2025 Project Description

Unveiling dust build-up in the early Universe

Supervisors

Hiddo Algera
Find out more about supervisors on ASIAA website

Task Description and Goals

Recent observations with powerful telescopes such as ALMA and the JWST have shown that galaxies in the early Universe evolve much more rapidly than was previously predicted. As these galaxies rapidly assemble, they produce cosmic dust, which ALMA has now directly detected in dozens of systems at z > 6. However, little remains known about the properties of these early dust reservoirs. How massive are they? How much star formation do they hide from view? And is the composition of their dust different from what we see in local galaxies?

In this project, the student will analyze new state-of-the-art ALMA observations of five distant galaxies at redshifts of 5.5 < z < 7.2. These observations will provide some of the most accurate measurements of the total dust masses, dust temperatures, and dust-obscured star formation rates in galaxies at this epoch to date. These galaxies have also recently been studied in great detail by the JWST, offering a unique opportunity to combine ALMA and JWST observations to explore how dust is produced in the early Universe and why massive galaxies at high redshift are already so dusty.

In this project, the student will:

• Familiarize themselves with the field of galaxy formation and evolution.
• Gain hands-on experience with radio interferometry and ALMA data.
• Implement a fitting algorithm to determine galaxy dust properties from these data.
• Combine these dust properties with JWST spectroscopic observations to interpret the findings.

Required Background

• Strong physics and mathematics background; astronomy experience preferred but not required
• Basic programming skills (python preferred)
• Strong English communication skills (written and spoken)