Joint Astrophysics Colloquium

Joint Astrophysics Seminar

Probing the reionization of the universe with quasars

Chris Willott

University of Ottawa

The diffuse hydrogen that exists between galaxies is ionized by UV radiation emitted by stars and quasars. However, this was not always the case. For a long period during the early growth of structure in the universe, the diffuse hydrogen was neutral. This transition from neutral to ionized hydrogen during the “epoch of reionization” tells us about the first stars, galaxies and black holes which formed in the universe. I will discuss theoretical and observational aspects of reionization and describe first results from the Canada-France High-z Quasar Survey being carried out to improve our understanding of the reionization process.