Very Bright, Very Blue, and Very Red: JWST CAPERS Analysis of Highly Luminous Galaxies with Extreme Ultraviolet Slopes at z = 10

Spectral identification of faculae on Mercury by unsupervised classification of MASCS/MESSENGER data

The presence of evolved stars in high-redshift galaxies can place valuable indirect constraints on the onset of star formation in the Universe. Thus, we use PEARLS GTO (Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science Guaranteed Time Observations) and public NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) photometric data to search for Balmer-break candidate galaxies at 7 < z < 12. We find that our Balmer-break candidates at z ∼ 10.5 tend to be older (115 Myr), have lower inferred [O iii] + Hβ equivalent widths (120 Å), have lower specific star formation rates (6 Gyr−1) and redder UV slopes (β = −1.8) than our control sample of galaxies. However, these trends all become less strong at z ∼ 8, where the F444W filter now probes the strong rest-frame optical emission lines, thus providing additional constraints on the current star formation activity of these galaxies. Indeed, the bursty nature of epoch of reionization galaxies can lead to a disconnect between their current spectral energy distribution (SED) profiles and their more extended star formation histories. We discuss how strong emission lines, the cumulative effect of weak emission lines, dusty continua, and active galactic nuclei can all contribute to the photometric excess seen in the rest-frame optical, thus mimicking the signature of a Balmer break. Additional medium-band imaging will thus be essential to more robustly identify Balmer-break galaxies. However, the Balmer break alone cannot serve as a definitive proxy for the stellar age of galaxies, being complexly dependent on the star formation history. Ultimately, deep Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) continuum spectroscopy and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) imaging will provide the strongest indirect constraints on the formation era of the first galaxies in the Universe, thereby revealing when cosmic dawn breaks.

Studying the environments of 0.4 < z < 1.2 ultraviolet (UV)-selected galaxies, as examples of extreme star-forming galaxies (with star formation rates (SFRs) in the range of 3-30 M_☉ yr^(–1)), we explore the relationship between high rates of star formation, host halo mass, and pair fractions. We study the large- and small-scale environments of local ultraviolet luminous galaxies (UVLGs) by measuring angular correlation functions. We cross-correlate these systems with other galaxy samples: a volume-limited sample (ALL), a blue luminous galaxy sample, and a luminous red galaxy (LRG) sample. We determine the UVLG comoving correlation length to be r_0 = 4.8^(+11.6)_(–2.4) h^(–1) Mpc at z = 1.0, which is unable to constrain the halo mass for this sample. However, we find that UVLGs form close (separation <30 kpc) pairs with the ALL sample, but do not frequently form pairs with LRGs. A rare subset of UVLGs, those with the highest FUV surface brightnesses, are believed to be local analogs of high-redshift Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) and are called Lyman break analogs (LBAs). LBGs and LBAs share similar characteristics (i.e., color, size, surface brightness, specific SFRs, metallicities, and dust content). Recent Hubble Space Telescope images of z ~ 0.2 LBAs show disturbed morphologies, signs of mergers and interactions. UVLGs may be influenced by interactions with other galaxies and we discuss this result in terms of other high star-forming, merging systems.

We present a homogeneous, detailed analysis of the spectral energy distribution (SED) of $\sim$ 1700 LBGs from the GOODS-MUSIC catalogue with deep multi-wavelength photometry from $U$ band to 8 $\mu$m to determine stellar mass, age, dust attenuation, and star formation rate. Using our SED fitting tool, which takes into account nebular emission, we explore a wide parameter space. We also explore a set of different star formation histories. Nebular emission is found to significantly affect the determination of the physical parameters for the majority of $z \sim $ 3--6 LBGs. We identify two populations of galaxies by determining the importance of the contribution of emission lines to broadband fluxes. We find that $\sim$ $65\%$ of LBGs show detectable signs of emission lines, whereas $\sim$ $35\%$ show weak or no emission lines. This distribution is found over the entire redshift range. We interpret these groups as actively star forming and more quiescent LBGs, respectively. We find that it is necessary to considerer SED fits with very young ages ($<50$ Myr) to reproduce some colours affected by strong emission lines. Other arguments favouring episodic star formation and relatively short star formation timescales are also discussed. Considering nebular emission generally leads to a younger age, lower stellar mass, higher dust attenuation, higher star formation rate, and a large scatter in the SFR-$M_{\star}$ relation. Our analysis yields a trend of increasing specific star formation rate with redshift, as predicted by recent galaxy evolution models. The physical parameters of approximately two thirds of high redshift galaxies are significantly modified when we account for nebular emission. The SED models which include nebular emission shed new light on the properties of LBGs with numerous important implications.

The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a surprising population of bright galaxies in the very early Universe (≲500 Myr after the Big Bang) that is hard to explain with conventional galaxy-formation models and whose physical properties are not fully understood. Insight into their internal physics is best captured through nebular lines, but at these early epochs, the brightest of these spectral features are redshifted into the mid-infrared and remain elusive. Using the mid-infrared instrument onboard the James Webb Space Telescope, here we present a detection of Hα and doubly ionized oxygen ([O iii] 4959,5007 Å) from the bright, ultra-high-redshift galaxy candidate GHZ2/GLASS-z12. Based on these emission lines, we infer a spectroscopic redshift of z = 12.33 ± 0.04, placing this galaxy just ~400 Myr after the Big Bang. These observations provide key insights into the conditions of this primaeval, luminous galaxy, which shows hard ionizing conditions rarely seen in the local Universe and probably driven by a compact and young burst (≲30 Myr) of star formation. The galaxy’s oxygen-to-hydrogen abundance is close to a tenth of the solar value, indicating a rapid metal enrichment. This study establishes the unique conditions of this notably bright and distant galaxy and the huge potential of mid-infrared observations to characterize these primordial systems.

JWST has shed light on galaxy formation and metal enrichment within 300 Myr of the Big Bang. While luminous galaxies at z &gt; 10 often show significant [O iii] λλ4959, 5007 emission lines, it remains unclear whether such features are prevalent among fainter, more typical galaxies due to observational limits. We present deep imaging and spectroscopy of JADES-GS-z14-1 at z spec = 13.8 6 − 0.05 + 0.04 , currently the faintest spectroscopically confirmed galaxy at z ≈ 14. It serendipitously received 70.7 hr of MIRI/F770W imaging in the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES), the deepest MIRI exposure for any high-redshift galaxy to date. Nonetheless, we detect only tentative F770W emission of 7.9 ± 2.8 nJy at 2.8σ significance, constraining the total equivalent width of [O iii] λλ4959, 5007 + Hβ to 52 0 − 380 + 400 Å, weaker than most z &gt; 10 galaxies with MIRI detections. This source is unresolved across 16 NIRCam bands, implying a physical radius ≲50 pc. NIRSpec/PRISM spectroscopy totaling 56 hr reveals no rest-frame ultraviolet emission lines above 3σ. Stellar population synthesis suggests a stellar mass ∼4 × 107 M ⊙ and a star formation rate ∼2 M ⊙ yr−1. The absence of strong metal emission lines despite intense star formation suggests a gas-phase metallicity below 10% solar and potentially a high escape fraction of ionizing photons. These deep observations provide rare constraints on faint, early galaxies, tracing the onset of chemical enrichment and ionization in the early Universe.

The power-law slope of the rest-ultraviolet (UV) continuum (fλ ∝ λβ) is a key metric of early star-forming galaxies, providing one of our only windows into the stellar populations and physical conditions of z ≳ 10 galaxies. Expanding upon previous studies with limited sample sizes, we leverage deep imaging from the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) to investigate the UV slopes of 179 z ≳ 9 galaxies with apparent magnitudes of mF200W ≃ 26–31, which display a median UV slope of β = −2.4. We compare to a statistical sample of z ≃ 5–9 galaxies, finding a shift towards bluer rest-UV colours at all $M_{\rm UV}$. The most UV-luminous z ≳ 9 galaxies are significantly bluer than their lower redshift counterparts, representing a dearth of moderately red galaxies within the first 500 Myr. At yet earlier times, the z ≳ 11 galaxy population exhibits very blue UV slopes, implying very low impact from dust attenuation. We identify a robust sample of 44 galaxies with β ≲ −2.8, which have spectral energy distributions requiring models of density-bounded H ii regions and median ionizing photon escape fractions of 0.51 to reproduce. Their rest-optical colours imply that this sample has weaker emission lines (median mF356W − mF444W = 0.19 mag) than typical galaxies (median mF356W − mF444W = 0.39 mag), consistent with the inferred escape fractions. This sample consists of relatively low stellar masses (median $\log (M/{\rm M}_{\odot })=7.5\pm 0.2$), and specific star formation rates (sSFRs; median $=79 \, \rm Gyr^{-1}$) nearly twice that of our full galaxy sample (median sSFRs $=44 \, \rm Gyr^{-1}$), suggesting these objects are more common among systems experiencing a recent upturn in star formation. We demonstrate that the shutoff of star formation provides an alternative solution for modelling of extremely blue UV colours, making distinct predictions for the rest-optical emission of these galaxies. Future spectroscopy will be required to distinguish between these physical pictures.

We select galaxies in UV rest-frame at z=0, z~0.7 and z~1 together with a sample of LBGs at z~1, the samples are built in order to sample the same range of luminosity at any redshift. The evolution of the IR and UV luminosities with z is analysed for individual galaxies as well as in terms of luminosity functions. The L_IR/L_UV ratio is used to measure dust attenuation. This ratio does not exhibit a strong evolution with z for the bulk of our sample galaxies but some trends are found for galaxies with a strong dust attenuation and for UV luminous sources: galaxies with L_IR/L_UV>10 are more frequent at z>0 than at z=0 and the largest values of L_IR/L_UV are found for UV faint objects; conversely the most luminous galaxies of our samples (L_UV> 2 10^{10} L_sun$), detected at z=1, exhibit a lower dust attenuation than the fainter ones. L_IR/L_UV increases with the K rest-frame luminosity of the galaxies at all the redshifts considered and shows a residual anti-correlation with L_UV. The most massive and UV luminous galaxies exhibit quite large specific star formation rates. LBGs exhibit systematically lower dust attenuation than UV selected galaxies of same luminosity but similar specific star formation rates. The analysis of the UV+IR luminosity functions leads to the conclusion that up to z = 1 most of the star formation activity of UV selected galaxies is emitted in IR. Whereas we are able to retrieve all the star formation from our UV selection at z=0.7, at z = 1 we miss a large fraction of galaxies more luminous than ~ 10^{11} L_sun. The effect is found larger for Lyman Break Galaxies.

A redshift sample of 545 field galaxies is used to examine how the galaxy merger rate changes with redshift and how mergers affect the observed properties of galaxies in close pairs. Close pairs are defined as those with projected separations less than 20 h-1 kpc. At a mean redshift of 0.33, it is found that 7.1% ? 1.4% of galaxies are in close physical pairs, compared to 4.3% ? 0.4% locally. The merger rate is estimated to change with redshift as (1 + z)2.8?0.9. These results are shown to be consistent with previous close-pair studies and provide one of the strongest constraints to date on the redshift dependence of the merger rate. As with earlier studies, no significant differences between the mean properties of paired and isolated galaxies are detected. However, using the subset of confirmed close physical pairs, those which appear to be undergoing interactions or mergers (based on their images) are found to have galaxies with strong emission lines and very blue rest-frame colors. In addition, these pairs have low relative velocities, increasing the likelihood that the galaxies will merge. We interpret this as the first clear evidence of merger-induced star formation occurring in field galaxies at this redshift.

We study H-alpha, far- and near-ultraviolet luminosity functions (LF) of the sample of 795 luminous compact star-forming galaxies with z<0.65. The parameters of optimal functions for LFs are obtained using the maximum likelihood method and the accuracy of fitting is estimated with the chi-squared method. We find that these LFs cannot be reproduced by the Schechter function because of an excess of very luminous galaxies. On the other hand, the Saunders function, the log-normal distribution and some new related functions are good approximations of LFs. The fact that LFs are not reproduced by the Schechter function can be explained by the propagating star formation. This may result in an excess of luminous starbursts with the mass of a young stellar population above 2*10^8 M_Sun as compared to the LF of the quiescent galaxies. The most luminous compact galaxies are characterised by H-alpha luminosities of > 5*10^{42} erg/s and star formation rates of > 40 M_Sun/yr.

Selecting the first galaxies at z > 7 − 10 from JWST surveys is complicated by z < 6 contaminants with degenerate photometry. For example, strong optical nebular emission lines at z < 6 may mimic JWST/NIRCam photometry of z > 7–10 Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs). Dust-obscured 3 < z < 6 galaxies in particular are potentially important contaminants, and their faint rest-optical spectra have been historically difficult to observe. A lack of optical emission line and continuum measures for 3 < z < 6 dusty galaxies now makes it difficult to test their expected JWST/NIRCam photometry for degenerate solutions with NIRCam dropouts. Toward this end, we quantify the contribution by strong emission lines to NIRCam photometry in a physically motivated manner by stacking 21 Keck II/NIRES spectra of hot, dust-obscured, massive () and infrared (IR) luminous galaxies at z ∼ 1–4. We derive an average spectrum and measure strong narrow (broad) [O iii]5007 and Hα features with equivalent widths of 130 ± 20 Å (150 ± 50 Å) and 220 ± 30 Å (540 ± 80 Å), respectively. These features can increase broadband NIRCam fluxes by factors of 1.2 − 1.7 (0.2–0.6 mag). Due to significant dust attenuation (A V ∼ 6), we find Hα+[N ii] to be significantly brighter than [O iii]+Hβ and therefore find that emission-line dominated contaminants of high −z galaxy searches can only reproduce moderately blue perceived UV continua of S λ ∝ λ β with β > − 1.5 and z > 4. While there are some redshifts (z ∼ 3.75) where our stack is more degenerate with the photometry of z > 10 LBGs at λ rest ∼ 0.3–0.8 μm , redder filter coverage beyond λ obs > 3.5 μm and far-IR/submillimeter follow-up may be useful for breaking the degeneracy and making a crucial separation between two fairly unconstrained populations, dust-obscured galaxies at z ∼ 3–6 and LBGs at z > 10.

We study, from both a theoretical and observational perspective, the physical origin and spectroscopic impact of extreme nebular emission in high-redshift galaxies. The nebular continuum, which can appear during an extreme starburst, is of particular importance as it tends to redden UV slopes and has a significant contribution to the UV luminosities of galaxies. Furthermore, its shape can be used to infer the gas density and temperature of the interstellar medium. First, we provide a theoretical background, showing how different stellar populations (SPS models, initial mass functions (IMFs), and stellar temperatures) and nebular conditions impact observed galaxy spectra. We demonstrate that, for systems with strong nebular continuum emission, 1) UV fluxes can increase by up to 0.7~magnitudes (or more in the case of hot/massive stars) above the stellar continuum, which may help reconcile the surprising abundance of bright high-redshift galaxies and the elevated UV luminosity density at z≳10, 2) at high gas densities, UV slopes can redden from β≲−2.5 to β∼−1, 3) observational measurements of are , and 4) UV downturns from two-photon emission can masquerade as damped Ly α systems. Second, we present a dataset of 58 galaxies observed with NIRSpec on JWST at 2.5&lt;z&lt;9.0 that are selected to have strong nebular continuum emission via the detection of the Balmer jump. Five of the 58 spectra are consistent with being dominated by nebular emission, exhibiting both a Balmer jump and a UV downturn consistent with two-photon emission. For some galaxies, this may imply the presence of hot massive stars and a top-heavy IMF. We conclude by exploring the properties of spectroscopically confirmed z&gt;10 galaxies, finding that UV slopes and UV downturns are in some cases redder or steeper than expected from SPS models, which may hint at more exotic (e.g. hotter/more massive stars or AGN) ionizing sources.

This study presents Keck optical and infrared spectroscopy of the rest-frame ultraviolet and optical emission lines in two Lyα-emitting galaxies at z > 2. These data provide insight on the evolution of fundamental galaxy scaling relations at early epochs, especially the luminosity-velocity and luminosity-metallicity relations. Spectral diagnostics suggest that the Coup Fourre galaxy at z = 2.3 and Lynx 2-9691, a serendipitously discovered, luminous Lyman drop galaxy at z = 2.9, are star-forming galaxies without active nuclei. Lynx 2-9691 exhibits extended [O III] emission over a diameter of greater than 28 kpc, reminiscent of the Lyα nebulae discovered near Lyman drop galaxies. We estimate star formation rates of 59 and 111 M☉ yr-1, respectively, from Balmer recombination line luminosities, 2-3 times higher than inferred from the ultraviolet continuum. The ratios of strong nebular emission lines indicate subsolar oxygen abundances in the range 8.2 < 12 + log(O/H) < 8.8 (Z = 0.25-0.95 Z☉). Interestingly, Galactic metal-rich globular clusters have similar metallicities, consistent with the idea that we could be seeing the formation of galaxies like the Milky Way at z ~ 3. The measured gas-phase oxygen abundances are greater than 4-10 times higher than the Z < 0.1 Z☉ metallicities found in damped Lyα (DLA) absorbers at similar redshifts, indicating that DLA systems trace fundamentally different environments than the vigorously star-forming objects observed here. If this intense star formation activity represents the dominant formation episodes for stars in today's spiral bulges or ellipticals, then the evolved descendants in the local universe should exhibit similarly subsolar metallicities in their dominant stellar populations that formed 8-10 Gyr ago. When these new data are combined with a sample of four other high-redshift spectroscopic results from the literature, we find that star-forming galaxies at z ~ 3 are 2-4 mag more luminous than local spiral galaxies of similar metallicity and thus are offset from the local luminosity-metallicity relation. Their kinematic line widths are σv = 65-130 km s-1, making this sample 1-3 mag more luminous than local galaxies of similar line width and mass. Less luminous Lyman drop galaxies need to be studied to see if these deviations are universal or apply to only the most luminous high-redshift galaxies.

We use a sample of 90 spectroscopically confirmed Lyman break galaxies with Hα measurements and Spitzer MIPS 24 μm observations to constrain the relationship between rest-frame 8 μm luminosity (L8) and star formation rate (SFR) for L* galaxies at z ∼ 2. We find a tight correlation with 0.24 dex scatter between L8 and Hα luminosity/SFR for z ∼ 2 galaxies with 1010 L☉ ≲ LIR ≲ 1012 L☉. Employing this relationship with a larger sample of 392 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts, we find that the UV slope β can be used to recover the dust attenuation of the vast majority of moderately luminous L* galaxies at z ∼ 2 to within a 0.4 dex scatter using the local correlation. Separately, young galaxies with ages ≲100 Myr appear to be less dusty than their UV slopes would imply based on the local trend and may follow an extinction curve that is steeper than what is typically assumed. Consequently, very young galaxies at high redshift may be significantly less dusty than inferred previously. Our results provide the first direct evidence, independent of the UV slope, for a correlation between UV and bolometric luminosity (Lbol) at high redshift, in the sense that UV-faint galaxies are on average less infrared and less bolometrically luminous than their UV-bright counterparts. The Lbol–LUV relation indicates that as the SFR increases, LUV turns over (or "saturates") around the value of L* at z ∼ 2, implying that dust obscuration may be largely responsible for modulating the bright end of the UV luminosity function. Finally, dust attenuation is found to correlate with oxygen abundance at z ∼ 2. Accounting for systematic differences in local and high-redshift metallicity calibrations, we find that L* galaxies at z ∼ 2, while at least an order of magnitude more bolometrically luminous, exhibit ratios of metals to dust that are similar to those of local starbursts. This result is expected if high-redshift galaxies are forming their stars in a less metal-rich environment compared to local galaxies of the same luminosity, thus naturally leading to a redshift evolution in both the bolometric luminosity–metallicity and bolometric luminosity–obscuration relations.

We present JADES JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy of GN-z11, the most luminous candidate z &gt; 10 Lyman break galaxy in the GOODS-North field with MUV = −21.5. We derive a redshift of z = 10.603 (lower than previous determinations) based on multiple emission lines in our low and medium resolution spectra over 0.7 − 5.3 μm. We significantly detect the continuum and measure a blue rest-UV spectral slope of β = −2.4. Remarkably, we see spatially extended Lyman-α in emission (despite the highly neutral intergalactic medium expected at this early epoch), offset 555 km s−1 redwards of the systemic redshift. From our measurements of collisionally excited lines of both low and high ionisation (including [O II] λ3727, [Ne III] λ3869, and C III] λ1909), we infer a high ionisation parameter (log U ∼ −2). We detect the rarely seen N IV] λ1486 and N III] λ1748 lines in both our low and medium resolution spectra, with other high ionisation lines seen in the low resolution spectrum, such as He II (blended with O III]) and C IV (with a possible P-Cygni profile). Based on the observed rest-UV line ratios, we cannot conclusively rule out photoionisation from an active galactic nucleus (AGN), although the high C III]/He II and N III]/He II ratios are compatible with a star formation explanation. If the observed emission lines are powered by star formation, then the strong N III] λ1748 observed may imply an unusually high N/O abundance. Balmer emission lines (Hγ, Hδ) are also detected, and if powered by star formation rather than an AGN, we infer a star formation rate of ∼20 − 30 M⊙ yr−1 (depending on the initial mass function) and low dust attenuation. Our NIRSpec spectroscopy confirms that GN-z11 is a remarkable galaxy with extreme properties seen 430 Myr after the Big Bang.