Cosmic Noon Galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field with MIRI Wide-Field Slitless Spectroscopy

S. Kendrew; G. Östlin; L. Colina; P. Rinaldi; J. Álvarez-Márquez; L. A. Boogaard; J. Melinder; J. P. Pye; A. Alonso Herrero; K. I. Caputi; A. Crespo Gómez; M. Garcia Marín; S. Gillman; S. Harish; E. Iani; D. Langeroodi; A. Labiano; P. G. Pérez-González; P. van der Werf; F. Walter; G. Wright; T. Greve; M. Güdel; T. Henning; P. -O. Lagage; T. P. Ray; B. Vandenbussche; E. van Dishoeck; S. Alberts; R. Fernandez Aranda; A. Petric; I. Shivaei

arXiv · 2609.16239

Cosmic Noon Galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field with MIRI Wide-Field Slitless Spectroscopy

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Abstract

We present results from a survey of the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field using the Wide-Field Slitless Spectroscopic (WFSS) capability of the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on JWST, demonstrating the capabilities of this new mode. We describe the data reduction and calibration methodology, and estimate calibration uncertainties. From our observations we obtain spectra of 47 galaxies with confirmed spectroscopic redshifts, with a maximum z_spec of 3.712. In the final sample we target in particular the 3.3 um Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) feature, which has recently gathered interest as a star formation rate indicator and diagnostic for the dust grain size distribution in star forming galaxies from the local Universe to intermediate redshifts. The feature falls into the WFSS wavelength region for redshifts 0.67 to 3.1 - providing full coverage of the peak star formation ``Cosmic Noon'' era (1 < z < 3) and connecting dust properties in this critical galaxy evolution period with local-Universe and low-redshift observations. Using the galaxies in our sample in this redshift regime, we test correlations identified in lower-redshift samples in the near-infrared or targeted programs in the mid-infrared, finding the WFSS spectra, even with large calibration uncertainties, show good agreement with complementary samples. The 3.3 um PAH luminosities follow previously established correlations with total IR luminosity and SED-derived star formation rates, confirming this feature's power as tracer of dust-obscured star formation. Our work illustrate the potential of the MIRI WFSS mode for studies of Cosmic Noon-era galaxies in particular in an observationally efficient way.

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S. Kendrew, G. Östlin, L. Colina, P. Rinaldi, J. Álvarez-Márquez, L. A. Boogaard, J. Melinder, J. P. Pye, A. Alonso Herrero, K. I. Caputi, A. Crespo Gómez, M. Garcia Marín, S. Gillman, S. Harish, E. Iani, D. Langeroodi, A. Labiano, P. G. Pérez-González, P. van der Werf, F. Walter, G. Wright, T. Greve, M. Güdel, T. Henning, P. -O. Lagage, T. P. Ray, B. Vandenbussche, E. van Dishoeck, S. Alberts, R. Fernandez Aranda, A. Petric, I. Shivaei. 2026-09-14. Cosmic Noon Galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field with MIRI Wide-Field Slitless Spectroscopy. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.16239

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