Studying the formation of the very first stars

[marcus]

Understanding the first star formation is critical to cosmology.
Matt Turk is a (remarkably young) expert on this. The way they go about it is with computer simulations and checking the results against whatever can be observed.

Here is a talk by Matt Turk
http://online.kitp.ucsb.edu/online/clusters09/turk/

There are Population III.1 and III.2
All the Pop III stars have primordial composition (mostly 75 % hydrogen and rest helium with trace lithium) in other words no "metals" (heavier atomic species.)

The Pop III.1 stars are the ones that formed spontaneously by collapse of dark matter which gradually drew in baryonic matter----and excess energy being radiated by molecular hydrogen. These may be multiple, like binary pair systems.

The individual systems tend to be isolated, only one forms in each overdense dark matter region---one (possibly multiple) star per cloud. For clarification see where he discusses this in his talk.

The more numerous Pop III.2 stars are ones whose formation has been influenced by earlier stars. For example shockwaves from explosions. Their composition is still primordial but their statistics are different because more different processes contribute to their formation.

That's about the first 3% of the talk, then he goes into the simulations of Pop III.1 formation.

 

[AndyW]

Thank you for sharing this information and the link to Matt Turk's talk. It's fascinating to learn about the different types of Population III stars and how they are formed. I agree that understanding the first star formation is crucial in cosmology, as it can provide insight into the early universe and its evolution. The use of computer simulations and observations to study these stars is a powerful tool in advancing our understanding of cosmology. It's also interesting to note how the later generation of stars, the Pop III.2, are influenced by the earlier stars, showing the interconnectedness of the universe. Thanks again for sharing this knowledge!