Abstract We present an investigation into the first 500 Myr of galaxy evolution from the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey. CEERS, one of 13 JWST ERS programs, targets galaxy ...formation from z ∼ 0.5 to >10 using several imaging and spectroscopic modes. We make use of the first epoch of CEERS NIRCam imaging, spanning 35.5 arcmin 2 , to search for candidate galaxies at z > 9. Following a detailed data reduction process implementing several custom steps to produce high-quality reduced images, we perform multiband photometry across seven NIRCam broad- and medium-band (and six Hubble broadband) filters focusing on robust colors and accurate total fluxes. We measure photometric redshifts and devise a robust set of selection criteria to identify a sample of 26 galaxy candidates at z ∼ 9–16. These objects are compact with a median half-light radius of ∼0.5 kpc. We present an early estimate of the z ∼ 11 rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) luminosity function, finding that the number density of galaxies at M UV ∼ −20 appears to evolve very little from z ∼ 9 to 11. We also find that the abundance (surface density arcmin −2 ) of our candidates exceeds nearly all theoretical predictions. We explore potential implications, including that at z > 10, star formation may be dominated by top-heavy initial mass functions, which would result in an increased ratio of UV light per unit halo mass, though a complete lack of dust attenuation and/or changing star formation physics may also play a role. While spectroscopic confirmation of these sources is urgently required, our results suggest that the deeper views to come with JWST should yield prolific samples of ultrahigh-redshift galaxies with which to further explore these conclusions.
We present the physical extent of C ii 158 m line-emitting gas from 46 star-forming galaxies at z = 4-6 from the ALMA Large Program to INvestigate C ii at Early Times (ALPINE). Using exponential ...profile fits, we measure the effective radius of the C ii line ( ) for individual galaxies and compare them with the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) continuum ( ) from Hubble Space Telescope images. The effective radius exceeds by factors of ∼2-3, and the ratio of increases as a function of Mstar. We do not find strong evidence that the C ii line, rest-frame UV, and far-infrared (FIR) continuum are always displaced over 1 kpc scale from each other. We identify 30% of isolated ALPINE sources as having an extended C ii component over 10 kpc scales detected at 4.1 -10.9 beyond the size of rest-frame UV and FIR continuum. One object has tentative rotating features up to ∼10 kpc, where the 3D model fit shows the rotating C ii-gas disk spread over 4 times larger than the rest-frame UV-emitting region. Galaxies with the extended C ii line structure have high star formation rate, high stellar mass (Mstar), low Ly equivalent width, and more blueshifted (redshifted) rest-frame UV metal absorption (Ly line), as compared to galaxies without such extended C ii structures. Although we cannot rule out the possibility that a selection bias toward luminous objects may be responsible for such trends, the star-formation-driven outflow also explains all these trends. Deeper observations are essential to test whether the extended C ii line structures are ubiquitous to high-z star-forming galaxies.
We present a WFC3 F160W (H-band) selected catalog in the CANDELS/GOODS-N field containing photometry from the ultraviolet (UV) to the far-infrared (IR), photometric redshifts, and stellar parameters ...derived from the analysis of the multiwavelength data. The catalog contains 35,445 sources over the 171 arcmin2 of the CANDELS F160W mosaic. The 5 detection limits (within an aperture of radius 0 17) of the mosaic range between H = 27.8, 28.2, and 28.7 in the wide, intermediate, and deep regions, which span approximately 50%, 15%, and 35% of the total area. The multiwavelength photometry includes broadband data from the UV (U band from KPNO and LBC), optical (HST/ACS F435W, F606W, F775W, F814W, and F850LP), near-to-mid IR (HST/WFC3 F105W, F125W, F140W, and F160W; Subaru/MOIRCS Ks; CFHT/Megacam K; and Spitzer/IRAC 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 m), and far-IR (Spitzer/MIPS 24 m, HERSCHEL/PACS 100 and 160 m, SPIRE 250, 350 and 500 m) observations. In addition, the catalog also includes optical medium-band data (R ∼ 50) in 25 consecutive bands, λ = 500-950 nm, from the SHARDS survey and WFC3 IR spectroscopic observations with the G102 and G141 grisms (R ∼ 210 and 130). The use of higher spectral resolution data to estimate photometric redshifts provides very high, and nearly uniform, precision from z = 0-2.5. The comparison to 1485 good-quality spectroscopic redshifts up to z ∼ 3 yields Δz/(1 + zspec) = 0.0032 and an outlier fraction of = 4.3%. In addition to the multiband photometry, we release value-added catalogs with emission-line fluxes, stellar masses, dust attenuations, UV- and IR-based star formation rates, and rest-frame colors.
Abstract
Observations and simulations of interacting galaxies and mergers in the local universe have shown that interactions can significantly enhance the star formation rates (SFRs) and fueling of ...active galactic nuclei (AGN). However, at higher redshift, some simulations suggest that the level of star formation enhancement induced by interactions is lower due to the higher gas fractions and already increased SFRs in these galaxies. To test this, we measure the SFR enhancement in a total of 2351 (1327) massive (
M
*
> 10
10
M
⊙
) major (1 <
M
1
/
M
2
< 4) spectroscopic galaxy pairs at 0.5 <
z
< 3.0 with Δ
V
< 5000 km s
−1
(1000 km s
−1
) and projected separation <150 kpc selected from the extensive spectroscopic coverage in the COSMOS and CANDELS fields. We find that the highest level of SFR enhancement is a factor of
1.23
−
0.09
+
0.08
in the closest projected separation bin (<25 kpc) relative to a stellar mass-, redshift-, and environment-matched control sample of isolated galaxies. We find that the level of SFR enhancement is a factor of ∼1.5 higher at 0.5 <
z
< 1 than at 1 <
z
< 3 in the closest projected separation bin. Among a sample of visually identified mergers, we find an enhancement of a factor of
1.86
−
0.18
+
0.29
(∼3
σ
) for coalesced systems. For this visually identified sample, we see a clear trend of increased SFR enhancement with decreasing projected separation (2.40
−
0.37
+
0.62
versus
1.58
−
0.20
+
0.29
for 0.5 <
z
< 1.6 and 1.6 <
z
< 3.0, respectively). The SFR enhancements seen in our interactions and mergers are all lower than the level seen in local samples at the same separation, suggesting that the level of interaction-induced star formation evolves significantly over this time period.
We present results from near-infrared spectroscopy of 26 emission-line galaxies at z ~ 2.2 and z ~ 1.5 obtained with the Folded-port InfraRed Echellette (FIRE) spectrometer on the 6.5 m Magellan ...Baade telescope. Our FIRE follow-up spectroscopy (R ~ 5000) over 1.0-2.5 mu m permits detailed measurements of the physical properties of the z ~ 2 emission-line galaxies. Dust-corrected star formation rates for the sample range from ~5-100 M sub(middot in circle) yr super(-1) with a mean of 29 M sub(middot in circle) yr super(-1). We derive a median metallicity for the sample of 12 + log(O/H) = 8.34 or ~0.45 Z sub(middot in circle). The average ionization parameter measured for the sample, log U approximately -2.5, is significantly higher than what is found for most star-forming galaxies in the local universe, but similar to the values found for other star-forming galaxies at high redshift. We speculate that the elevated nitrogen abundance could result from substantial numbers of Wolf-Rayet stars in starbursting galaxies at z ~ 2.
Abstract We present JWST/NIRSpec prism spectroscopy of seven galaxies selected from Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey NIRCam imaging with photometric redshifts z phot > 8. We ...measure emission line redshifts of z = 7.65 and 8.64 for two galaxies. For two other sources without securely detected emission lines we measure z = 9.77 − 0.29 + 0.37 and 10.01 − 0.19 + 0.14 by fitting model spectral templates to the prism data, from which we detect continuum breaks consistent with Ly α opacity from a mostly neutral intergalactic medium. The presence of strong breaks and the absence of strong emission lines give high confidence that these two galaxies have redshifts z > 9.6, but the redshift values derived from the breaks alone have large uncertainties given the low spectral resolution and relatively low S/N of the CEERS NIRSpec prism data. The two z ∼ 10 sources observed are relatively luminous ( M UV < −20), with blue continua (−2.3 ≲ β ≲ −1.9) and low dust attenuation ( A V ≃ 0.15 − 0.1 + 0.3 ); and at least one of them has a high stellar mass for a galaxy at that redshift ( log ( M ⋆ / M ⊙ ) ≃ 9.3 − 0.3 + 0.2 ). Considered together with spectroscopic observations of other CEERS NIRCam-selected high- z galaxy candidates in the literature, we find a high rate of redshift confirmation and low rate of confirmed interlopers (8%). Ten out of 35 z > 8 candidates with CEERS NIRSpec spectroscopy do not have secure redshifts, but the absence of emission lines in their spectra is consistent with redshifts z > 9.6. We find that z > 8 photometric redshifts are generally in agreement (within their uncertainties) with the spectroscopic values, but also that the photometric redshifts tend to be slightly overestimated (〈Δ z 〉 = 0.45 ± 0.11), suggesting that current templates do not fully describe the spectra of very-high- z sources. Overall, the spectroscopy solidifies photometric redshift evidence for a high spatial density of bright galaxies at z > 8 compared to theoretical model predictions, and further disfavors an accelerated decline in the integrated UV luminosity density at z > 8.
Abstract We present JWST NIRSpec spectroscopy for 11 galaxy candidates with photometric redshifts of z ≃ 9 − 13 and M UV ∈ −21, −18 newly identified in NIRCam images in the Cosmic Evolution Early ...Release Science Survey. We confirm emission line redshifts for 7 galaxies at z = 7.762–8.998 using spectra at ∼1–5 μ m either with the NIRSpec prism or its three medium-resolution ( R ∼ 1000) gratings. For z ≃ 9 photometric candidates, we achieve a high confirmation rate of ≃90%, which validates the classical dropout selection from NIRCam photometry. No robust emission lines are identified in three galaxy candidates at z > 10, where the strong O iii and H β lines would be redshifted beyond the wavelength range observed by NIRSpec, and the Ly α continuum break is not detected with the sensitivity of the current data. Compared with Hubble Space Telescope-selected bright galaxies ( M UV ≃ −22) that are similarly spectroscopically confirmed at z ≃ 8 − 9, these NIRCam-selected galaxies are characterized by lower star formation rates (SFRs; SFR ≃ 4 M ⊙ yr −1 ) and lower stellar masses (≃10 8 M ⊙ ), but with higher specific SFR (≃40 Gyr −1 ), higher O iii +H β equivalent widths (≃1100 Å), and elevated production efficiency of ionizing photons ( log ( ξ ion / Hz erg − 1 ) ≃ 25.8 ) induced by young stellar populations (<10 Myr) accounting for ≃20% of the galaxy mass, highlighting the key contribution of faint galaxies to cosmic reionization. Taking advantage of the homogeneous selection and sensitivity, we also investigate metallicity and ISM conditions with empirical calibrations using the O iii 5008 /H β ratio. We find that galaxies at z ≃ 8 − 9 have higher SFRs and lower metallicities than galaxies at similar stellar masses at z ≃ 2 − 6, which is generally consistent with the current galaxy formation and evolution models.
The Faint Infrared Grism Survey (FIGS) is a deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3/IR (Wide Field Camera 3 Infrared) slitless spectroscopic survey of four deep fields. Two fields are located in the ...Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-North (GOODS-N) area and two fields are located in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-South (GOODS-S) area. One of the southern fields selected is the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. Each of these four fields were observed using the WFC3/G102 grism (0.8 m-1.15 m continuous coverage) with a total exposure time of 40 orbits ( 100 kilo-seconds) per field. This reaches a continuum depth of AB magnitudes and probes emission lines to . This paper details the four FIGS fields and the overall observational strategy of the project. A detailed description of the Simulation Based Extraction (SBE) method used to extract and combine over 10,000 spectra of over 2000 distinct sources brighter than mag is provided. High fidelity simulations of the observations is shown to significantly improve the background subtraction process, the spectral contamination estimates, and the final flux calibration. This allows for the combination of multiple spectra to produce a final high quality, deep, 1D spectra for each object in the survey.
Abstract We present a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of the morphological and structural properties of a large sample of galaxies at z = 3–9 using early James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) ...CEERS NIRCam observations. Our sample consists of 850 galaxies at z > 3 detected in both Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/WFC3 and CEERS JWST/NIRCam images, enabling a comparison of HST and JWST morphologies. We conduct a set of visual classifications, with each galaxy in the sample classified three times. We also measure quantitative morphologies across all NIRCam filters. We find that galaxies at z > 3 have a wide diversity of morphologies. Galaxies with disks make up 60% of galaxies at z = 3, and this fraction drops to ∼30% at z = 6–9, while galaxies with spheroids make up ∼30%–40% across the redshift range, and pure spheroids with no evidence for disks or irregular features make up ∼20%. The fraction of galaxies with irregular features is roughly constant at all redshifts (∼40%–50%), while those that are purely irregular increases from ∼12% to ∼20% at z > 4.5. We note that these are apparent fractions, as many observational effects impact the visibility of morphological features at high redshift. On average, Spheroid-only galaxies have a higher Sérsic index, smaller size, and higher axis ratio than disk or irregular galaxies. Across all redshifts, smaller spheroid and disk galaxies tend to be rounder. Overall, these trends suggest that galaxies with established disks and spheroids exist across the full redshift range of this study, and further work with large samples at higher redshift is needed to quantify when these features first formed.
We analyze the dependence of galaxy structure (size and Sersic index) and mode of star formation ( Delta *SSFR and SFRIR/SFRUV) on the position of galaxies in the star formation rate (SFR) versus ...mass diagram. Our sample comprises roughly 640,000 galaxies at z ~ 0.1, 130,000 galaxies at z ~ 1, and 36,000 galaxies at z ~ 2. Structural measurements for all but the z ~ 0.1 galaxies are based on Hubble Space Telescope imaging, and SFRs are derived using a Herschel-calibrated ladder of SFR indicators. We find that a correlation between the structure and stellar population of galaxies (i.e., a 'Hubble sequence') is already in place since at least z ~ 2.5. At all epochs, typical star-forming galaxies on the main sequence are well approximated by exponential disks, while the profiles of quiescent galaxies are better described by de Vaucouleurs profiles. In the upper envelope of the main sequence, the relation between the SFR and Sersic index reverses, suggesting a rapid buildup of the central mass concentration in these starbursting outliers. We observe quiescent, moderately and highly star-forming systems to co-exist over an order of magnitude or more in stellar mass. At each mass and redshift, galaxies on the main sequence have the largest size. The rate of size growth correlates with specific SFR, and so does Delta *SSFR at each redshift. A simple model using an empirically determined star formation law and metallicity scaling, in combination with an assumed geometry for dust and stars, is able to relate the observed Delta *SSFR and SFRIR/SFRUV, provided a more patchy dust geometry is assumed for high-redshift galaxies.
![The ALPINE-ALMA [C ii] Surv...](http://api.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/image/issn/XR4PS5YY4K/0004-637X_1538-4357/small "The ALPINE-ALMA [C ii] Survey: Size of Individual Star-forming Galaxies at z = 4-6 and Their Extended Halo Structure")
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