Journal Article

Formation of the First Stars and Black Holes

Haemmerlé, L., Bromm, V., Hosokawa, T., Mayer, L., Klessen, R. S., Madau, P.

2020

Overview

We review the current status of knowledge concerning the early phases of star formation during cosmic dawn. This includes the first generations of stars forming in the lowest mass dark matter halos in which cooling and condensation of gas with primordial composition is possible at very high redshift ( z > 20 ), namely metal-free Population III stars, and the first generation of massive black holes forming at such early epochs, the so-called black hole seeds. The formation of black hole seeds as end states of the collapse of Population III stars, or via direct collapse scenarios, is discussed. In particular, special emphasis is given to the physics of supermassive stars as potential precursors of direct collapse black holes, in light of recent results of stellar evolution models, and of numerical simulations of the early stages of galaxy formation. Furthermore, we discuss the role of the cosmic radiation produced by the early generation of stars and black holes at high redshift in the process of reionization.

• Publisher: Springer Netherlands,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Aerospace Technology and Astronautics / Astronomical models / Astrophysics and Astroparticles / Black holes / Cosmic rays / Dark matter / Galactic evolution / Galactic halos / Galaxies / Halos / Ionization / Numerical simulations / Physics / Physics and Astronomy / Planetology / Population III stars / Radiation / Red shift / Space Exploration and Astronautics / Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics / Star & galaxy formation / Star Formation / Stars / Stellar evolution / Stellar models / Supermassive stars