The Assembly of the First Galaxies: 20 Years of Computational Progress
Michael Norman - UC San Diego, USA
Session chair: Alfons Hoekstra

Abstract : In this talk I give a progress report on my attempts to reconstruct the first billion years of cosmic evolution beginning with the formation of the first generation of stars and culminating in the complete photoionization of the intergalactic medium. After 20 years of intense effort, the narrative is falling into place. Progress has been achieved through the development and application of complex multiphysics numerical simulations of increasing physical complexity and scale on the most powerful supercomputers. I describe the processes that govern the formation of the first generation of stars, the transition to the second generation of stars, the assembly of the first galaxies, and finally the reionization of the universe. I discuss the observational predictions of these simulations which will be tested with the next generation observatories, principally the James Webb Space Telescope to be launched into space ca.2018.

http://www.sdsc.edu/research/researcher_spotlight/norman_michael.html