Science Enabled by a 30-Meter-Class Telescope in the Northern Hemisphere: Massive Stars at Low Metallicity

TL;DR

A 30-meter-class telescope in the Northern Hemisphere will enable detailed studies of massive stars at low metallicity, crucial for understanding early Universe conditions and improving models of high-redshift galaxies.

Contribution

This paper discusses the scientific potential of a large northern telescope to study massive stars in low-metallicity environments, bridging gaps in current models and observations.

Findings

Enhanced understanding of massive star properties at low metallicity

Improved models for interpreting high-redshift galaxy observations

Potential to study early Universe conditions more accurately

Abstract

Massive stars are at the core of our observations of the Universe up to the reionization epoch, both through their intense ionizing fluxes and through the energetic end products that release fresh elements into the interstellar medium. Our interpretation of very high redshift galaxies and transient phenomena depends on knowledge derived from massive star populations in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, with characteristics that only remotely resemble the conditions in the early Universe. However, the models supporting these interpretations have been tested in a narrow range of environments and carry significant uncertainties when extrapolated. Advancing in our understanding of the Universe beyond the Local Volume therefore requires extending massive star studies to conditions representative of the early Universe. The next generation of telescopes has the potential to accomplish this goal.