The Star Formation History of the Universe

Strong constraints on the cosmic star formation history (SFH) have recently been established using ultraviolet and far-infrared measurements, refining the results of numerous measurements over the past decade. Taken together, the most recent and robust data indicate a compellingly consistent picture of the SFH out to redshift z ≈ 6, with especially tight constraints for z < 1. There have also been a number of dedicated efforts to measure or constrain the SFH at z ≈ 6 and beyond. It is also possible to constrain the normalisation of the SFH using a combination of electron antineutrino flux limits from Super-Kamiokande measurements and supernova rate density measurements. This review presents the latest compilation of SFH measurements, and summarises the corresponding evolution for stellar and metal mass densities, and supernova rate densities. The constraints on the normalisation of the cosmic SFH, arising from the combination of the supernova rate measurements and the measurement limit on the supernova electron antineutrino flux, are also discussed.