Pre-galactic metal enrichment - The chemical signatures of the first stars

TL;DR

This paper reviews the formation of the first stars and galaxies, focusing on how primordial gas was enriched with heavy elements and how chemical signatures can reveal properties of early stellar populations.

Contribution

It synthesizes recent progress on early star formation, primordial gas cooling, and the chemical signatures of the first supernovae, highlighting open questions about metal enrichment.

Findings

Chemical abundance patterns can probe first star properties.

Early metal enrichment models can be tested through observed signatures.

Understanding primordial gas enrichment informs galaxy formation theories.

Abstract

The emergence of the first sources of light at redshifts of z ~ 10-30 signaled the transition from the simple initial state of the Universe to one of increasing complexity. We review recent progress in our understanding of the formation of the first stars and galaxies, starting with cosmological initial conditions, primordial gas cooling, and subsequent collapse and fragmentation. We emphasize the important open question of how the pristine gas was enriched with heavy chemical elements in the wake of the first supernovae. We conclude by discussing how the chemical abundance patterns conceivably allow us to probe the properties of the first stars and subsequent stellar generations, and allow us to test models of early metal enrichment.