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GRB Cosmology and the First Stars

Volker Bromm, Abraham Loeb

astro-pharXiv:astro-ph/0601216

Abstract

Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are unique probes of the cosmic star formation history and the state of the intergalactic medium up to the redshifts of the first stars. In particular, the ongoing Swift mission might be the first observatory to detect individual Population~III stars, provided that the massive, metal-free stars were able to trigger GRBs. Swift will empirically constrain the redshift at which Population~III star formation was terminated, thus providing crucial input to models of cosmic reionization and metal enrichment.

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