, and explain more in details how\, hopefully\,  th
 ey will reveal the mysteries of the early Universe.
LOCATION:Wolfson Lecture Theatre\, Department of Chemistry
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