14 January, 2:30 pm, Curia II
I present recent theoretical results on the formation and the evolution of the first galaxies. The theory of galaxy formation predicts that the creation process is hierarchical: small objects form first, and large galaxies form later from mergers of smaller subunits. The first galaxies are believed to have formed 100 million years after the Big Bang, at redshift $z \sim 30$. In these primordial galaxies, the first stars emitted light into a previously dark universe. The radiation emitted at this time influenced the subsequent evolution of the universe in a still-unknown way. This process of self-regulation, in which the radiation emitted by galaxies influenced the surrounding intergalactic medium and the future formation of other galaxies, is termed "radiative feedback" from galaxy formation.