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"ZEUS: Star formation in the Early Universe"
Prof. Gordon Stacey
Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, USA
	   
When:  Thursday 7 June 2007 at 5:00pm
Where: 3rd Floor Seminar Room

Abstract:

We will discuss the design, construction and use of the redshift (z),
and Early Universe Spectrometer (ZEUS).  ZEUS is a long slit grating
spectrometer designed for optimal detection of weak lines from distant
galaxies in the submillimeter bands.  Our primary spectral probes
include the far-IR fine-structure lines from abundance atoms and ions.
These lines cool much of the interstellar medium (enabling molecular
cloud collapse and star formation) and are sensitive probes of the
physical conditions of these clouds and the strength and hardness of
the ambient interstellar radiation fields.  ZEUS can detect the
brightest of these lines to redshifts in excess of 3, or to within 1.7
billion years of the Big Bang.  Therefore, through these lines, ZEUS
investigates star formation in the epoch of galaxy formation. We will
present the scientific motivation for ZEUS, and some of our recent
results from the use of ZEUS on the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory.

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