Abstract
Following the successful mapping of the last scattering surface by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and balloon experiments, the epoch of the first stars, when Population III stars formed, is emerging as the next cosmological frontier. It is not clear what these stars' properties were, when they formed, or how long their era lasted before leading to the stars and galaxies we see today. We show that these questions can be answered with the current and future measurements of the near-IR cosmic infrared background (CIB). Theoretical arguments suggest that Population III stars were very massive and short-lived stars that formed at z ~ 10-20 at rare peaks of the density field in the cold dark matter universe. Because Population III stars probably formed individually in small minihalos, they are not directly accessible to current telescopic studies. We show that these stars left a strong and measurable signature via their contribution to the CIB anisotropies for a wide range of their formation scenarios. The excess in the recently measured near-IR CIB anisotropies over that from normal galaxies can be explained by contribution from early Population III stars. These results imply that Population III were indeed very massive stars and that their epoch started at z ~ 20 and lasted past z ≲ 13. We show the importance of accurately measuring the CIB anisotropies produced by Population III with future space-based missions.
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