Illuminating the Dark Ages and the Cosmic Dawn with Radio Interferometers

Activity Leader:  Mr. Aaron Ewall-Wice, MKI Graduate Student

A critical chapter in the Universe’s history, known as the Dark Ages, remains nearly entirely unobserved. During this time period, our universe underwent a dramatic transformation from a relatively uniform mixture of hydrogen, helium, and dark matter filaments, into the luminescent and chemically complex realm of stars and galaxies that we live in today. The time period over which the first luminous sources turned on is known as the cosmic dawn.

In this talk, I will discuses how the observational technique known as 21cm tomography which will allow us to observe the dark ages and the cosmic dawn, allowing for us to learn about the formation and evolution of the first galaxies.