GEPI

De la conception instrumentale
à l’exploitation des observables
Accueil > Séminaires > Probing reionization and galaxy (...)

Probing reionization and galaxy formation with high redshift galaxies

Laura Pentericci (INAF Rome Observatory )

The epoch of re-ionization is a fascinating time in the history of the Universe
because of the many uncertainties which plague our understanding of when and how it occurred.
Lyman alpha emitting galaxies at high redshift offer a powerful probe of both
reionization and of galaxy formation. In particular
Lyman alpha emission is an efficient tool for identifying young galaxies and
can also provide a robust test of the reionization epoch that
is independent of Gunn-Peterson trough observations in quasar spectra.

The last few years have seen a number of discoveries that provided the
first glimpse of the Universe at z =7, using both space and
ground-based telescopes.
I will review the most recent observational results on high redshift galaxies,
namely Lyalpha emitters and Lyman break galaxies.
In particular I will review the current constrains that we can place on the reionization epoch using the first statistical sample of spectroscopically confirmed z=7 Lyman break galaxies, the evolution of the luminosity functions and of the clustering strength of Lyalpha emitters.