Spectral Templates Optimal for Selecting Galaxies at z > 8 with the JWST
The selection of high-redshift galaxies often involves spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting to photometric data, an expectation for contamination levels, and measurement of sample completeness—all vetted through comparison to spectroscopic redshift measurements of a sub-sample. The first JWST ...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acfed4 |
| _version_ | 1797555594348986368 |
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| author | Rebecca L. Larson Taylor A. Hutchison Micaela Bagley Steven L. Finkelstein L. Y. Aaron Yung Rachel S. Somerville Michaela Hirschmann Gabriel Brammer Benne W. Holwerda Casey Papovich Alexa M. Morales Stephen M. Wilkins |
| author_facet | Rebecca L. Larson Taylor A. Hutchison Micaela Bagley Steven L. Finkelstein L. Y. Aaron Yung Rachel S. Somerville Michaela Hirschmann Gabriel Brammer Benne W. Holwerda Casey Papovich Alexa M. Morales Stephen M. Wilkins |
| author_sort | Rebecca L. Larson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The selection of high-redshift galaxies often involves spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting to photometric data, an expectation for contamination levels, and measurement of sample completeness—all vetted through comparison to spectroscopic redshift measurements of a sub-sample. The first JWST data are now being taken over several extragalactic fields to different depths and across various areas, which will be ideal for the discovery and classification of galaxies out to distances previously uncharted. As spectroscopic redshift measurements for sources in this epoch will not be initially available to compare with the first photometric measurements of z > 8 galaxies, robust photometric redshifts are of the utmost importance. Galaxies at z > 8 are expected to have bluer rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) colors than typically used model SED templates, which could lead to catastrophic photometric redshift failures. We use a combination of BPASS and Cloudy models to create a supporting set of templates that match the predicted rest-UV colors of z > 8 simulated galaxies. We test these new templates by fitting simulated galaxies in a mock catalog, Yung et al., which mimic expected field depths and areas of the JWST Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey ( m _5 _σ ∼ 28.6 over ∼100 arcmin ^2 ). We use EAZY to highlight the improvements in redshift recovery with the inclusion of our new template set and suggest criteria for selecting galaxies at 8 < z < 10 with the JWST, providing an important test case for observers venturing into this new era of astronomy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:49:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4f83f40ae75842ea8d0043ddf8df9716 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:49:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-4f83f40ae75842ea8d0043ddf8df97162023-11-20T11:20:07ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-01958214110.3847/1538-4357/acfed4Spectral Templates Optimal for Selecting Galaxies at z > 8 with the JWSTRebecca L. Larson0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2366-8858Taylor A. Hutchison1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6251-4988Micaela Bagley2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9921-9218Steven L. Finkelstein3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8519-1130L. Y. Aaron Yung4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3466-035XRachel S. Somerville5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6748-6821Michaela Hirschmann6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3301-3321Gabriel Brammer7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2680-005XBenne W. Holwerda8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4884-6756Casey Papovich9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7503-8482Alexa M. Morales10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4965-0402Stephen M. Wilkins11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3903-6935The University of Texas at Austin , Department of Astronomy, Austin, TX, USA ; rllsps@rit.edu; Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester, NY 14623, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAThe University of Texas at Austin , Department of Astronomy, Austin, TX, USA ; rllsps@rit.eduThe University of Texas at Austin , Department of Astronomy, Austin, TX, USA ; rllsps@rit.eduAstrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USACenter for Computational Astrophysics , Flatiron Institute, 162 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USAInstitute of Physics , Laboratory of Galaxy Evolution, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, SwitzerlandCosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, København N, DK-2200, DenmarkPhysics & Astronomy Department, University of Louisville , Louisville, KY 40292, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USAThe University of Texas at Austin , Department of Astronomy, Austin, TX, USA ; rllsps@rit.eduAstronomy Centre, University of Sussex , Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK; Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy, University of Malta , Msida MSD 2080, MaltaThe selection of high-redshift galaxies often involves spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting to photometric data, an expectation for contamination levels, and measurement of sample completeness—all vetted through comparison to spectroscopic redshift measurements of a sub-sample. The first JWST data are now being taken over several extragalactic fields to different depths and across various areas, which will be ideal for the discovery and classification of galaxies out to distances previously uncharted. As spectroscopic redshift measurements for sources in this epoch will not be initially available to compare with the first photometric measurements of z > 8 galaxies, robust photometric redshifts are of the utmost importance. Galaxies at z > 8 are expected to have bluer rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) colors than typically used model SED templates, which could lead to catastrophic photometric redshift failures. We use a combination of BPASS and Cloudy models to create a supporting set of templates that match the predicted rest-UV colors of z > 8 simulated galaxies. We test these new templates by fitting simulated galaxies in a mock catalog, Yung et al., which mimic expected field depths and areas of the JWST Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey ( m _5 _σ ∼ 28.6 over ∼100 arcmin ^2 ). We use EAZY to highlight the improvements in redshift recovery with the inclusion of our new template set and suggest criteria for selecting galaxies at 8 < z < 10 with the JWST, providing an important test case for observers venturing into this new era of astronomy.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acfed4GalaxiesSpectral energy distributionAstronomical simulations |
| spellingShingle | Rebecca L. Larson Taylor A. Hutchison Micaela Bagley Steven L. Finkelstein L. Y. Aaron Yung Rachel S. Somerville Michaela Hirschmann Gabriel Brammer Benne W. Holwerda Casey Papovich Alexa M. Morales Stephen M. Wilkins Spectral Templates Optimal for Selecting Galaxies at z > 8 with the JWST The Astrophysical Journal Galaxies Spectral energy distribution Astronomical simulations |
| title | Spectral Templates Optimal for Selecting Galaxies at z > 8 with the JWST |
| title_full | Spectral Templates Optimal for Selecting Galaxies at z > 8 with the JWST |
| title_fullStr | Spectral Templates Optimal for Selecting Galaxies at z > 8 with the JWST |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spectral Templates Optimal for Selecting Galaxies at z > 8 with the JWST |
| title_short | Spectral Templates Optimal for Selecting Galaxies at z > 8 with the JWST |
| title_sort | spectral templates optimal for selecting galaxies at z 8 with the jwst |
| topic | Galaxies Spectral energy distribution Astronomical simulations |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acfed4 |
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