UNCOVER: Illuminating the Early Universe—JWST/NIRSpec Confirmation of z > 12 Galaxies
Observations of high-redshift galaxies provide a critical direct test to the theories of early galaxy formation, yet to date, only three have been spectroscopically confirmed at z > 12. Due to strong gravitational lensing over a wide area, the galaxy cluster field A2744 is ideal for searching for...
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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/acfe07 |
| _version_ | 1827763431419150336 |
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| author | Bingjie Wang Seiji Fujimoto Ivo Labbé Lukas J. Furtak Tim B. Miller David J. Setton Adi Zitrin Hakim Atek Rachel Bezanson Gabriel Brammer Joel Leja Pascal A. Oesch Sedona H. Price Iryna Chemerynska Sam E. Cutler Pratika Dayal Pieter van Dokkum Andy D. Goulding Jenny E. Greene Y. Fudamoto Gourav Khullar Vasily Kokorev Danilo Marchesini Richard Pan John R. Weaver Katherine E. Whitaker Christina C. Williams |
| author_facet | Bingjie Wang Seiji Fujimoto Ivo Labbé Lukas J. Furtak Tim B. Miller David J. Setton Adi Zitrin Hakim Atek Rachel Bezanson Gabriel Brammer Joel Leja Pascal A. Oesch Sedona H. Price Iryna Chemerynska Sam E. Cutler Pratika Dayal Pieter van Dokkum Andy D. Goulding Jenny E. Greene Y. Fudamoto Gourav Khullar Vasily Kokorev Danilo Marchesini Richard Pan John R. Weaver Katherine E. Whitaker Christina C. Williams |
| author_sort | Bingjie Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Observations of high-redshift galaxies provide a critical direct test to the theories of early galaxy formation, yet to date, only three have been spectroscopically confirmed at z > 12. Due to strong gravitational lensing over a wide area, the galaxy cluster field A2744 is ideal for searching for the earliest galaxies. Here we present JWST/NIRSpec observations of two galaxies: a robust detection at ${z}_{\mathrm{spec}}={12.393}_{-0.001}^{+0.004}$ , and a plausible candidate at ${z}_{\mathrm{spec}}={13.079}_{-0.001}^{+0.013}$ . The galaxies are discovered in JWST/NIRCam imaging and their distances are inferred with JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy, all from the JWST Cycle 1 UNCOVER Treasury survey. Detailed stellar population modeling using JWST NIRCam and NIRSpec data corroborates the primeval characteristics of these galaxies: low mass (∼10 ^8 M _⊙ ), young, rapidly assembling, metal-poor, and star-forming. Interestingly, both galaxies are spatially resolved, having lensing-corrected rest-UV effective radii on the order of 300–400 pc, which are notably larger than other spectroscopically confirmed systems at similar redshifts. The observed dynamic range of z ≳ 10 sizes spans over 1 order of magnitude, implying a significant scatter in the size–mass relation at early times. Deep into the epoch of reionization, these discoveries elucidate the emergence of the first galaxies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:52:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8d5a555175f840fdbcca44580098b3ca |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:52:14Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-8d5a555175f840fdbcca44580098b3ca2023-11-13T14:58:20ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052023-01-019572L3410.3847/2041-8213/acfe07UNCOVER: Illuminating the Early Universe—JWST/NIRSpec Confirmation of z > 12 GalaxiesBingjie Wang0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9269-5046Seiji Fujimoto1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7201-5066Ivo Labbé2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2057-5376Lukas J. Furtak3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6278-032XTim B. Miller4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8367-6265David J. Setton5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4075-7393Adi Zitrin6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0350-4488Hakim Atek7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7570-0824Rachel Bezanson8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5063-8254Gabriel Brammer9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2680-005XJoel Leja10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6755-1315Pascal A. Oesch11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5851-6649Sedona H. Price12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0108-4176Iryna Chemerynska13https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9795-6167Sam E. Cutler14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7031-2865Pratika Dayal15https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8460-1564Pieter van Dokkum16https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8282-9888Andy D. Goulding17https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4700-663XJenny E. Greene18https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5612-3427Y. Fudamoto19https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7440-8832Gourav Khullar20https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3475-7648Vasily Kokorev21https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5588-9156Danilo Marchesini22https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9002-3502Richard Pan23https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9651-5716John R. Weaver24https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1614-196XKatherine E. Whitaker25https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7160-3632Christina C. Williams26https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2919-7495Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USA ; bwang@psu.edu; Institute for Computational & Data Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USA; Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX 78712, USACentre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology , Melbourne, VIC 3122, AustraliaDepartment of Physics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev , P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, IsraelDepartment of Astronomy, Yale University , New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics & Astronomy, Northwestern University , IL 60201, USADepartment of Physics & Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USADepartment of Physics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev , P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, IsraelInstitut d’Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, Sorbonne Université , 98bis Boulevard Arago, F-75014, Paris, FranceDepartment of Physics & Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USACosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, København N, DK-2200, DenmarkDepartment of Astronomy & Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USA ; bwang@psu.edu; Institute for Computational & Data Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USA; Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USACosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, København N, DK-2200, Denmark; Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva , Chemin Pegasi 51, 1290 Versoix, SwitzerlandDepartment of Physics & Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USAInstitut d’Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, Sorbonne Université , 98bis Boulevard Arago, F-75014, Paris, FranceDepartment of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts , Amherst, MA 01003, USAKapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen , 9700 AV Groningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of Astronomy, Yale University , New Haven, CT 06511, USADepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544, USADepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544, USAWaseda Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University , 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan; National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 2-21-1, Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, JapanDepartment of Physics & Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USAKapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen , 9700 AV Groningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of Physics & Astronomy, Tufts University , MA 02155, USADepartment of Physics & Astronomy, Tufts University , MA 02155, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts , Amherst, MA 01003, USACosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, København N, DK-2200, Denmark; Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts , Amherst, MA 01003, USANSF's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , Tucson, AZ 85719, USA; Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85721, USAObservations of high-redshift galaxies provide a critical direct test to the theories of early galaxy formation, yet to date, only three have been spectroscopically confirmed at z > 12. Due to strong gravitational lensing over a wide area, the galaxy cluster field A2744 is ideal for searching for the earliest galaxies. Here we present JWST/NIRSpec observations of two galaxies: a robust detection at ${z}_{\mathrm{spec}}={12.393}_{-0.001}^{+0.004}$ , and a plausible candidate at ${z}_{\mathrm{spec}}={13.079}_{-0.001}^{+0.013}$ . The galaxies are discovered in JWST/NIRCam imaging and their distances are inferred with JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy, all from the JWST Cycle 1 UNCOVER Treasury survey. Detailed stellar population modeling using JWST NIRCam and NIRSpec data corroborates the primeval characteristics of these galaxies: low mass (∼10 ^8 M _⊙ ), young, rapidly assembling, metal-poor, and star-forming. Interestingly, both galaxies are spatially resolved, having lensing-corrected rest-UV effective radii on the order of 300–400 pc, which are notably larger than other spectroscopically confirmed systems at similar redshifts. The observed dynamic range of z ≳ 10 sizes spans over 1 order of magnitude, implying a significant scatter in the size–mass relation at early times. Deep into the epoch of reionization, these discoveries elucidate the emergence of the first galaxies.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acfe07Early universeGalaxy formationGalaxy spectroscopyHigh-redshift galaxiesJames Webb Space TelescopeSpectral energy distribution |
| spellingShingle | Bingjie Wang Seiji Fujimoto Ivo Labbé Lukas J. Furtak Tim B. Miller David J. Setton Adi Zitrin Hakim Atek Rachel Bezanson Gabriel Brammer Joel Leja Pascal A. Oesch Sedona H. Price Iryna Chemerynska Sam E. Cutler Pratika Dayal Pieter van Dokkum Andy D. Goulding Jenny E. Greene Y. Fudamoto Gourav Khullar Vasily Kokorev Danilo Marchesini Richard Pan John R. Weaver Katherine E. Whitaker Christina C. Williams UNCOVER: Illuminating the Early Universe—JWST/NIRSpec Confirmation of z > 12 Galaxies The Astrophysical Journal Letters Early universe Galaxy formation Galaxy spectroscopy High-redshift galaxies James Webb Space Telescope Spectral energy distribution |
| title | UNCOVER: Illuminating the Early Universe—JWST/NIRSpec Confirmation of z > 12 Galaxies |
| title_full | UNCOVER: Illuminating the Early Universe—JWST/NIRSpec Confirmation of z > 12 Galaxies |
| title_fullStr | UNCOVER: Illuminating the Early Universe—JWST/NIRSpec Confirmation of z > 12 Galaxies |
| title_full_unstemmed | UNCOVER: Illuminating the Early Universe—JWST/NIRSpec Confirmation of z > 12 Galaxies |
| title_short | UNCOVER: Illuminating the Early Universe—JWST/NIRSpec Confirmation of z > 12 Galaxies |
| title_sort | uncover illuminating the early universe jwst nirspec confirmation of z 12 galaxies |
| topic | Early universe Galaxy formation Galaxy spectroscopy High-redshift galaxies James Webb Space Telescope Spectral energy distribution |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acfe07 |
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