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Title:
Was the Universe Reionized by Massive Metal-free Stars?
Authors:
Wyithe, J. Stuart B.; Loeb, Abraham
Affiliation:
AA(Astrophysics Group, School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia; .), AB(Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ 08540; Guggenheim Fellow; on leave from the Astronomy Department, Harvard University; .)
Publication:
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 588, Issue 2, pp. L69-L72. (ApJL Homepage)
Publication Date:
05/2003
Origin:
UCP
ApJ Keywords:
Cosmology: Theory, Cosmology: Early Universe, Galaxies: Intergalactic Medium, Stars: Formation
DOI:
10.1086/375682
Bibliographic Code:
2003ApJ...588L..69W

Abstract

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite has measured a large optical depth to electron scattering after the cosmological recombination of τes=0.17+/-0.04, implying significant reionization of the primordial gas only ~200 million years after the big bang. However, the most recent overlap of intergalactic H II regions must have occurred at z<~9 based on the Lyα forest constraint on the thermal history of the intergalactic medium. Here we argue that a first generation of metal-free stars with a heavy (rather than Salpeter) mass function is therefore required to account for much of the inferred optical depth. This conclusion holds if feedback regulates star formation in early dwarf galaxies as observed in present-day dwarfs.
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