Cosmic infrared background and Population III: an overview

Abstract

We review the recent measurements on the cosmic infrared background (CIB) and their implications for the physics of the first stars era, including Population III. The recently obtained CIB results range from the direct measurements of CIB fluctuations from distant sources using deep Spitzer data to strong upper limits on the near-IR CIB from blazar spectra. This allows to compare the Population III models with the CIB data to gain direct insight into the era of the first stars and the formation and evolution of Population III and the microphysics of the feedback processes in the first halos of collapsing material. We also discuss the cosmological confusion resulting from these CIB sources and the prospects for resolving them individually with NASA's upcoming space instruments such as the JWST.