Speaker: Anastasia Fialkov (University of Cambridge)
Title: The first billion years
Abstract:
The first billion years of cosmic history include the Epoch of Reionization, Cosmic Dawn and Dark Ages and are a key to decipher some of the remaining mysteries in astronomy, cosmology and physics. For example, probing the formation of first collapsed structures could inform us on the nature of dark matter, while measuring the 21-cm signal of hydrogen gas could reveal properties of the first stars and black holes. Due to the lack of observations, our understanding of this era is very poor.  However, this field is undergoing a revolution: several pioneering experiments are taking data and providing first (weak) constraints, while major international observatories are coming online. In my talk I will discuss our progress in understanding the first billion years of cosmic history and unlock the potential of this epoch in explaining some of the remaining mysteries.