JWST provides a new view of cosmic dawn: latest developments in studies of early galaxies

Abstract

Studies of the distant Universe are providing key insights into our understanding of the formation of galaxies. The advent of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has significantly enhanced our observational capabilities, leading to an expanded redshift frontier, providing unprecedented detail in the characterization of early galaxies and enabling the discovery of new populations of accreting black holes. This review aims to provide an introduction to the basic processes and components that shape the observed spectra of galaxies, with a focus on their relevance to techniques with which high-redshift galaxies are selected. The review further introduces specific topics that have attracted significant attention in recent literature, including the discovery of highly efficient galaxy formation in the early Universe, the relation between galaxies and the process of reionization, new insights into the formation of the first stars and the enrichment of interstellar gas with heavy elements, and breakthroughs in our understanding of the origins of supermassive black holes.