Toledo, Spain, 12-16 May 2025
Scientific rationale
JWST is revolutionizing our view of early galaxy formation and evolution by providing unparalleled data to probe the stellar, gaseous, dust, supermassive black hole, and dark matter components of galaxies. After nearly three years of scientific mission, we invite astronomers to discuss the interplay of these different components in the "melting pot" (crisol in Spanish) of galaxy formation studies probing the origins of the Universe. We will celebrate this conference in the 2000-year-old city of Toledo, the so-called “Crisol de Culturas” (Crucible/Melting Pot of Cultures) or the City of the Three Cultures.
The main objectives of the conference are to review our progress in the following topics, with an eye towards future prospects:
- • Formation and growth of the first stars and stellar populations.
- • Interstellar Medium (ISM) and the role of gas and dust: chemical enrichment, dust formation and evolution, as well as its physical properties.
- • Formation and evolution of supermassive black holes: co-evolution of AGN and their hosts.
In this conference, we aim to overview the current state of research on galaxy origins from both observational and theoretical perspectives. By focusing on observations, particularly from JWST and its synergy with other space and ground-based facilities, not only at very high redshifts but also at cosmic noon, we explore galaxies’ components and their complex interplay and co-evolution in great detail to probe the first stages of galaxy evolution. Simultaneously, advancements in theoretical models and numerical simulations in the field have enabled unprecedentedly accurate predictions of the properties of galaxies and their ISM.
We will celebrate this gathering at the Palacio de Congresos inside the historic center of Toledo, where different cultures have shared their wisdom for centuries. In Toledo, Astronomy flourished more than a millennium ago, with important publications such as the Toledan Tables
and Alfonsine Tables that are dated in the 11th and 13th centuries, respectively, and a School of Translators that published works from Africa, Asia, and Europe.
INVITED SPEAKERS
Mirko Curti (ESO)
Emma Curtis-Lake (U. of Hertfordshire)
Mark Dickinson (NOIRLab)
Anna de Graaff (MPIA)
Roberto Maiolino (KAVLI - U. of Cambridge)
Rohan Naidu (MIT)
Desika Narayanan (U. of Florida)
Rachel Somerville (Flatiron Institute)
Jenny Greene (U. of Princeton)
SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Steve Finkelstein (UT Austin)
Mauro Giavalisco (UMass Amherst)
Yuichi Harikane (U. of Tokyo)
Pascal Oesch (U. of Geneva)
Pablo G. Pérez-González (co-chair, Astrobiology Center)
Paola Santini (INAF-OAR)
Irene Shivaei (co-chair, Astrobiology Center)
Laura Sommovigo (Flatiron Institute)
Hannah Übler (MPE)
Dominika Wylezalek (U. of Heidelberg)
LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Javier Álvarez Márquez
Marianna Annunziatella
Luca Costantin
Misha Hamed
Ivanna Langan
Pablo G. Pérez-González (co-chair)
Michele Perna
Bruno Rodriguez del Pino
Irene Shivaei (co-chair)
All affiliations are Astrobiology Center (CAB).
Important dates
Conference poster
Credits: M. Hamed et al.
