arXiv · 2311.12691
MIDIS: The Relation between Strong (Hb+[OIII]) Emission, Star Formation and Burstiness Around the Epoch of Reionization
Abstract
We investigate the properties of strong (Hb+[OIII]) emitters before and after the end of the Epoch of Reionization from z=8 to z=5.5. We make use of ultra-deep JWST/NIRCam imaging in the Parallel Field of the MIRI Deep Imaging Survey (MIDIS) in the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field (P2-XDF), in order to select prominent (Hb+[OIII]) emitters (with rest EW_0 > 100 Angstroms) at z=5.5-7, based on their flux density enhancement in the F356W band with respect to the spectral energy distribution continuum. We complement our selection with other (Hb+[OIII]) emitters from the literature at similar and higher (z=7-8) redshifts. We find (non-independent) anti-correlations between EW_0(Hb+[OIII]) and both galaxy stellar mass and age, in agreement with previous studies, and a positive correlation with specific star formation rate (sSFR). On the SFR-M* plane, the (Hb+[OIII]) emitters populate both the star-formation main sequence and the starburst region, which become indistinguishable at low stellar masses (log10(M*) < 7.5). We find tentative evidence for a non-monotonic relation between EW_0(Hb+[OIII]) and SFR, such that both parameters correlate with each other at SFR > 1 Msun/yr, while the correlation flattens out at lower SFRs. This suggests that low metallicities producing high EW_0(Hb+[OIII]) could be important at low SFR values. Interestingly, the properties of the strong emitters and other galaxies (33% and 67% of our z=5.5-7 sample, respectively) are similar, including, in many cases, high sSFR. Therefore, it is crucial to consider both emitters and non-emitters to obtain a complete picture of the cosmic star formation activity around the Epoch of Reionization.
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Karina I. Caputi, Pierluigi Rinaldi, Edoardo Iani, Pablo G. Pérez-González, Göran Ostlin, Luis Colina, Thomas R. Greve, Hans-Ulrik Nørgaard-Nielsen, Gillian S. Wright, Javier Alvarez-Márquez, Andreas Eckart, Jens Hjorth, Alvaro Labiano, Olivier Le Fèvre, Fabian Walter, Paul van der Werf, Leindert Boogaard, Luca Costantin, Alejandro Crespo-Gómez, Steven Gillman, Iris Jermann, Danial Langeroodi, Jens Melinder, Florian Peissker, Manuel Güdel, Thomas Henning, Pierre-Olivier Lagage, Thomas P. Ray. 2023-11-21. MIDIS: The Relation between Strong (Hb+[OIII]) Emission, Star Formation and Burstiness Around the Epoch of Reionization. https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.12691
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