The First Gigayear(s) Conference — First Announcement

NSF NOIRLab was established in 2019 to enable and share breakthrough discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics with state-of-the-art ground-based observatories, data products, and services for a diverse and inclusive community. After the success of the Rare Gems in Big Data conference we are happy to announce the second in the regular NOIRLab conference series: The First Gigayear(s).

The First Gigayear(s) conference will take place from 30 September to 3 October 2024 at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel in Hilo (Hawai‘i), in the foothills of Maunakea, a deeply revered cultural landscape that also happens to be one of the premier sites in the world to study the cosmos.

The goal of this meeting is to bring together observers and theorists from around the world to discuss how our view of the first gigayear(s) of cosmic history has been revolutionized by new instruments and surveys, including the first results from the James Webb Space Telescope, and by detailed and sophisticated galaxy formation simulations. In addition, we aim to bring together experts from the different fields to review and discuss the most recent results, and to carry out the preparatory theoretical and observational work to get the most from current and new facilities, such as Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

Some of the open questions that we aim to address during the conference are: 

• When and where did the first galaxies form? Is their density consistent with the reionization history of the Universe?
• How is the feedback from the first stars regulating the growth of galaxies?
• When and where did the first black holes form? What are their precursor seeds? What is their impact on the host galaxies?
• What is the timeline of the reionization?
• What is the role of early protoclusters in shaping the properties of galaxies?

We hope that you can join us for an exciting conference. Registration information is provided at the conference website or directly here. We have reserved a number of rooms at a favorable price at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel; the procedure to book a hotel room is provided on the conference website.

If you have any questions about the conference feel free to contact: FirstGyrs2024@noirlab.edu. Please forward this information to interested colleagues and distribute it within your department.

We hope to welcome you all soon in Hilo!

Emanuele Paolo Farina

On behalf of The First Gigayear(s) organizing committee.