SIMCADO spatially resolved simulations of high-z optically dark galaxies for ELT/MORFEO

The study of the early Universe is a fascinating but still poorly understood topic of the modern astrophysics, since our knowledge of the high-redshift sources is mainly based on optical and UV observations, that are likely not representing the whole galaxy population. Indeed, FIR and sub-mm surveys show that there are high-redshift sources with faint/undetected counterparts in the optical and UV, because of dusty environments. In this thesis work, I will focus on HST-dark galaxies, a new population of massive and dusty sources that are missed from optical/NIR surveys. Indeed, all the questions related to their morphologies and characteristics could be answered only by observing them with a very high angular resolution and a very big collecting area telescope. In this regard, we considered the capabilities of the ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) that will revolutionize the way astronomers observe the whole Universe with the combination of its NIR camera MICADO and its adaptive optics system MORFEO. Our purpose is to simulate -and so predict- how HST-dark galaxies would be observed by the ELT in order to verify the possibility to detect heavily obscured galaxies and show the level of detail achievable with future telescopes. In order to run our spatially resolved simulations, we use the spectral energy distributions of six ALMA-selected HST-dark galaxies and associate to each of them the morphology of a local LIRG/ULIRG, since their SEDs are very dusty and obscured too. Our simulations show how the ELT will unveil the obscured side of the high-redshift Universe, showing that, thanks to the unprecedented spatial resolution of MICADO, we will be able to observe details and disturbed morphologies up to z=4. The fact that the ELT will be able to observe and distinguish the shape and morphology of high-redshift sources is not only an unprecedented result, but is also of crucial importance in order to provide constraints on models of galaxy formation and evolution.