Developing Environments: Formation and Quenching at Cosmic Noon Traced by the Large-scale Distribution of Gas and Galaxies

Abstract

Environmental density correlates with galaxy properties in the local Universe, but how and when these trends emerge is unclear: at cosmic noon, large-scale structures are still assembling and galaxies quench rapidly for debated reasons. We study how the formation and quenching histories of massive galaxies at 1.7$<$z$<$3.5 depend on environment, using two independent tracers: galaxy number density ($δ_\#$) from COSMOS-Web and intergalactic neutral hydrogen ($δ_{HI}$, cool gas) from LATIS Ly$α$ tomography. We combine 139 Blue Jay JWST/NIRSpec galaxies with 57 DAWN JWST Archive prism spectra in COSMOS, deriving stellar masses, star formation histories, dust attenuation, and Na\,{\sc d} outflow rates from joint spectro-photometric \texttt{Prospector} fits. In massive quiescent galaxies, the formation-to-quenching interval increases with density. AGN and Na\,{\sc d} outflows are confined to $δ_\#<0.5$ and elevated Ly$α$ absorption ($δ_{HI}>1$), mostly in massive quiescent galaxies showing both. About 65\% of the sample follows a correlation between the tracers; two outlier regions stand out. A galaxy-rich, gas-poor region ($δ_\#>2$, $δ_{HI}<1$) coincides with one of the most massive Hyperion protocluster cores, where the gas is plausibly fully ionized; its quiescent galaxies formed earlier and lack significant AGN activity and outflows. A galaxy-poor, gas-rich region ($δ_\#<1$, $δ_{HI}>1$), within 60 cMpc of the densest Hyperion cores, hosts rapidly quenched galaxies with a high incidence of AGN and outflows. This \emph{developing environment}, distinct from both mature protoclusters and the field, likely traces massive halos still assembling. Galaxy counts alone cannot capture the environment at cosmic noon: jointly mapping galaxies and cool gas is crucial to understand how environment regulates gas accretion, star formation, and quenching.