The BlueMUSE, Distant Universe, Science Cases

The BlueMUSE instrument is expected to be installed at the VLT in the early 2030s. The original MUSE instrument has been a game changer in terms of surface brightness sensitivity, uncovering diffuse gas in emission around high redshift galaxies, in particular in Lyman Alpha due to its resonant scattering properties. BlueMUSE offers a particular opportunity in expanding our understanding this diffuse emission and gas flows in the Universe due to its targeting a lower redshift (z∼1.9-3.3) regime in Lyman Alpha. For one, this represents a particular interesting time in the Universe: the end of Cosmic Noon and the start of galaxy cluster assembly. In addition, the diffuse emission will be a factor ∼4-8 brighter due to the inverse (1+z)4 surface brightness dimming. Knowing the interplay of how gas feeds and escapes galaxies will help us explain the relationship and evolution of feedback and star-formation in them.