Abstract
We propose a new mission called Space Project for Astrophysical and Cosmological Exploration (SPACE) as part of the ESA long term planning Voyage 2050 programme. SPACE will study galaxy evolution at the earliest times, with the key goals of charting the formation of the heavy elements, measuring the evolution of the galaxy luminosity function, tracing the build-up of stellar mass in galaxies over cosmic time, and finding the first super-massive black holes (SMBHs) to form. The mission will exploit a unique region of the parameter space, between the narrow ultra-deep surveys with HST and JWST, and shallow wide-field surveys such as the Roman Space Telescope and EUCLID, and should yield by far the largest sample of any current or planned mission of very high redshift galaxies at z > 10 which are sufficiently bright for detailed follow-up spectroscopy. Crucially, we propose a wide-field spectroscopic near-IR + mid-IR capability which will greatly enhance our understanding of the first galaxies by detecting and identifying a statistical sample of the first galaxies and the first supermassive black holes, and to chart the metal enrichment history of galaxies in the early Universe – potentially finding signatures of the very first stars to form from metal-free primordial gas. The wide-field and wavelength range of SPACE will also provide us a unique opportunity to study star formation by performing a wide survey of the Milky Way in the near-IR + mid-IR. This science project can be enabled either by a stand-alone ESA-led M mission or by an instrument for an L mission (with ESA and/or NASA, JAXA and other international space agencies) with a wide-field (sub-)millimetre capability at λ > 500 μm.
Highlights
There has been enormous progress over the past decade in discovering galaxies which existed early in the history of the Universe, thanks in large part to images from the Hubble Space Telescope, and confirming spectroscopy from large telescopes on the ground
There is a key gap in the parameter space that remains unexploited - a wide-field IR survey mission with spectroscopy and imaging working beyond 2 microns that we propose to address here
Where and when did the first stars and black holes form? What were their properties? Can we identify and characterise them, confronting state-of-the-art predictions and pushing models much further? While ultra-deep surveys with HST have been extremely successful, most of the small number of current z = 10 candidates have not been found in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field but in wider-field, shallower HST surveys
Summary
There has been enormous progress over the past decade in discovering galaxies which existed early in the history of the Universe (within a billion years of the Big Bang, at z > 6), thanks in large part to images from the Hubble Space Telescope, and confirming spectroscopy from large telescopes on the ground. The re-ionisation of the Universe was achieved by low luminosity sources [11, 14, 15, 65, 69] These low luminosity sources would only be visible if they are in groups or proto clusters [21]. The SPACE mission will provide us with the high angular resolution survey of the Milky Way in the near-IR and mid-IR to statistically study the star formation phenomena in the Milky Way. SPACE’s widefield imaging and integral-field / multi-object spectroscopy in space are the major instrumental breakthroughs that will enable this new window in astronomy
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