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R.S. Somerville (STScI)
Numerous star-forming galaxies have now been detected out to redshifts of 6 and perhaps beyond. The abundance of these objects places direct constraints on the efficiency of star formation at an epoch near the end of reionization. I will discuss recent observational determinations of the global star formation rate at high redshift from the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) and the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF), and the constraints that these observations place on models of galaxy formation. I will show that predictions of the global star formation rate and galaxy number densities at high redshift are sensitive both to the 'gastrophysics' of star formation and feedback, and to the slope and amplitude of the matter power spectrum on small scales. I will discuss the implications for early reionization as suggested by the WMAP first year results, and prospects for direct detection of the sources responsible for reionization by JWST.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #2
© YEAR. The American Astronomical Soceity.