An Extremely Compact, Low-mass Galaxy on its Way to Quiescence at z = 5.2
We report the discovery of a low-mass z = 5.200 ± 0.002 galaxy that is in the process of ceasing its star formation. The galaxy, MACS0417-z5BBG, is multiply imaged with magnification factors ∼40 by the galaxy cluster MACS J0417.5-1154, observed as part of the CAnadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey...
| 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 Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acd457 |
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| author | Victoria Strait Gabriel Brammer Adam Muzzin Guillaume Desprez Yoshihisa Asada Roberto Abraham Maruša Bradač Kartheik G. Iyer Nicholas Martis Lamiya Mowla Gaël Noirot Ghassan T. E. Sarrouh Marcin Sawicki Chris Willott Katriona Gould Tess Grindlay Jasleen Matharu Gregor Rihtaršič |
| author_facet | Victoria Strait Gabriel Brammer Adam Muzzin Guillaume Desprez Yoshihisa Asada Roberto Abraham Maruša Bradač Kartheik G. Iyer Nicholas Martis Lamiya Mowla Gaël Noirot Ghassan T. E. Sarrouh Marcin Sawicki Chris Willott Katriona Gould Tess Grindlay Jasleen Matharu Gregor Rihtaršič |
| author_sort | Victoria Strait |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We report the discovery of a low-mass z = 5.200 ± 0.002 galaxy that is in the process of ceasing its star formation. The galaxy, MACS0417-z5BBG, is multiply imaged with magnification factors ∼40 by the galaxy cluster MACS J0417.5-1154, observed as part of the CAnadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS). Using observations of MACS0417-z5BBG with a JWST/NIRSpec Prism spectrum and NIRCam imaging, we investigate the mechanism responsible for the cessation of star formation of the galaxy and speculate about possibilities for its future. Using spectrophotometric fitting, we find a remarkably low stellar mass of ${M}_{* }=4.3{\pm }_{0.8}^{0.9}\times {10}^{7}{M}_{\odot }$ , less than 1% of the characteristic stellar mass at z ∼ 5. We measure a delensed rest-UV half-light radius in the source plane of $30{\pm }_{5}^{7}$ pc and measure a star formation rate from H α of $0.14{\pm }_{0.12}^{0.17}$ M _⊙ yr ^−1 . We find that under the assumption of a double power-law star formation history, MACS0417-z5BBG has seen a recent rise in star formation, peaking ∼10–30 Myr ago and declining precipitously since then. Together, these measurements reveal a low-mass, extremely compact galaxy which is in the process of ceasing star formation. We investigate the possibilities of mechanisms that have led to the cessation of star formation in MACS0417-z5BBG, considering stellar and active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback and environmental processes. We can likely rule out most environmental processes but leave open the possibility of a low-mass AGN that does not leave a broad-line imprint on the spectrum or that MACS0417-z5BBG could be a star-forming galaxy in the lull of a bursty star formation history. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:20:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-799095f43fee441abedf9c4d225ef99b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:20:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-799095f43fee441abedf9c4d225ef99b2023-09-03T14:01:21ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052023-01-019492L2310.3847/2041-8213/acd457An Extremely Compact, Low-mass Galaxy on its Way to Quiescence at z = 5.2Victoria Strait0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6338-7295Gabriel Brammer1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2680-005XAdam Muzzin2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9330-9108Guillaume Desprez3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8325-1742Yoshihisa Asada4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3983-5438Roberto Abraham5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4542-921XMaruša Bradač6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5984-0395Kartheik G. Iyer7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9298-3523Nicholas Martis8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3243-9969Lamiya Mowla9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8530-9765Gaël Noirot10Ghassan T. E. Sarrouh11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8830-2166Marcin Sawicki12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7712-7857Chris Willott13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4201-7367Katriona Gould14https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4196-5960Tess Grindlay15https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4881-3299Jasleen Matharu16https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7547-3385Gregor Rihtaršič17https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4388-898XCosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) , Denmark ; victoria.strait@nbi.ku.dk; Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, DenmarkCosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) , Denmark ; victoria.strait@nbi.ku.dk; Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, DenmarkDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, York University , 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, MJ3 1P3, CanadaInstitute for Computational Astrophysics and Department of Astronomy & Physics, Saint Mary’s University , 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, CanadaInstitute for Computational Astrophysics and Department of Astronomy & Physics, Saint Mary’s University , 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada; Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University , Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, JapanDunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics , 50 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3H4, CanadaUniversity of Ljubljana , Department of Mathematics and Physics, Jadranska ulica 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaColumbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University , 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, USAInstitute for Computational Astrophysics and Department of Astronomy & Physics, Saint Mary’s University , 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada; NRC Herzberg , 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, CanadaDunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics , 50 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3H4, CanadaInstitute for Computational Astrophysics and Department of Astronomy & Physics, Saint Mary’s University , 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, CanadaDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, York University , 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, MJ3 1P3, CanadaInstitute for Computational Astrophysics and Department of Astronomy & Physics, Saint Mary’s University , 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, CanadaNRC Herzberg , 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, CanadaCosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) , Denmark ; victoria.strait@nbi.ku.dk; Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, DenmarkNRC Herzberg , 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria , Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, CanadaCosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) , Denmark ; victoria.strait@nbi.ku.dk; Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, DenmarkUniversity of Ljubljana , Department of Mathematics and Physics, Jadranska ulica 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaWe report the discovery of a low-mass z = 5.200 ± 0.002 galaxy that is in the process of ceasing its star formation. The galaxy, MACS0417-z5BBG, is multiply imaged with magnification factors ∼40 by the galaxy cluster MACS J0417.5-1154, observed as part of the CAnadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS). Using observations of MACS0417-z5BBG with a JWST/NIRSpec Prism spectrum and NIRCam imaging, we investigate the mechanism responsible for the cessation of star formation of the galaxy and speculate about possibilities for its future. Using spectrophotometric fitting, we find a remarkably low stellar mass of ${M}_{* }=4.3{\pm }_{0.8}^{0.9}\times {10}^{7}{M}_{\odot }$ , less than 1% of the characteristic stellar mass at z ∼ 5. We measure a delensed rest-UV half-light radius in the source plane of $30{\pm }_{5}^{7}$ pc and measure a star formation rate from H α of $0.14{\pm }_{0.12}^{0.17}$ M _⊙ yr ^−1 . We find that under the assumption of a double power-law star formation history, MACS0417-z5BBG has seen a recent rise in star formation, peaking ∼10–30 Myr ago and declining precipitously since then. Together, these measurements reveal a low-mass, extremely compact galaxy which is in the process of ceasing star formation. We investigate the possibilities of mechanisms that have led to the cessation of star formation in MACS0417-z5BBG, considering stellar and active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback and environmental processes. We can likely rule out most environmental processes but leave open the possibility of a low-mass AGN that does not leave a broad-line imprint on the spectrum or that MACS0417-z5BBG could be a star-forming galaxy in the lull of a bursty star formation history.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acd457GalaxiesPost-starburst galaxies |
| spellingShingle | Victoria Strait Gabriel Brammer Adam Muzzin Guillaume Desprez Yoshihisa Asada Roberto Abraham Maruša Bradač Kartheik G. Iyer Nicholas Martis Lamiya Mowla Gaël Noirot Ghassan T. E. Sarrouh Marcin Sawicki Chris Willott Katriona Gould Tess Grindlay Jasleen Matharu Gregor Rihtaršič An Extremely Compact, Low-mass Galaxy on its Way to Quiescence at z = 5.2 The Astrophysical Journal Letters Galaxies Post-starburst galaxies |
| title | An Extremely Compact, Low-mass Galaxy on its Way to Quiescence at z = 5.2 |
| title_full | An Extremely Compact, Low-mass Galaxy on its Way to Quiescence at z = 5.2 |
| title_fullStr | An Extremely Compact, Low-mass Galaxy on its Way to Quiescence at z = 5.2 |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Extremely Compact, Low-mass Galaxy on its Way to Quiescence at z = 5.2 |
| title_short | An Extremely Compact, Low-mass Galaxy on its Way to Quiescence at z = 5.2 |
| title_sort | extremely compact low mass galaxy on its way to quiescence at z 5 2 |
| topic | Galaxies Post-starburst galaxies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acd457 |
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