arXiv · 2512.18805
Spider-Webb: Spatially-Resolved Evidence of Inside-Out Quenching in the Spiderweb Protocluster at $z \sim 2$
Abstract
We present a spatially-resolved analysis of galaxy quenching within the Spiderweb Protocluster at $z \sim 2.16$, combining deep imaging from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Utilizing pixel-by-pixel spectral energy distribution fitting, we derive maps of stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR), specific SFR (sSFR), and rest-frame UVJ colors. Quiescent galaxies, predominantly found at $\log(M_*/M_{\odot}) \geq 10.5$, exhibit clear mass-dependent inside-out quenching, with central sSFR approximately an order of magnitude lower than outer regions, while lower-mass star-forming galaxies show flat sSFR profiles. Central star formation activity fundamentally anti-correlates with S\'ersic index, indicating reduced activity in bulge-dominated systems. Spatially resolved UVJ colors reveal heterogeneous internal star formation, distinguishing star-forming regions in quiescent hosts from those in globally star-forming systems. These findings demonstrate that quenching mechanisms were effectively operating by $z \sim 2$, with the observed inside-out patterns and morphological correlations consistent with AGN-driven feedback processes. Our study provides key observational constraints on galaxy evolution during this critical epoch.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Ronaldo Laishram, Yusei Koyama, Abdurrahman Naufal, Tadayuki Kodama, Rhythm Shimakawa, Kazuki Daikuhara, Helmut Dannerbauer, Jose Manuel Pérez-Martínez, Pablo G. Pérez-González. 2025-12-21. Spider-Webb: Spatially-Resolved Evidence of Inside-Out Quenching in the Spiderweb Protocluster at $z \sim 2$. https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.18805
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.