What does the word reionization mean?
In the fields of Big Bang theory and cosmology, reionization is the process that caused matter in the universe to reionize after the lapse of the “dark ages”. Reionization is the second of two major phase transitions of gas in the universe (the first is recombination).
What is cosmic reionization?
Cosmic reionization involves the coupling of non-linear physics of galaxy formation with the non-local physics of gravity and radiation transport to produce a global phase transition. The mixture of small- and large-scale physics makes for a complex problem.
Why is reionization important?
By studying reionization, we can learn a great deal about the process of structure formation in the universe, and find the evolutionary links between the remarkably smooth matter distribution at early times revealed by CMB studies, and the highly structured universe of galaxies and clusters of galaxies at redshifts of …
What happened during epoch of reionization?
Overview: The “Epoch of Reionization” is a period in the history of the universe that likely arose as a result of the arrival of the first stars and galaxies. Prior to this, the universe was dark, suffused with a dense, obscuring fog of primordial gas.
What caused reionization?
This era, from the end of the dark ages to when the universe was around a billion years old, is known as “the epoch of reionization.” It refers to the point when most of the neutral hydrogen was reionized by the increasing radiation from the first massive stars.
When did Reionization happen?
What is cosmic epoch?
The timeline of the early universe outlines the formation and subsequent evolution of the Universe from the Big Bang (13.799 ± 0.021 billion years ago) to the present day. An epoch is a moment in time from which nature or situations change to such a degree that it marks the beginning of a new era or age.
What was the first light in the universe?
This was the moment of first light in the universe, between 240,000 and 300,000 years after the Big Bang, known as the Era of Recombination. The first time that photons could rest for a second, attached as electrons to atoms. It was at this point that the universe went from being totally opaque, to transparent.
What is the meaning of the word reionization?
Definitions for reionization reion·iza·tion. Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word reionization. The act or process of reionizing. In Big Bang cosmology, reionization is the process that reionized the matter in the universe after the “dark ages,” and is the second of two major phase transitions of gas in the universe.
What does reionization mean in Big Bang cosmology?
Freebase (5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition: In Big Bang cosmology, reionization is the process that reionized the matter in the universe after the “dark ages,” and is the second of two major phase transitions of gas in the universe. As the majority of baryonic matter is in the form of hydrogen, reionization usually refers to the reionization…
Why is reionization important to the history of the universe?
Reionization is an important phenomenon in our universe’s history as it presents one of the few means by which we can (indirectly) study these earliest stars. But scientists do not know exactly when the first stars formed and when this reionization process started to occur.
Is the primordial helium an example of reionization?
It is believed that the primordial helium also experienced the same phase of reionization changes, but at different points in the history of the universe. This is usually referred to as helium reionization .