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Article Contents

ABSTRACT

1.OPENING REMARKS

2.EXCAVATING THE UNIVERSE FOR CLUES ABOUT ITS HISTORY

3.BAKGROUND COSMOLOGICAL MODEL

3.1.The Expanding Universe

3.2.Composition of the Universe

3.3.Linear Gravitational Growth

3.4.The Smallest-Scale Power Spectrum of Cold Dark Matter

3.5.Structure of the Baryons

3.6.Formation of Nonlinear Objects

3.7.Spherical Collapse

3.8.Halo Properties

4.NONLINEAR GROWTH

4.1.The Abundance of Dark Matter Halos

4.2.The Excursion-Set (Extended Press-Schechter) Formalism

4.3.Response of Baryons to Nonlinear Dark Matter Potentials

5.FRAGMENTATION OF THE FIRST GASEOUS OBJECTS TO STARS

5.1.Star Formation

5.2.The Mass Function of Stars

5.3.Gamma-ray Bursts: Probing the First Stars One Star at a Time

5.4.Emission Spectrum of Metal-Free Stars

5.5.Emission of Recombination Lines from the First Galaxies

6.SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES

6.1.The Principle of Self-Regulation

6.2.Feedback on Large Intergalactic Scales

6.3.What seeded the growth of the supermassive black holes?

7.RADIATIVE FEEDBACK FROM THE FIRST SOURCES OF LIGHT

7.1.Escape of Ionizing Radiation from Galaxies

7.2.Propagation of Ionization Fronts in the IGM

7.3.Reionization of Hydrogen

7.4.Photo-evaporation of Gaseous Halos After Reionization

7.5.Suppression of the Formation of Low Mass Galaxies

8.FEEDBACK FROM GALACTIC OUTFLOWS

8.1.Propagation of Supernova Outflows in the IGM

8.2.Effect of Outflows on Dwarf Galaxies and on the IGM

9.THE FRONTIER OF 21cm COSMOLOGY

9.1.Mapping Hydrogen Before Reionization

9.2.The Characteristic Observed Size of Ionized Bubbles at the End of Reionization

9.3.Separating the "Physics" from the "Astrophysics" of the Reionization Epoch with 21cm Fluctuations

10.MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR FUTURE THEORETICAL RESEARCH: radiative transfer during reionization requires a large dynamic range, challenging the capabilities of existing simulation codes

REFERENCES