Searching for Pop III stars and galaxies at high redshift

Abstract

We review the expected properties of Pop III and very metal-poor starbursts and the behaviour the Ly and He ii λ1640 emission lines, which are most likely the best/easiest signatures to single out such objects. Existing claims of Pop III signatures in distant galaxies are critically examined, and the searches for He ii λ1640 emission at high redshift are summarised. Finally, we briefly summarise ongoing and future deep observations at z > 6 aiming in particular at detecting the sources of cosmic reionisation as well as primeval/Pop III galaxies. © 2008 International Astronomical Union.