Grant to Research Project about the Universe’s First Milliard Years

The Swedish National Space Agency has decided to grant funds to the above project during a 3+3-years period, with start in 2021. The project manager Martin Sahlén, researcher at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and other participants, will search for traces of exotic forms of dark matter in the universe. When and how the first galaxies in the universe were formed is controlled by the properties of dark matter: the lighter its components are, the later after the Big Bang the galaxies were formed – and the heavier they are. In the work, observations of the earliest galaxies and radio waves from neutral hydrogen gas in the early universe will be examined.

“It will be interesting to see what the interaction looked like between the first stars and galaxies that were formed, the ocean of hydrogen gas that surrounded them and the dark matter and dark energy. This will be explored by many of the next generation large international telescopes and satellites, and thanks to the grant we may contribute to these projects. This provides good conditions to be able to reach exciting research results”, says Martin Sahlén and continues.

“It is fantastic to have the opportunity to contribute to research about the universe’s first milliard years and continue to deepen my research in this area during a longer time. Not the least considering Sweden’s future participation in the large international radio telescope collaboration Square Kilometre Array, where we in Uppsala play an important part.”

Here you can read more about the project (in Swedish).

Here you can read more about the space telescope Hubble.

Here you can read more about the space telescope James Webb.

Here you can read more about the space telescope Euclid.

Here you can read more about the project Square Kilometre Array.