Solution to the Conflict between the Estimations of Resolved and Unresolved Galaxy Stellar Mass from the Perspective of JWST

Abstract

By utilizing the spatially resolved photometry of galaxies at 0.2 < z < 3.0 in the CEERS field, we estimate the resolved and unresolved stellar mass via fitting of the spectral energy distribution (SED) to study the discrepancy between them. We first compare M * derived from photometry with and without the JWST wavelength coverage and find that M * can be overestimated by up to 0.2 dex when lacking rest-frame near-infrared (NIR) data. The SED fitting process tends to overestimate both stellar age and dust attenuation in the absence of rest-frame NIR data, consequently leading to a larger observed mass-to-light ratio and hence an elevated M *. With the inclusion of the JWST NIR photometry, we find no significant disparity between the estimates of resolved and unresolved stellar mass, providing a plausible solution to the conflict between them out to z ∼ 3. Further investigation demonstrates that reliable M * estimates can be obtained, regardless of whether they are derived from spatially resolved or spatially unresolved photometry, so long as the reddest filter included in the SED fitting has a rest-frame wavelength longer than 10000 Å.