The First Billion Years of the Universe

Rationale

During the first billion years of its life, the Universe has gone through one of its most remarkable phase changes, known as the Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionization (CD-EoR). This era constitutes a crucial missing chapter in the history of our Universe. This is the period when the very first sources of light were formed and where these sources heated and “re”-ionized the cold inter-galactic medium (IGM), consisting of mostly neutral hydrogen (HI) and helium (HeI). There are many fundamental questions related to this era that are still unresolved, including its exact timing and duration, the properties of these first light sources, etc. Answers to these questions will also enable us to understand how the present day cosmic structures have come into place from the tiny fluctuations in the matter and radiation of the early universe. This is why this era is also considered as one of the last frontiers of observational cosmology.

Radio interferometric observations of the redshifted 21-cm signal, coming from the HI of this era, promise to resolve many of these puzzles. The present time is particularly exciting for this rapidly growing field, as several radio telescopes, such as the GMRT, LOFAR, MWA, PAPER, HERA, HIRAX, Tianlai, CHIME, OWFA etc., are competing to detect this signal from the CD-EoR as well as from the post-EoR phase of the Universe. The upcoming SKA, owing to its superior sensitivity, is expected to provide, for the first time, tomographic images of the HI distribution at different cosmic times. These images will enable a giant leap in our understanding of these mysterious chapters in the cosmic history. Additionally, experiments such as EDGES, LEDA, SARAS etc. are trying to measure the variation of the mean 21-cm signal with cosmic time. Further, an upcoming set of telescopes in other wavelengths (e.g. Euclid, Athena, WFIRST, JWST, ELT, TMT, SPHEREx, TIME, CONCERTO etc.) will have the capability to map and characterize the sources that might have reionized the Universe. These multi-wavelength future experiments promise to provide us a comprehensive picture of the CD-EoR through direct observations of the luminous sources as well as of their impact on the IGM at this period.

To find innovative solutions to the various observational and technical obstacles faced by these new generation experiments and to analyze and interpret the unprecedented amount of observational data generated by them, we will need a large pool of highly skilled and motivated researchers. With this goal in mind, we are conducting a five-days-long school (27-31 January 2020) for Masters and PhD students, Postdocs, and Early Career Researchers who wish to conduct active research in this vibrant field. This school will consist of a series of lectures, hands-on demonstrations, and discussions by leading scientists on different methods of analytical modelling, simulations, observations, data reduction, and statistical inference for multi-wavelength observations of this early phase of our Universe. This will be part of the ongoing effort of the SKA-India consortium, which has been conducting such schools annually since 2016.

The school will be preceded by an international conference (20-24 January 2020) that will focus on the progress and present status of observations, modelling, and statistical inference tools of the CD-EoR and post-EoR epoch.

Issues in Focus

• Reionization of hydrogen and helium
• First sources of light
• Updates on 21-cm experiments
• Updates on X-ray, UV, IR experiments
• Obstacles in the observations
• Modelling and simulations of the first billion years
• Cosmology via intensity mapping of 21-cm and signals in other wavelengths
• Cross-correlation and other synergy studies between observations in 21-cm and other wavelengths
• Constraints on dark matter/dark energy
• Statistical estimators of the expected signals and statistical inference tools

Important Dates

Poster

Organizing Committee

Invited Speakers

Following is the list of invited speakers for the conference and the list of lecturers and tutors for the school. It will be updated as and when confirmation from more speakers/lecturers are received.

Registration

Registration for this event is closed.

Last date for registration and abstract submission was 06 October 2019.

For Masters and PhD students: Please request your supervisor to send a letter of recommendation to both of these email ids: firstbillion [at] iiti.ac.in and firstbillion.iiti [at] gmail.com before the registration deadline.

Participants

List of participants for the conference is here.
List of participants for the school is here.

Photos

Conference

Photos taken during the conference can be found here.

School

Photos taken during the school can be found here.

Programme

The conference programme is available here.
The school programme is available here.

Resources

We will post the links to relevant resources for the school and the conference here.

Venue

The conference and the school will be organized by the Discipline of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IIT Indore) at its campus in the central Indian city of Indore.

Accommodation, Visa and Logistics

Accommodation

Indore has a number of good hotels in and around the city centre, such as the Sayaji Indore, the Indore Marriott, the Radisson Blu, the Effotel, the Infiniti and many others. Most hotels provide airport pick-up and can arrange taxis and rented cars for day trips.

A detailed suggestion for hotels can be found here.

Some of these suggested hotels are marked in this Google maps.

We plan to arrange a bus pick up and drop off for the participants from the spot in front of the Radisson Blu Hotel.

Visa

Citizens of a large number of countries are eligible to apply for an e-Visa for travelling to India for attending a conference. Please check in the e-Visa portal if you are eligible to apply for an e-Visa. The advantage of e-Visa application is that you can submit your application online, without visiting the embassy/consulate/mission. Additionally, you do not need to submit your passport to the embassy/consulate/mission. Once your application is verified by the visa office, you will receive an Electronic Travel Authorization in your email, a printed copy of which you need to carry with you while you travel to India. The visa will be stamped on your passport at your port-of-entry in India. The MEA recommends that you should apply for the e-Visa preferably at least 15 working days before the date of your travel.

To apply for an e-Conference Visa apart from an invitation letter from the organizers you will need two additional documents. These are --the Political clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Event clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India. We will send these two documents to you once they are released from the respective ministries.

For further details please check the following websites --
https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/
https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html

IITI and DAASE

IIT Indore, located in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India, is an institute of national importance established by the Government of India in 2009, which has already emerged as a prominent research and teaching institute in the country. It is ranked 351-400 (3rd in India after the IISc Bangalore and IIT Ropar) in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020 and ranked 50 in the Times Higher Education Asian University Rankings 2019.

The Discipline of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Engineering (DAASE, formerly the Centre of Astronomy) was initiated in December 2015 as an interdisciplinary division of IIT Indore. Since December 2018, it has become a full-fledged department. It is unique among all IITs, as it offers a dedicated and focused platform to pursue research in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Engineering. Presently we have seven permanent faculty members, one visiting faculty, three associate faculty members from other disciplines, and nineteen students enrolled in the PhD programme. Since July 2018, we have started a two-years-long Masters programme in Astronomy with a strong focus on research. Presently, nineteen students are enrolled in the Masters programme. The DAASE also runs a minor programme in Astronomy for the engineering students of the institute. Our faculty members and students have varied research interests, starting from Radio Astronomical Instrumentation; Radio and X-ray Observations; Computational and Observational Cosmology; Large Scale Structures and Galaxy Clusters; Space Weather and Ionosphere; Computational Astrophysics; Neutron Stars, Pulsars and Black Holes; Transients; Star and Planet Formation; The Galaxy and Interstellar Medium; Satellite Communication; Navigation, Spacecraft and Payload Control; Remote Sensing and RADAR, Signal and Image Processing; Machine Learning and Big Data etc. Since February 2015, we are also founder members of the Square Kilometer Array-India (SKA-India) consortium.

Indore and Madhya Pradesh

Indore, is one of the major central Indian cities and the most populous city of Madhya Pradesh. Former capital of the princely state of the Maratha Holkars, it was an important center of trade and craftsmanship. Today, it is renowned for its vibrant culinary culture, particularly in Sarafa Bazaar, its century-old street food night market. The city of Indore has also been awarded the Swachh Survekshan Award as “cleanest city of India” for three consecutive years (2016-2019). From Indore, it is possible to visit the nearby city of Bhopal, the cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh, known for its ethnographic museums and its lakes. Other nearby attractions include the Buddhist complex of Sanchi (2nd century BCE), the rock shelters of Bhimbetka (an archeological site that spans the paleolithic and mesolithic period), and the well-preserved ruins of the palaces of Mandu, an extraordinary specimen of Islamic architecture in India. The state of Madhya Pradesh is also home to the temples of Khajuraho (a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most iconic tourist destinations of India) and to several national parks and tiger reserves, such as the Kanha, Satpura and Panna National Parks. Particularly noteworthy are the Dhuandhar Falls and Marble Rocks on the Narmada river near Jabalpur. For more information, please check the following websites --
http://www.mptourism.com/
https://www.thrillophilia.com/places-to-visit-in-madhya-pradesh

Getting in and around Indore

Indore is well connected to most of the major cities in India. Its local airport has several direct flights everyday to and from New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad etc. Most of the tourist attractions in and around Indore can be reached by car. The Uber and Ola mobile apps are the best options to hire a taxi for a trip within and outside Indore.

Code of Conduct

The code of conduct for this conference and school are in line with the SKA Organisation Code of Conduct for Meetings.

The organizers are committed to making this conference and school productive and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, nationality or religion. We have expected levels of professional behaviour that include treating others with respect and contributing to a positive working environment that is free from harassment, bullying and discrimination. We will not tolerate any breaches of these expected behaviours by anyone attending this conference and school.

This Code of Conduct applies to anyone attending this conference and school.

Please follow these guidelines:

• Behave professionally. Harassment and sexist, racist or exclusionary comments or jokes are not appropriate. Harassment includes sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, sexual attention or innuendo, deliberate intimidation, stalking, and photography or recording of an individual without consent. It also includes offensive comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race or religion.
• All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual or sexist language and imagery is not appropriate.
• Be considerate and respectful towards others. Do not insult or put down other attendees.
• All forms of social media should be used responsibly, respecting both individuals and the organisation hosting the meeting.

Individuals asked to stop any inappropriate behaviour are expected to comply immediately. Anyone violating these rules may be asked to leave the event at the discretion of the organiser(s) (without a refund of any registration or admission fee). Additionally, by registering for this school and conference all participants agree to adhere to the rules and regulations of IIT Indore. Any participant who wishes to report a violation of this policy may do so in confidence by sending an email to firstbillion [at] iiti.ac.in.

Acknowledgement

This code of conduct is based on the “London Code of Conduct”, as originally designed for the conference “Accurate Astrophysics. Correct Cosmology”, held in London in July 2015. The London Code was adapted with permission by Andrew Pontzen and Hiranya Peiris from a document by Software Carpentry, which itself derives from original Creative Commons documents by PyCon and Geek Feminism. It is released under a CC-Zero license for reuse. To help track people’s improvements and best practice, please retain this acknowledgement, and log your re-use or modification of this policy at https://github.com/apontzen/london_cc.

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