CECILIA: Direct O, N, S, and Ar Abundances in Q2343-D40, a Galaxy at z ∼ 3
Measurements of chemical abundances in high- z star-forming (SF) galaxies place important constraints on the enrichment histories of galaxies and the physical conditions in the early Universe. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is beginning to enable direct chemical abundance measurements in gala...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad2f37 |
| _version_ | 1797260696480645120 |
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| author | Noah S. J. Rogers Allison L. Strom Gwen C. Rudie Ryan F. Trainor Menelaos Raptis Caroline von Raesfeld |
| author_facet | Noah S. J. Rogers Allison L. Strom Gwen C. Rudie Ryan F. Trainor Menelaos Raptis Caroline von Raesfeld |
| author_sort | Noah S. J. Rogers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Measurements of chemical abundances in high- z star-forming (SF) galaxies place important constraints on the enrichment histories of galaxies and the physical conditions in the early Universe. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is beginning to enable direct chemical abundance measurements in galaxies at z > 2 via the detection of the faint T _e -sensitive auroral line [O iii ] λ 4364. However, abundances of other elements (e.g., S and Ar) in high- z galaxies remain unconstrained owing to a lack of T _e data and wavelength coverage. Here we present multiple direct abundances in Q2343-D40, a galaxy at z = 2.9628 ± 0.0001 observed with JWST/NIRSpec as part of the CECILIA program. We report the first simultaneous measurement of T _e [O iii ] and T _e [S iii ] in a high- z galaxy, finding good agreement with the temperature trends in local SF systems. We measure a gas-phase metallicity of 12+log(O/H) = 8.07 ± 0.06, and the N/O abundance, log(N/O) = −1.37 ± 0.21, is indicative of primary nucleosynthesis. The S/O and Ar/O relative abundances, log(S/O) = −1.88 ± 0.10 and log(Ar/O) = −2.80 ± 0.12, are both >0.3 dex lower than the solar ratios. However, the relative Ar ^2+ /S ^2+ abundance is consistent with the solar ratio, suggesting that the relative S-to-Ar abundance does not evolve significantly with redshift. Recent nucleosynthesis models find that significant amounts of S and Ar are produced in Type Ia supernovae, such that the S/O and Ar/O abundances in Q2343-D40 could be the result of predominantly core-collapse supernova enrichment. Future JWST observations of high- z galaxies will uncover whether S/O and Ar/O are sensitive to the timescales of these different enrichment mechanisms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:29:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9cc7415247d045fbba49140146cf3f31 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:29:26Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-9cc7415247d045fbba49140146cf3f312024-03-15T17:17:04ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052024-01-019641L1210.3847/2041-8213/ad2f37CECILIA: Direct O, N, S, and Ar Abundances in Q2343-D40, a Galaxy at z ∼ 3Noah S. J. Rogers0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0361-8223Allison L. Strom1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6369-1636Gwen C. Rudie2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8459-5413Ryan F. Trainor3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6967-7322Menelaos Raptis4https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2226-5241Caroline von Raesfeld5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6034-082XCenter for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60201, USACenter for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60201, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USACarnegie Observatories , 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy , Franklin & Marshall College, 637 College Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17603, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy , Franklin & Marshall College, 637 College Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17603, USACenter for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60201, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USAMeasurements of chemical abundances in high- z star-forming (SF) galaxies place important constraints on the enrichment histories of galaxies and the physical conditions in the early Universe. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is beginning to enable direct chemical abundance measurements in galaxies at z > 2 via the detection of the faint T _e -sensitive auroral line [O iii ] λ 4364. However, abundances of other elements (e.g., S and Ar) in high- z galaxies remain unconstrained owing to a lack of T _e data and wavelength coverage. Here we present multiple direct abundances in Q2343-D40, a galaxy at z = 2.9628 ± 0.0001 observed with JWST/NIRSpec as part of the CECILIA program. We report the first simultaneous measurement of T _e [O iii ] and T _e [S iii ] in a high- z galaxy, finding good agreement with the temperature trends in local SF systems. We measure a gas-phase metallicity of 12+log(O/H) = 8.07 ± 0.06, and the N/O abundance, log(N/O) = −1.37 ± 0.21, is indicative of primary nucleosynthesis. The S/O and Ar/O relative abundances, log(S/O) = −1.88 ± 0.10 and log(Ar/O) = −2.80 ± 0.12, are both >0.3 dex lower than the solar ratios. However, the relative Ar ^2+ /S ^2+ abundance is consistent with the solar ratio, suggesting that the relative S-to-Ar abundance does not evolve significantly with redshift. Recent nucleosynthesis models find that significant amounts of S and Ar are produced in Type Ia supernovae, such that the S/O and Ar/O abundances in Q2343-D40 could be the result of predominantly core-collapse supernova enrichment. Future JWST observations of high- z galaxies will uncover whether S/O and Ar/O are sensitive to the timescales of these different enrichment mechanisms.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad2f37High-redshift galaxiesEmission line galaxiesChemical abundancesGalaxy spectroscopy |
| spellingShingle | Noah S. J. Rogers Allison L. Strom Gwen C. Rudie Ryan F. Trainor Menelaos Raptis Caroline von Raesfeld CECILIA: Direct O, N, S, and Ar Abundances in Q2343-D40, a Galaxy at z ∼ 3 The Astrophysical Journal Letters High-redshift galaxies Emission line galaxies Chemical abundances Galaxy spectroscopy |
| title | CECILIA: Direct O, N, S, and Ar Abundances in Q2343-D40, a Galaxy at z ∼ 3 |
| title_full | CECILIA: Direct O, N, S, and Ar Abundances in Q2343-D40, a Galaxy at z ∼ 3 |
| title_fullStr | CECILIA: Direct O, N, S, and Ar Abundances in Q2343-D40, a Galaxy at z ∼ 3 |
| title_full_unstemmed | CECILIA: Direct O, N, S, and Ar Abundances in Q2343-D40, a Galaxy at z ∼ 3 |
| title_short | CECILIA: Direct O, N, S, and Ar Abundances in Q2343-D40, a Galaxy at z ∼ 3 |
| title_sort | cecilia direct o n s and ar abundances in q2343 d40 a galaxy at z ∼ 3 |
| topic | High-redshift galaxies Emission line galaxies Chemical abundances Galaxy spectroscopy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad2f37 |
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