出版社：SISSA, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati
摘要：The first stars, the so-called Population III, fundamentally transformed the early universe at the end of the cosmic dark ages. They provided the first sources of ionizing radiation and heavy elements, thus initiating the evolutionary chain that eventually led to the complex structure we observe today. Based on numerical simulations of the primordial star formation process, it is widely held that the first stars were typically very massive (∼ 102M⊙). This standard picture has recently been modified to one where small multiple systems form, instead of just one very massive star. The resulting mass function is still top-heavy, but has an extension to somewhat lower masses as well. Another focus of recent simulations is the assembly of the first galaxies. Their emergence is shaped by the feedback from the Population III stars that had formed and died in the smaller, minihalo, progenitor systems. These early dwarf galaxies are the primary target for upcoming observations with the James Webb Space Telescope.
