A surprising abundance of massive quiescent galaxies at 3 < z < 5 in the first data from JWST CEERS
A surprising abundance of massive quiescent galaxies at 3 < z < 5 in the first data from JWST CEERS
复制标题
DOI：
10.1093/mnras/stad369
复制
发表时间：
2023-02-15
影响因子：
4.8
通讯作者：
Wild, V.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Carnall, A. C.;McLeod, D. J.;Wild, V.
我们报告了一个强大的样本，10个巨大的静止星系在红移，z > 3，选择使用的第一个数据从JWST宇宙演化早期发布科学计划。这些星系中有三个位于4 < z < 5，构成了迄今为止最好的证据，证明静止星系在z = 4之前。这些极端星系的恒星质量在log（10）（M-*/M-circle dot）= 10.1-11.1之间，它们的大部分质量都是在z接近或等于10附近形成的，其中两个天体的星星形成历史表明它们已经达到log（10）（M-*/M-circle dot）> 10，z大于或等于8。我们报告了我们样本的数密度，表明基于迄今为止可用的JWST成像的小面积，由于缺乏λ> 2 μ m的超深成像数据，以前的工作似乎低估了3 < z < 4的静止星系的数量，低估了3-5倍。这一结果加深了观测和理论模型之间现有的紧张关系，理论模型已经很难重现以前对z > 3静止星系数密度的估计。即将进行的更大范围的JWST成像调查将提供更大的此类星系样本和更强大的数量密度，并提供搜索z > 5的静止星系的机会。我们报告的星系是JWST近红外光谱学的绝佳潜在目标，需要详细了解它们的物理特性，从而更深入地了解在前十亿年期间形成大质量星系和淬灭星星形成的过程。
We report a robust sample of 10 massive quiescent galaxies at redshift, z > 3, selected using the first data from the JWST Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science programme. Three of these galaxies are at 4 < z < 5, constituting the best evidence to date for quiescent galaxies significantly before z = 4. These extreme galaxies have stellar masses in the range log(10)(M-*/M-circle dot) = 10.1-11.1, and formed the bulk of their mass around z similar or equal to 10, with two objects having star formation histories that suggest they had already reached log(10)(M-*/M-circle dot) > 10 by z greater than or similar to 8. We report number densities for our sample, demonstrating that, based on the small area of JWST imaging so far available, previous work appears to have underestimated the number of quiescent galaxies at 3 < z < 4 by a factor of 3-5, due to a lack of ultra-deep imaging data at lambda > 2 mu m. This result deepens the existing tension between observations and theoretical models, which already struggle to reproduce previous estimates of z > 3 quiescent galaxy number densities. Upcoming wider-area JWST imaging surveys will provide larger samples of such galaxies and more robust number densities, as well as providing opportunities to search for quiescent galaxies at z > 5. The galaxies we report are excellent potential targets for JWST NIRSpec spectroscopy, which will be required to understand in detail their physical properties, providing deeper insights into the processes responsible for forming massive galaxies and quenching star formation during the first billion years.