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arXiv · 2208.08473

The Identification of a Dusty Multiarm Spiral Galaxy at $z=3.06$ with JWST and ALMA

Yunjing Wu·Zheng Cai·Fengwu Sun·Fuyan Bian·Xiaojing Lin·Zihao Li·Mingyu Li·Franz E. Bauer·Eiichi Egami·Xiaohui Fan·Jorge González-López·Jianan Li·Feige Wang·Jinyi Yang·Shiwu Zhang·Siwei Zou
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Abstract

Spiral arms serve crucial purposes in star formation and galaxy evolution. In this paper, we report the identification of A2744-DSG-$z3$, a dusty, multiarm spiral galaxy at $z=3.059$ using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NIRISS imaging and grism spectroscopy. A2744-DSG-$z3$ was discovered as a gravitationally lensed sub-millimeter galaxy with ALMA. This is the most distant stellar spiral structure seen thus far, consistent with cosmological simulations which suggest $z\approx3$ as the epoch when spirals emerge. Thanks to the gravitational lensing and excellent spatial resolution of JWST, the spiral arms are resolved with a spatial resolution of $\approx290$\,pc. Based on SED fitting, the spiral galaxy has a de-lensed star formation rate of $85\pm30 \ M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, and a stellar mass of $\approx10^{10.6}\ M_{\odot}$, indicating that A2744-DSG-$z3$ is a main-sequence galaxy. After fitting the spiral arms, we find a stellar effective radius ($R_{e, \rm{star}}$) of $5.0\pm1.5$ kpc. Combing with ALMA measurements, we find that the effective radii ratio between dust and stars is $\approx0.4$, similar to {those} of massive SFGs at $z\sim2$, indicating a compact dusty core in A2744-DSG-$z3$. Moreover, this galaxy appears to be living in a group environment: including A2744-DSG-$z3$, at least three galaxies at $z=3.05 - 3.06$ {are} spectroscopically confirmed by JWST/NIRISS and ALMA, residing within a lensing-corrected projected scale of $\approx 70$ kpc. This, along with the asymmetric brightness profile, further suggests that the spiral arms may be triggered by minor merger events at $z\gtrsim3$.

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Yunjing Wu, Zheng Cai, Fengwu Sun, Fuyan Bian, Xiaojing Lin, Zihao Li, Mingyu Li, Franz E. Bauer, Eiichi Egami, Xiaohui Fan, Jorge González-López, Jianan Li, Feige Wang, Jinyi Yang, Shiwu Zhang, Siwei Zou. 2022-08-17. The Identification of a Dusty Multiarm Spiral Galaxy at $z=3.06$ with JWST and ALMA. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213%2Faca652

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