paper

Chronos: A NIR spectroscopic survey to target the most important phases of galaxy evolution across cosmic time

arXiv:1908.08795 · doi:10.1007/s10686-021-09702-2

Abstract

(Abridged summary) Responding to ESA's Voyage 2050 call to define the long-term plan for the future space missions that will address the astrophysics science questions during the 2035-2050 cycle, we propose a dedicated, ultra-deep spectroscopic survey in the near infrared (NIR), that will target a mass-limited sample of galaxies during two of the most fundamental epochs of cosmic evolution: the formation of the first galaxies (at z>6; cosmic dawn), and at the peak of galaxy formation activity (between redshift z=1 and 3; cosmic noon). By way of NIR observations, it is possible to study the Lyman-alpha region in the former, and the optical rest-frame in the latter, allowing us to extract fundamental observables such as gas and stellar kinematics, chemical abundances, and ages, providing a unique legacy database covering these two crucial stages of cosmic evolution. A dedicated, space-based facility will overcome the challenges faced by ground-based telescopes, no matter how large the aperture, or the reduced field of view and low multiplex factor of the best space-based instrument in the near future, namely NIRSpec at the JWST. Our project (codename Chronos) aims to produce about 1 million high quality spectra, with a high S/N in the continuum, where information about the underlying stellar populations is encoded.

arXiv comment24 pages, 14 figures. Submitted to ESA's Voyage 2050 call to shape the future space science programme. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1306.6333

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