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Pregalactic metal enrichment

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Abstract

I review recent results concerning the metal enrichment of the intergalactic medium and give arguments which allow to conclude that the heavy elements detected in the Lyα forest absorbers must have been produced and injected by a population of protogalaxies with typical mass ≈ 108 M⊙ at redshift z ≈ 10. In addition, I will discuss the existence of a metallicity-induced shift in the Initial Mass Function of first stars from an extrely top-heavy distribution to a `normal' one and bring observational support to this idea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Italy

    Andrea Ferrara

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  1. Andrea Ferrara
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Ferrara, A. Pregalactic metal enrichment. Astrophysics and Space Science 284, 415–424 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024019202910

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024019202910

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