Back to the article index

Article Contents

ABSTRACT

1.PREFACE: THE FRONTIER OF SMALL-SCALE STRUCTURE

2.HIERARCHICAL FORMATION OF COLD DARK MATTER HALOS
2.1.The Expanding Universe
2.2.Linear Gravitational Growth
2.3.Formation of Nonlinear Objects
2.4.The Abundance of Dark Matter Halos

3.GAS INFALL AND COOLING IN DARK MATTER HALOS
3.1.Cosmological Jeans Mass
3.2.Response of Baryons to Nonlinear Dark Matter Potentials
3.3.Molecular Chemistry, Photo-Dissociation, and Cooling

4.FRAGMENTATION OF THE FIRST GASEOUS OBJECTS
4.1.Star Formation
4.1.1.Fragmentation into Stars
4.1.2.Emission Spectrum of Metal-Free Stars
4.1.3.Emission of Recombination Lines from the First Galaxies
4.2.Black Hole Formation

5.GALAXY PROPERTIES
5.1.Formation and Properties of Galactic Disks
5.2.Phenomenological Prescription for Star Formation

6.RADIATIVE FEEDBACK FROM THE FIRST SOURCES OF LIGHT
6.1.Escape of Ionizing Radiation from Galaxies
6.2.Propagation of Ionization Fronts in the IGM
6.3.Reionization of the IGM
6.3.1.Hydrogen Reionization
6.3.2.Helium Reionization
6.4.Photo-evaporation of Gaseous Halos After Reionization
6.5.Suppression of the Formation of Low Mass Galaxies

7.FEEDBACK FROM GALACTIC OUTFLOWS
7.1.Propagation of Supernova Outflows in the IGM
7.2.Effect of Outflows on Dwarf Galaxies and on the IGM

8.PROPERTIES OF THE EXPECTED SOURCE POPULATION
8.1.The Cosmic Star Formation History
8.2.Number Counts
8.2.1.Galaxies
8.2.2.Quasars
8.2.3.Supernovae
8.2.4.Gamma Ray Bursts
8.3.Distribution of Disk Sizes
8.4.Gravitational Lensing

9.OBSERVATIONAL PROBES OF THE EPOCH OF REIONIZATION
9.1.Spectral Methods of Inferring the Reionization Redshift
9.1.1.Cosmology with Lyalpha Photons
9.1.2.21 cm Tomography of the Reionization Epoch
9.2.Effect of Reionization on CMB Anisotropies
9.3.Remnants of High-Redshift Systems in the Local Universe

10.CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE

REFERENCES