Unveiling Luminous Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 6 through JWST/NIRCam Imaging in the COSMOS Field
We study a sample of 14 spectroscopically confirmed Ly α emitters (LAEs) in the late era of reionization (at redshift z ≈ 6) based on the JWST/NIRCam imaging data set. These LAEs with high Ly α luminosity of L (Ly α ) ∼10 ^42.4 –10 ^43.4 erg s ^−1 have been covered by the (ongoing) COSMOS-Web survey...
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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/ad292f |
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| author | Yuanhang Ning Zheng Cai Xiaojing Lin Zhen-Ya Zheng Xiaotong Feng Mingyu Li Qiong Li Daniele Spinoso Yunjing Wu Haibin Zhang |
| author_facet | Yuanhang Ning Zheng Cai Xiaojing Lin Zhen-Ya Zheng Xiaotong Feng Mingyu Li Qiong Li Daniele Spinoso Yunjing Wu Haibin Zhang |
| author_sort | Yuanhang Ning |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We study a sample of 14 spectroscopically confirmed Ly α emitters (LAEs) in the late era of reionization (at redshift z ≈ 6) based on the JWST/NIRCam imaging data set. These LAEs with high Ly α luminosity of L (Ly α ) ∼10 ^42.4 –10 ^43.4 erg s ^−1 have been covered by the (ongoing) COSMOS-Web survey over 0.28 deg ^2 in four NIRCam bands (F115W, F150W, F277W, and F444W). With JWST/NIRCam imaging, we determine the UV continua with M _UV ranging from −20.5 to −18.5 mag. The UV slopes have a median value of β ≈ −2.35, and the steepest slopes can reach β < −3. Under the excellent spatial resolution of JWST, we identify three objects in the sample as potential merging/interacting systems. The 14 LAEs (and their components) are compact in morphology, residing substantially below the mass–size relation of high- z galaxies. We further investigate their physical properties, including the stellar mass ( M _* ) and star formation rates (SFRs). Most of the LAEs lie on the SFR– M _* main-sequence relation, while two of them, featured as “little red dots,” likely host active galactic nuclei (AGNs), implying a ∼10% AGN fraction. Moreover, we reveal that a new correlation may exist between Ly α equivalent width and the offset between Ly α and UV emission (Δ d _Ly _α ), with a median Δ d _Ly _α ∼ 1 kpc. This could be explained by the Ly α radiative transfer process in both the interstellar medium and circumgalactic medium. The results usher in a new era of detailed analysis on high- z LAEs with the JWST capability. |
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| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-22T00:49:42Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-c257f0de42dc44bf929bd968376eeb8d2024-05-13T12:57:34ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052024-01-019632L3810.3847/2041-8213/ad292fUnveiling Luminous Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 6 through JWST/NIRCam Imaging in the COSMOS FieldYuanhang Ning0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9442-1217Zheng Cai1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8467-6478Xiaojing Lin2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6052-4234Zhen-Ya Zheng3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9634-2923Xiaotong Feng4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0174-5920Mingyu Li5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6251-649XQiong Li6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3119-9003Daniele Spinoso7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9074-4833Yunjing Wu8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0111-8249Haibin Zhang9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2273-9415Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China ; ningyhphy@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn, zcai@mail.tsinghua.edu.cnDepartment of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China ; ningyhphy@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn, zcai@mail.tsinghua.edu.cnDepartment of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China ; ningyhphy@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn, zcai@mail.tsinghua.edu.cnCAS Key Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology , Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Shanghai 200030, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China; Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China ; ningyhphy@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn, zcai@mail.tsinghua.edu.cnJodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester , Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UKDepartment of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China ; ningyhphy@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn, zcai@mail.tsinghua.edu.cnDepartment of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China ; ningyhphy@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn, zcai@mail.tsinghua.edu.cnDepartment of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China ; ningyhphy@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn, zcai@mail.tsinghua.edu.cnWe study a sample of 14 spectroscopically confirmed Ly α emitters (LAEs) in the late era of reionization (at redshift z ≈ 6) based on the JWST/NIRCam imaging data set. These LAEs with high Ly α luminosity of L (Ly α ) ∼10 ^42.4 –10 ^43.4 erg s ^−1 have been covered by the (ongoing) COSMOS-Web survey over 0.28 deg ^2 in four NIRCam bands (F115W, F150W, F277W, and F444W). With JWST/NIRCam imaging, we determine the UV continua with M _UV ranging from −20.5 to −18.5 mag. The UV slopes have a median value of β ≈ −2.35, and the steepest slopes can reach β < −3. Under the excellent spatial resolution of JWST, we identify three objects in the sample as potential merging/interacting systems. The 14 LAEs (and their components) are compact in morphology, residing substantially below the mass–size relation of high- z galaxies. We further investigate their physical properties, including the stellar mass ( M _* ) and star formation rates (SFRs). Most of the LAEs lie on the SFR– M _* main-sequence relation, while two of them, featured as “little red dots,” likely host active galactic nuclei (AGNs), implying a ∼10% AGN fraction. Moreover, we reveal that a new correlation may exist between Ly α equivalent width and the offset between Ly α and UV emission (Δ d _Ly _α ), with a median Δ d _Ly _α ∼ 1 kpc. This could be explained by the Ly α radiative transfer process in both the interstellar medium and circumgalactic medium. The results usher in a new era of detailed analysis on high- z LAEs with the JWST capability.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad292fHigh-redshift galaxiesLyman-alpha galaxiesGalaxy propertiesGalaxy mergersActive galactic nucleiReionization |
| spellingShingle | Yuanhang Ning Zheng Cai Xiaojing Lin Zhen-Ya Zheng Xiaotong Feng Mingyu Li Qiong Li Daniele Spinoso Yunjing Wu Haibin Zhang Unveiling Luminous Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 6 through JWST/NIRCam Imaging in the COSMOS Field The Astrophysical Journal Letters High-redshift galaxies Lyman-alpha galaxies Galaxy properties Galaxy mergers Active galactic nuclei Reionization |
| title | Unveiling Luminous Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 6 through JWST/NIRCam Imaging in the COSMOS Field |
| title_full | Unveiling Luminous Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 6 through JWST/NIRCam Imaging in the COSMOS Field |
| title_fullStr | Unveiling Luminous Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 6 through JWST/NIRCam Imaging in the COSMOS Field |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unveiling Luminous Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 6 through JWST/NIRCam Imaging in the COSMOS Field |
| title_short | Unveiling Luminous Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 6 through JWST/NIRCam Imaging in the COSMOS Field |
| title_sort | unveiling luminous lyα emitters at z ≈ 6 through jwst nircam imaging in the cosmos field |
| topic | High-redshift galaxies Lyman-alpha galaxies Galaxy properties Galaxy mergers Active galactic nuclei Reionization |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad292f |
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