A Complete Understanding of Massive Galaxy Formation into the Epoch of Reionization

At the frontier of modern astronomy is the study of first galaxies, when the universe was less than 10% of its current age. It is within this era that the first atoms of 'heavy' elements (such as Carbon, Oxygen, Iron) were created by the first generations of stars, and when the seeds of supermassive black holes were being formed. Despite being extremely distant, it is vital to understand this primordial galaxies, as they are the building-blocks of all subsequent galaxy formation.

Remarkably, using telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope, it has been possible to detect and study galaxies in this epoch. Despite these advances, one of the most fundamental measurements, the number of the brightest and most massive galaxies, is unknown in the early Universe.

In the coming years, new data-sets from both established ground-based telescopes, and several new space-missions will revolutionise the field, with the capability of detecting many thousands of such galaxies. My previous experience and innovative approach to analysing these new data, by combining information at a range of wavelengths, will provide a full understanding of these galaxies and reveal the detailed astrophysics of galaxy formation at this early time.

The result will be the first constraints on when supermassive black-holes became active and on when significant enrichment occurred (leading to obscuration by cosmic dust). I will also determine the role of these galaxies in a crucial phase change in the history of the universe, the 'Epoch of Reionization', where the predominantly neutral Universe became ionised by the first stars and/or active black holes.