Ricerc@Sapienza

The roughly equal brightness of the cosmic infrared and optical backgrounds informs us that half the light from the formation and evolution of galaxies is obscured by dust. However, while surveys at rest-frame UV wavelengths have mapped out the history of un-obscured star formation from the present day back to z ~ 8 and above, beyond z = 3 our census of the dust-obscured, and hence of the total star formation activity is severely incomplete. The main goals of this research proposals are to: (i) understand the nature of the sources of dust in early Universe; (ii) elucidate the key properties of galaxies that determine the dust content in their interstellar medium (ISM); (iii) assess the amount of dust-obscured star formation in the high redshift Universe and the consequences that this has on the process of cosmic reionization. We plan to address these important goals through a combination of theoretical models, numerical simulations and comparison with data taken from the most advanced facilities that are currently working (ALMA) or that will be soon available (JWST and MUSCAT on LMT). By funding a dedicated team of young and experienced researchers, supporting exchange visits with external collaborators and the dissemination of project results, the proposed project holds the promise for a significant advancement in our exploration of the dusty Universe at the cosmic dawn.