Looking for the First Galaxies with EMIR/GTC

TL;DR

This paper explores the properties of the first galaxies using Pop III models, focusing on their observable features like emission lines, to guide future observations with instruments like EMIR at GTC.

Contribution

It introduces synthetic spectra based on Pop III models to predict observable signatures of the first galaxies, aiding in constraining their formation epoch.

Findings

Strong emission lines like Lyman-alpha and HeII 1640 are detectable with good S/N.

The properties of first galaxies depend on the IMF and upper mass limit for star formation.

Simulations suggest feasible observational strategies with near-IR spectrographs.

Abstract

The new Pop III models by Schaerer (2002) have been used to derive the observed properties of the first galaxies in terms of the expected magnitudes and colors. The dependence of their properties on the IMF and upper mass limit for star formation are studied. The emerging synthetic spectra are used to discuss the implications on different observational features. Strong emission lines, such as Lyman-alpha and HeII 1640, could easily be detected with a good S/N with near-IR medium resolution spectrographs, such as EMIR at GTC. Our simulations aim at exploring possible observational constraints on the formation epoch of the first stars in galaxies.