Astronomy and Astrophysics Seminars

Probing the high-redshift universe using neutral hydrogen

by Prof. Tirthankar Roy Choudhury (NCRA, Pune)

Tuesday, January 15, 2019 from to (Asia/Kolkata)
at Leacture Theater ( AG69 )
TIFR
Description
As is well known, hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe. Hydrogen in the low-density intergalactic medium is photoionized by radiation from galaxies and other sources, while they remain neutral in the high-density regions because of shielding. The evolution of the neutral hydrogen through cosmic times passes through a number of interesting phases, namely, the dark ages, reionization and the post-reionization epoch. Understanding each of these phases holds clues about cosmology and galaxy formation in our Universe. In the talk, we will review our understanding of the physical processes related to the cosmological distribution of neutral hydrogen and then present our recent results on these issues. We will also discuss prospects for using neutral hydrogen as a strong probe of cosmology using future observational facilities.