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Joris Witstok

Publications and source records attributed to Joris Witstok.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon and the Ultraviolet Extinction Bump at the Cosmic Dawn

First detected in 1965, the mysterious ultraviolet (UV) extinction bump at 2175 Angstrom is the most prominent spectroscopic feature superimposed on the interstellar extinction curve. Its carrier remains unidentified over the past six decades ever since its first detection, although many candidate materials have been proposed. Widely seen in the interstellar medium (ISM) of the Milky Way as well as several nearby galaxies, this bump was recently also detected by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at the cosmic dawn in JADES-GS-z6-0, a distant galaxy at redshift z~6.71, corresponding to a cosmic age of just 800 million years after the Big Bang. Differing from that of the known Galactic and extragalactic interstellar sightlines which always peak at ~2175 Angstrom, the bump seen at z~6.71 in JADES-GS-z6-0 peaks at an appreciably longer wavelength of ~2263 Angstrom and is the narrowest among all known Galactic and extragalactic extinction bumps. Here we show that the combined electronic absorption spectra quantum-chemically computed for a number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules closely reproduce the bump detected by JWST in JADES-GS-z6-0. This suggests that PAH molecules have already been pervasive in the Universe at an epoch when asymptotic giant branch stars have not yet evolved to make dust.

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Dissecting the massive pristine, neutral gas reservoir of a remarkably bright galaxy at z = 14.179

At cosmic dawn, the first stars and galaxies are believed to form from and be deeply embedded in clouds of dense, pristine gas. Here we present a study of the JWST/NIRSpec data of the most distant, spectroscopically confirmed galaxy observed to date, JADES-GS-z14-0 (GS-z14 for short), at $z=14.179$, combined with recent far-infrared measurements of the [OIII]-$88μ$m and [CII]-$158μ$m line transitions and underlying dust-continuum emission. Based on the observed prominent damped Lyman-$α$ (DLA) absorption profile, we determine a substantial neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) column density, $\log (N_{\rm HI} / {\rm cm^{-2}}) = 22.27^{+0.08}_{-0.09}$, consistent with previous estimates though seemingly at odds with the dynamical and gas mass of the galaxy. Using various independent but complementary approaches, considering the implied neutral gas mass from the DLA measurement, the star-formation rate surface density, and the metal abundance, we demonstrate that the total gas mass of GS-z14 is of the order $\log (M_{\rm gas} / M_\odot) = 9.8\pm 0.3$. This implies a substantial gas mass fraction, $f_{\rm gas} \gtrsim 0.9$ and that the bulk of the interstellar medium (ISM) is in the form of HI. We show that the derived gas mass is fully consistent with the non-detection of [CII]-$158μ$m, assuming an appropriate scaling to the neutral gas. The low dust-to-gas ratio, $A_V/N_{\rm HI} = (1.3\pm 0.6)\times 10^{-23}$\,mag\,cm$^2$, derived in the line-of-sight through the DLA further indicates that the absorbing gas is more pristine than the central, star-forming regions probed by the [OIII]-$88μ$m emission. These results highlight the implications for far-infrared line-detection searchers attainable with ALMA and demonstrate that the bright, relatively massive galaxy GS-z14 at $z=14.179$ is deeply embedded in a substantial, pristine HI gas reservoir dominating its baryonic matter content.

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Photometric detection at $7.7\ μ\mathrm{m}$ of a galaxy beyond redshift $14$ with JWST/MIRI

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has spectroscopically confirmed numerous galaxies at $z > 10$. While weak rest-ultraviolet emission lines have only been seen in a handful of sources, the stronger rest-optical emission lines are highly diagnostic and accessible at mid-infrared wavelengths with the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) of JWST. We report the photometric detection of the distant spectroscopically confirmed galaxy JADES-GS-z14-0 at $z = 14.32^{+0.08}_{-0.20}$ with MIRI at $7.7\ μ\mathrm{m}$. The most plausible solution for the stellar population properties is that this galaxy contains half a billion solar masses in stars with a strong burst of star formation in the most recent few million years. For this model, at least one-third of the flux at $7.7\ μ\mathrm{m}$ comes from the rest-optical emission lines $\mathrm{H}β$ and/or $\mathrm{[OIII]}λ\lambda4959,5007$. The inferred properties of JADES-GS-z14-0 suggest rapid mass assembly and metal enrichment during the earliest phases of galaxy formation. This work demonstrates the unique power of mid-infrared observations in understanding galaxies at the redshift frontier.

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Hitting the slopes: A spectroscopic view of UV continuum slopes of galaxies reveals a reddening at z > 9.5

The UV continuum slope of galaxies, $β$, is a powerful diagnostic. Understanding the redshift evolution of $β$ and its dependence on key galaxy properties can shed light on the evolution of galaxy physical properties over cosmic time. In this study, we present $β$ measurements for 295 spectroscopically confirmed galaxies at $5.5 9.5$ to begin to redden, deviating from the trend observed at $z < 9.5$. By producing stacked spectra in bins of redshift and $β$, we derive trends between $β$ and dust attenuation, metallicity, ionization parameter, and stellar age indicators directly from spectra, finding a lack of dust attenuation to be the dominant driver of bluer $β$ values. We further report six galaxies with $β<-3.0$, which show a range of spectroscopic properties and signs of significant LyC photon leakage. Finally, we show that the redder $β$ values at $z > 9.5$ may require rapid build-up of dust reservoirs in the very early Universe or a significant contribution from the nebular continuum emission to the observed UV spectra, with the nebular continuum fraction depending on the gas temperatures and densities. Our modeling shows that in the absence of dust, nebular emission at $T > 15,000$ K can reproduce the range of $β$ that we see in our sample. Higher gas temperatures driven by hot, massive stars can boost the fraction of nebular continuum emission, potentially explaining the observed $β$ values as well as bright UV magnitudes seen across galaxies at $z > 10$.

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Efficient Ionizers with Low H$\boldsymbolβ$+[OIII] Equivalent Widths: JADES Spectroscopy of a Peculiar High-z Population

Early JWST photometric studies discovered a population of UV faint ($\rm 700$Å) exclude the most metal-poor efficient ionizers and favor 1) more chemically enriched systems with comparable extreme radiation fields and 2) older starbursting systems. In contrast, metallicity degeneracies are reduced in H$α$ space, enabling the identification of these metal-poor efficient ionizers by their specific star-formation rate.

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A dormant, overmassive black hole in the early Universe

Recent observations have found a large number of supermassive black holes already in place in the first few hundred million years after Big Bang. The channels of formation and growth of these early, massive black holes are not clear, with scenarios ranging from heavy seeds to light seeds experiencing bursts of high accretion rate. Here we present the detection, from the JADES survey, of broad Halpha emission in a galaxy at z=6.68, which traces a black hole with mass of ~ 4 * 10^8 Msun and accreting at a rate of only 0.02 times the Eddington limit. The host galaxy has low star formation rate (~ 1 Msun/yr, a factor of 3 below the star forming main sequence). The black hole to stellar mass ratio is ~ 0.4, i.e. about 1,000 times above the local relation, while the system is closer to the local relations in terms of dynamical mass and velocity dispersion of the host galaxy. This object is most likely the tip of the iceberg of a much larger population of dormant black holes around the epoch of reionisation. Its properties are consistent with scenarios in which short bursts of super-Eddington accretion have resulted in black hole overgrowth and massive gas expulsion from the accretion disk; in between bursts, black holes spend most of their life in a dormant state.

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JADES: Measuring reionization properties using Lyman-alpha emission

Ly$α$ is the transition to the ground state from the first excited state of hydrogen (the most common element). Resonant scattering of this line by neutral hydrogen greatly impedes its emergence from galaxies, so the fraction of galaxies emitting Ly$α$ is a tracer of the neutral fraction of the intergalactic medium (IGM), and thus the history of reionisation. In previous works, we used early JWST/NIRSpec data from the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) to classify and characterise Ly$α$ emitting galaxies (LAEs). This survey is approaching completion, and the current sample is nearly an order of magnitude larger. From a sample of 795 galaxies in JADES at $4.0<z<14.3$, we find evidence for Ly$α$ emission in 150sources. We reproduce the previously found correlation between Ly$α$ escape fraction ($f_{esc}^{Lyα}$) - Ly$α$ rest-frame equivalent width ($REW_{Lyα}$) and the negative correlation between Ly$α$ velocity offset - $f_{esc}^{Lyα}$. Both $f_{esc}^{Lyα}$ and $REW_{Lyα}$ decrease with redshift ($z\gtrsim5.5$), indicating the progression of reionisation on a population scale. Our data are used to demonstrate an increasing IGM transmission of Ly$α$ from $z\sim14-6$. We measure the completeness-corrected fraction of LAEs (\xlya) from $z=4-9.5$. An application of these \xlya values to the results of previously utilised semi-analytical models suggests a high neutral fraction at $z=7$ ($X_{HI}\sim0.8-0.9$). Using an updated fit to the intrinsic distribution of $REW_{Lyα}$ results in a lower value in agreement with current works ($X_{HI}=0.64_{-0.21}^{+0.13}$). This sample of LAEs will be paramount for unbiased population studies of galaxies in the EoR.

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JADES: Primaeval Lyman-$\mathrmα$ emitting galaxies reveal early sites of reionisation out to redshift $z \sim 9$

$\require{mediawiki-texvc}$Given the sensitivity of the resonant Lyman-$\mathrmα$ (Ly$\mathrmα$) transition to absorption by neutral hydrogen, observations of Ly$\mathrmα$ emitting galaxies (LAEs) have been widely used to probe the ionising capabilities of reionisation-era galaxies and their impact on the intergalactic medium (IGM). However, prior to JWST our understanding of the contribution of fainter sources and of ionised `bubbles' at earlier stages of reionisation remained uncertain. Here, we present the characterisation of three exceptionally distant LAEs at $z>8$, newly discovered by JWST/NIRSpec in the JADES survey. These three similarly bright ($M_\text{UV} \approx -20\,\mathrm{mag}$) LAEs exhibit small Ly$\mathrmα$ velocity offsets from the systemic redshift, $Δv_\mathrm{Lyα} \lesssim 200\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$, yet span a range of Ly$\mathrmα$ equivalent widths ($15\,Å$, $31\,Å$, and $132\,Å$). The former two show moderate Ly$\mathrmα$ escape fractions ($f_\mathrm{esc,Lyα} \approx 10\%$), whereas Ly$\mathrmα$ escapes remarkably efficiently from the third ($f_\mathrm{esc,Lyα} \approx 72\%$), which moreover is very compact (half-light radius of $90\pm10\,\mathrm{pc}$). We find these LAEs are low-mass galaxies dominated by very recent, vigorous bursts of star formation accompanied by strong nebular emission from metal-poor gas. We infer the two LAEs with modest $f_\mathrm{esc,Lyα}$, one of which reveals evidence for ionisation by an active galactic nucleus, may have reasonably produced small ionised bubbles preventing complete IGM absorption of Ly$\mathrmα$. The third, however, requires a $\sim 3\,\text{physical Mpc}$ bubble, indicating faint galaxies have contributed significantly. The most distant LAEs thus continue to be powerful observational probes into the earlier stages of reionisation.

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Extreme emission line galaxies detected in JADES JWST/NIRSpec I: inferred galaxy properties

Extreme emission line galaxies (EELGs) exhibit large equivalent widths (EW) in their rest-optical emission lines ([OIII]$\lambda5007$ or H$α$ rest-frame EW$ > 750Å$) which can be tied to a recent upturn in star formation rate, due to the sensitivity of the nebular line emission and the rest-optical continuum to young ($<10$Myr) and evolved stellar populations, respectively. By studying a sample of 85 star forming galaxies (SFGs), spanning the redshift and magnitude interval $3 $ M$_{UV}>-21$, in the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) with NIRSpec/prism spectroscopy, we determine that SFGs initiate an EELG phase when entering a significant burst of star formation, with the highest EWs observed in EELGs with the youngest luminosity-weighted ages ($<5$ Myr old) and the highest burst intensity (those with the greatest excess between their current and long-term average SFR). We spectroscopically confirm that a greater proportion of SFGs are in an EELG phase at high redshift in our UV-selected sample ($61\pm4\%$ in our $z>5.7$ high-redshift bin, compared to $23^{+4}_{-1}\%$ in our lowest-redshift bin $3 5.7$ have observed Lyman-$α$ emission, potentially lying within large ionised regions. The high detection rate of Lyman-$α$ emitters in our EELG selection suggests that the physical conditions associated with entering an EELG phase also promote the escape of Lyman-$α$ photons.

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JADES -- The Rosetta Stone of JWST-discovered AGN: deciphering the intriguing nature of early AGN

JWST has discovered a large population of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) at high redshift. Many of these newly discovered AGN have broad permitted lines (typically H$α$), but are extremely weak in the X-rays. Here we present the NIRSpec spectrum of the most extreme of these objects, GN-28074, an AGN at $z=2.26$ with prominent Balmer, Paschen and \HeI broad lines, and with the highest limit on the bolometric to X-ray luminosity ratio among all spectroscopically confirmed AGN in GOODS. This source is also characterized by a mid-IR excess, most likely associated with the AGN torus' hot dust. The high bolometric luminosity and moderate redshift of this AGN allow us to explore its properties more in depth relative to other JWST-discovered AGN. The NIRSpec spectrum reveals prominent, slightly blueshifted absorption of H$α$, H$β$ and \HeI$λ$10830. The Balmer absorption lines require gas with densities of $n_{\rm H}> 10^8~{\rm cm}^{-3}$, inconsistent with an ISM origin, but fully consistent with clouds in the Broad Line Region (BLR). This finding suggests that at least part of the X-ray weakness is due to high (Compton thick) X-ray absorption by (dust-free) clouds in the BLR, or in its outer, slowly outflowing regions. GN-28074 is also extremely radio-weak. The radio weakness can also be explained in terms of absorption, as the inferred density of the clouds responsible for H$α$ absorption makes them optically thick to radio emission through free-free absorption. Alternatively, in this and other JWST-discovered AGN, the nuclear magnetic field may have not developed properly yet, resulting both in intrinsically weak radio emission and also lack of hot corona, hence intrinsic X-ray weakness. Finally, we show that recently proposed scenarios, invoking hyper-dense and ultra-metal-poor outflows or Raman scattering to explain the broad H$α$, are completely ruled out.

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The NIRSpec Wide GTO Survey

The Near-infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope is uniquely suited to studying galaxies in the distant Universe with its combination of multi-object capabilities and sensitivity over a large range in wavelength (0.6-5.3 microns). Here we present the NIRSpec Wide survey, part of the NIRSpec Instrument Science Team's Guaranteed Time Observations, using NIRSpec's microshutter array to obtain spectra of more than 3200 galaxies at $z>1$ at both low- and high-resolution ($R\approx100$ and 2700) for a total of 105 hours. With 31 pointings covering $\approx$320 arcmin$^2$ across the five CANDELS fields with exquisite ancillary photometry from the Hubble Space Telescope, the NIRSpec Wide survey represents a fast and efficient way of using JWST to probe galaxies in the early Universe. Pointing centers are determined to maximize the observability of the rarest, high-value sources. Subsequently, the microshutter configurations are optimized to observe the maximum number of "census" galaxies with a selection function based primarily on HST/F160W magnitude, photometric/slitless grism redshift, and predicted \ha\ flux tracing the bulk of the galaxy population at cosmic noon ($z_{\rm med}=2.0$). We present details on the survey strategy, the target selection, an outline of the motivating science cases, and discuss upcoming public data releases to the community.

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Searching for Emission Lines at $z>11$: The Role of Damped Lyman-$α$ and Hints About the Escape of Ionizing Photons

We describe new ultra-deep James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NIRSpec PRISM and grating spectra for the galaxies JADES-GS-z11-0 ($z_{\mathrm{spec}} = 11.122^{+0.005}_{-0.003}$) and JADES-GS-z13-0 ($z_{\mathrm{spec}} = 13.20^{+0.03}_{-0.04}$), the most distant spectroscopically-confirmed galaxy discovered in the first year of JWST observations. The extraordinary depth of these observations (75 hours and 56 hours, respectively) provides a unique opportunity to explore the redshifts, stellar properties, UV magnitudes, and slopes for these two sources. For JADES-GS-z11-0, we find evidence for multiple emission lines, including [\ion{O}{2}]$λ\lambda3726,3729$Åand [\ion{Ne}{3}$]\lambda3869$Å, resulting in a spectroscopic redshift we determine with 94\% confidence. We present stringent upper limits on the emission line fluxes and line equivalent widths for JADES-GS-z13-0. At this spectroscopic redshift, the Lyman-$α$ break in JADES-GS-z11-0 can be fit with a damped Lyman-$α$ absorber with $\log{(N_\mathrm{HI}/\mathrm{cm}^{-2})} = 22.42^{+0.093}_{-0.120}$. These results demonstrate how neutral hydrogen fraction and Lyman-damping wings may impact the recovery of spectroscopic redshifts for sources like these, providing insight into the overprediction of the photometric redshifts seen for distant galaxies observed with JWST. In addition, we analyze updated NIRCam photometry to calculate the morphological properties of these resolved sources, and find a secondary source $0.3^{\prime\prime}$ south of JADES-GS-z11-0 at a similar photometric redshift, hinting at how galaxies grow through interactions in the early Universe.

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Spectroscopic confirmation of two luminous galaxies at $z\sim14$

The first observations of JWST have revolutionized our understanding of the Universe by identifying for the first time galaxies at $z\sim13$. In addition, the discovery of many luminous galaxies at Cosmic Dawn ($z>10$) has suggested that galaxies developed rapidly, in apparent tension with many standard models. However, most of these galaxies lack spectroscopic confirmation, so their distances and properties are uncertain. We present JADES JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopic confirmation of two luminous galaxies at redshifts of $z=14.32^{+0.08}_{-0.20}$ and $z=13.90\pm0.17$. The spectra reveal ultraviolet continua with prominent Lyman-$α$ breaks but no detected emission lines. This discovery proves that luminous galaxies were already in place 300~million years after the Big Bang and are more common than what was expected before JWST. The most distant of the two galaxies is unexpectedly luminous and is spatially resolved with a radius of 260 parsecs. Considering also the very steep ultraviolet slope of the second galaxy, we conclude that both are dominated by stellar continuum emission, showing that the excess of luminous galaxies in the early Universe cannot be entirely explained by accretion onto black holes. Galaxy formation models will need to address the existence of such large and luminous galaxies so early in cosmic history.

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A core in a star-forming disc as evidence of inside-out growth in the early Universe

The physical processes that establish the morphological evolution and the structural diversity of galaxies are key unknowns in extragalactic astrophysics. Here we report the finding of the morphologically-mature galaxy JADES-GS+53.18343-27.79097, which existed within the first 700 million years of the Universe's history. This star-forming galaxy with a stellar mass of 400 million solar masses consists of three components, a highly-compact core with a half-light radius of less than 100 pc, an actively star-forming disc with a radius of about 400 pc, and a star-forming clump, which all show distinctive star-formation histories. The central stellar mass density of this galaxy is within a factor of two of the most massive present-day ellipticals, while being globally 1000 times less massive. The radial profile of the specific star-formation rate is rising toward the outskirts. This evidence suggests the first detection of inside-out growth of a galaxy as a proto-bulge and a star-forming disc in the Epoch of Reionization.

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A new census of dust and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at z=0.7-2 with JWST MIRI

This paper utilizes the JWST MIRI multi-band imaging data from the SMILES survey (5-25micron), complemented with HST and NIRCam photometric and spectroscopic data from the JADES and FRESCO surveys for 443 star-forming (non-AGN) galaxies at z=0.7-2.0 to extend the study of dust and PAH emission to a new mass and SFR parameter space beyond our local universe. We find a strong correlation between the fraction of dust in PAHs (PAH fraction, q_PAH) with stellar mass. Moreover, the PAH fraction behavior as a function of gas-phase metallicity is similar to that at z~0 from previous studies, suggesting a universal relation: q_PAH is constant (~3.4%) above a metallicity of ~ 0.5$Z_{\odot}$ and decreases to <1% at metallicities $<0.3Z_{\odot}$. This indicates that metallicity is a good indicator of the ISM properties that affect the balance between the formation and destruction of PAHs. The lack of a redshift evolution from z~0-2 also implies that above $0.5\,Z_{\odot}$, the PAH emission effectively traces obscured luminosity and the previous locally-calibrated PAH-SFR calibrations remain applicable in this metallicity regime. We observe a strong correlation between obscured UV luminosity fraction (ratio of obscured to total luminosity) and stellar mass. Above the stellar mass of $>5\times 10^9M_{\odot}$, on average, more than half of the emitted luminosity is obscured, while there exists a non-negligible population of lower mass galaxies with >50% obscured fractions. At a fixed mass, the obscured fraction correlates with SFR surface density. This is a result of higher dust covering fractions in galaxies with more compact star forming regions. Similarly, galaxies with high IRX (IR to UV luminosity) at a given mass or UV continuum slope tend to have higher SFR surface density and shallower attenuation curves, owing to their higher effective dust optical depths and more compact star forming regions.

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GA-NIFS: JWST discovers an offset AGN 740 million years after the Big Bang

A surprising finding of recent studies is the large number of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) associated with moderately massive black holes ($\rm \log(M_\bullet/M_\odot)\sim 6-8$), in the first billion years after the Big Bang ($z>5$). In this context, a relevant finding has been the large fraction of candidate dual AGN, both at large separations (several kpc) and in close pairs (less than a kpc), likely in the process of merging. Frequent black hole merging may be a route for black hole growth in the early Universe; however, previous findings are still tentative and indirect. We present JWST/NIRSpec-IFU observations of a galaxy at $z=7.15$ in which we find evidence for a $\rm \log(M_\bullet/M_\odot)\sim7.7$ accreting black hole, as traced by a broad component of H$β$ emission, associated with the Broad Line Region (BLR) around the black hole. This BLR is offset by 620 pc in projection from the centroid of strong rest-frame optical emission, with a velocity offset of $\sim$40 km/s. The latter region is also characterized by (narrow) nebular emission features typical of AGN, hence also likely hosting another accreting black hole, although obscured (type 2, narrow-line AGN). We exclude that the offset BLR is associated with Supernovae or massive stars, and we interpret these results as two black holes in the process of merging. This finding may be relevant for estimates of the rate and properties of gravitational wave signals from the early Universe that will be detected by future observatories like LISA.

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GA-NIFS: The core of an extremely massive proto-cluster at the Epoch of Reionization probed with JWST/NIRSpec

The SPT0311-58 system resides in a massive dark matter halo at z ~ 6.9. It hosts two dusty galaxies (E and W) with a combined star formation rate of ~3500 Msun/yr. Its surrounding field exhibits an overdensity of sub-mm sources, making it a candidate proto-cluster. We use spatially-resolved spectroscopy provided by the JWST/NIRSpec Integral Field Unit (IFU) to probe a field of view (FoV) ~ 17 x 17 kpc^2 around this object. These observations have revealed ten new galaxies at z ~ 6.9, characterised by dynamical masses spanning from ~10^9 to 10^10 Msun and a range in radial velocities of ~ 1500 km/s, in addition to the already known E and W galaxies. The implied large number density, and the wide spread in velocities, indicate that SPT0311-58 is at the core of a proto-cluster, immersed in a very massive dark matter halo of ~ 5 x 10^12 Msun. Hence, it represents the most massive proto-cluster ever found at the EoR. We also study the dynamical stage of the system and find that it likely is not fully virialised. The galaxies exhibit a great diversity of properties showing a range of evolutionary stages. We derive their ongoing Ha-based unobscured SFR, and find that its contribution to the total SF varies significantly across the galaxies in the system. Their ionization conditions range from those typical of field galaxies at similar redshift recently studied with JWST to those found in more evolved objects at lower z. The metallicity spans more than 0.8 dex across the FoV, reaching nearly solar values in some cases. The detailed IFU spectroscopy of the E galaxy reveals that it is actively assembling its stellar mass, showing sub-kpc inhomogeneities, and a metallicity gradient that can be explained by accretion of low metallicity gas from the IGM. The kinematic maps indicate departures from regular rotation, high turbulence, and a possible pre-collision minor merger. (Abridged)

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