arXiv subjects

Julian B. Muñoz

Publications and source records attributed to Julian B. Muñoz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Population III Host Candidates at $z\sim2$: Strong He II $\lambda1640$ and Absent UV Metal Lines in HETDEX Ly$α$ Emitters

Population III (Pop III) stars are expected to produce extremely hard ionizing spectra, yet direct evidence for their signature--strong narrow He II $\lambda1640$ emission with weak or absent metal lines--remains elusive. Although Pop III formation peaks at $z\gtrsim10$, models predict that nearly pristine gas pockets can survive to later times, making intermediate-redshift searches a probe of metal mixing across cosmic time. We search 109,545 high-confidence Ly$α$-emitting galaxies at $1.9<z<2.3$ in the Hobby--Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment's database for systems with strong He II $\lambda1640$ and no detected UV metal lines, recovering eight candidates and a first-order, tentative comoving number density of $\sim30$ Gpc$^{-3}$. The eight-object stack yields a rest-frame He II equivalent width of $28.7\pm6.7$ Angstrom, He II/Ly$α=0.354\pm0.094$, and a resolution-corrected He II FWHM of $449\pm105$ km s$^{-1}$. We find no significant N V, C IV, or O III] emission; using the He II width to set the scale, we derive $3σ$ upper limits of N V/He II $<0.167$, C IV/He II $<0.128$, and O III]/He II $<0.140$. This combination of strong He II, elevated He II/Ly$α$, moderate line width, and weak metal lines is difficult to reproduce with metal-enriched stellar populations, AGN narrow-line regions, shocks, or classical Wolf--Rayet features. We interpret the sample as candidates for very metal-poor or Pop III-like ionizing sources at $z\sim2$. Definitive confirmation requires deeper rest-UV spectroscopy to measure He II and metal-line limits in individual objects, followed by rest-optical spectroscopy of H$β$, [O III] $\lambda4959,\lambda5007$, [O II] $\lambda3727$, and H$α$ to constrain gas-phase metallicity, ionization conditions, and AGN activity.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Early Supermassive Black Holes and Little Red Dots Require Free-Fall Growth

Supermassive black holes/active galactic nuclei (SMBHs/AGN), forming only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang as observed with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), challenge theoretical understanding. How could they grow so massive $(M_{\rm BH} > 10^6 {\rm \,M}_\odot)$ so quickly after initial seeding? Is this rapid growth related to the numerous and enigmatic Little Red Dots (LRDs), compact sources with AGN-like characteristics, discovered by JWST? To address these mysteries, we consider the first-order constraint on SMBH growth: enough baryonic material has to reach the vicinity of the SMBH seed, located near the bottom of the gravitational potential well of the host dark matter halo. We specifically examine cold-mode accretion, where gas from the cosmic environment flows into the virialized halo in cold streams without being shock-heated, efficiently reaching the center on a free-fall timescale. We find that cold mode accretion is necessary to supply material for the SMBHs to reach the observed masses, whereas for shock-heated gas inflow the required amount could only be supplied by implausibly rare halos. Moreover, cold-mode inflow in rare $(\sim1$ Gpc$^{-3}$) halos matches the mass and number of the massive quasars, and halos able to support super-Eddington accretion for massive SMBHs ($\sim10^7$ M$_\odot$) match LRD number densities. The decreasing LRD abundance at lower redshifts may then reflect the termination of cold-mode accretion in the growing host halos. The populations of massive SMBHs and LRDs at early times may thus arise naturally from cosmological structure formation, based on the abundance of halos capable of supplying sufficient material through cold accretion.

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arXiv2026

The MegaWave Radio Surveyor

Several Decadal-level questions in astrophysics, exoplanets, astrobiology, and cosmology can be addressed only at low radio frequencies inaccessible from Earth. The MegaWave Radio Surveyor would open this largely-unexplored region of the electromagnetic spectrum with a space-based interferometer to (1)~Track the space weather of other stars; (2)~Detect magnetically-generated emission from exoplanets to probe their interiors and assess magnetic shielding of their atmospheres; (3)~Probe the Universe's evolution during the Dark Ages via the highly-redshifted HI hyperfine line; and (4)~Assess the role of cosmic rays and magnetic fields in the cosmic web. An Astrophysics Strategic Technology & Research Accelerator (ASTRA) Initiative concept, the MegaWave Radio Surveyor's science objectives respond to the Pathways to Discovery Decadal Survey and three other National Academies studies, and it would serve as a Formative Era mission in the Enduring Quests, Daring Visions roadmap. Developments in U.S. space industries enable this observatory to be realized. The MegaWave Radio Surveyor would offer a versatile, scalable, and resilient architecture capable of sensitive and simultaneous observations below 45~MHz and unprecedented angular resolution at these frequencies. The concept builds upon NASA's Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE), Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS), and Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment (LuSEE-Night). The MegaWave Radio Surveyor could leverage multiple elements of the Artemis program, such as access to and beyond cislunar space and communications, and there are opportunities to infuse new autonomy/AI modes for mission operations. By opening one of the last windows in the electromagnetic spectrum and pioneering space interferometry at unprecedented scales, the MegaWave Radio Surveyor would establish a transformational capability.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2026

How can we finally see the first light? Status and perspective in the search for Population III stars

Finding the first (Population III or Pop III) stars is one of the fundamental quests of astronomy, aiming to deliver the missing link in how stars form at early cosmic times. Yet their initial mass function, formation sites and feedback remain highly uncertain, as well as the timing and topology of the transition to metal-enriched star formation. The observability of their peculiar spectral features is also debated, due to their short lifetime and faintness. This review summarizes current theoretical expectations for Pop III star formation, and the main observational strategies that have been adopted to constrain their properties across cosmic time, including near-field cosmology studies, direct searches for extremely metal-poor star-forming complexes and/or hard-ionizing spectral signatures at high and intermediate redshifts, and prospects for identifying Pop III activity up to Cosmic Dawn. The combination of JWST spectroscopy, time-domain searches, lensing surveys, stellar archaeology, absorption-line studies, as well as improved simulations, is yielding a growing number of observational candidates and narrowing the allowed parameter space for the first stars, setting the stage for a ``golden era'' of Pop III searches.

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arXiv2026

Searching for Population III stars with line intensity mapping cross-correlations

Decades of searches for Population III stars in individual galaxies have yielded a few potential candidates, but a statistically robust characterization of the demographics of the first stars in the lowest-mass systems remains elusive. Line intensity mapping (LIM), an observational technique that measures fluctuations in the aggregate emission from the entire galaxy population --- including the faintest sources --- offers an alternative strategy that is especially well-suited for the Pop III era. With the recent launch of SPHEREx and the rapid development of a number of complementary LIM studies, we are poised to place some of the first LIM constraints on sites of star formation at high-redshift. In this work, we expand an analytical model for LIM power spectra, Zeus21/oLIMpus, to include Pop III stars and the emission lines identified as diagnostic signatures of star formation with a low-metallicity, top-heavy IMF, such as H$α$ and HeII. We introduce a flexible framework to estimate the measurement uncertainties associated with instrument and survey configurations, and apply these to study LIM signatures of the first stars in mock surveys carried out with SPHEREx and potential next-generation instruments. We quantify the sensitivity of the LIM signal to variations in Pop II and III parameters and forecast joint limits that can be placed on the Pop III star formation efficiency (SFE) and IMF shape with SPHEREx. We find that next-generation instruments will be necessary to comprehensively survey the Pop III theoretical landscape --- both with respect to `classical' and `exotic' Pop III models --- and identify design improvements that will enable such studies. Finally, we carry out a Fisher analysis to characterize synergies between SPHEREx and JWST, suggesting that joint constraints on the Pop III SFE and extensions to conventional Pop III models may be within reach.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

When galaxies burst II. Implications of enhanced burstiness for the 21-cm Cosmic Dawn signal

Recent JWST observations suggest that star formation in the early universe was substantially burstier than assumed in standard models. Such burstiness can be described as a stochastic process characterized by the burst amplitude and the coherence time of star formation epochs. In this paper, we investigate how bursty star formation modifies the 21-cm power spectrum during Cosmic Dawn through its impact on the non-local radiation fields that govern its evolution, namely Lyman-$α$ and X-ray backgrounds. To do so, we introduce an unequal-time correlation in the star-formation-rate density sourcing the two fields and we compute its impact using the analytical framework implemented in the public code Zeus21. We find that the burstiness-induced time correlation produces a shot-noise-like contribution in the Lyman-$α$ and X-ray fields, enhancing both their auto- and cross-power spectra while leaving the global 21-cm signal, $T_{21}(z)$, unchanged. As a result, the 21-cm power spectrum is strongly modified by a shot-noise-like contribution at the beginning of the Cosmic Dawn, where the signal is dominated by lower-mass halos ($M_h\lesssim10^{10}\,M_\odot$), and is boosted by a factor of a few near the Wouthuysen-Field absorption trough. Elsewhere at low redshift, where the clustering signal dominates and larger halos drive the signal, the burstiness component is negligible.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

A GLIMPSE into the UV Continuum Slopes of the Faintest Galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization

As observations have yet to constrain the ionizing properties of the faintest (M$_{\rm UV}$ > -16) galaxies, their contribution to cosmic reionization remains unclear. The rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) continuum slope ($β$) is a powerful diagnostic of stellar populations and one of the few feasible indicators of the escape fraction of ionizing photons (f$_{\rm esc}$) for such faint galaxies at high-redshift. Leveraging ultra-deep JWST/NIRCam GLIMPSE imaging of strong lensing field Abell S1063, we estimate UV continuum slopes of 555 galaxies at z $>$ 6 with absolute magnitudes down to M$_{\rm UV}$ $\simeq -$12.5. We find a modest evolution of $β$ with redshift and a flattening in the $β$-M$_{\rm UV}$ relation such that galaxies fainter than M$_{\rm UV}$ $\sim -$16.5 no longer exhibit the bluest UV slopes. The 138 ultra-faint galaxies with M$_{\rm UV}$ $> -$16 are a diverse population encompassing dusty (30\%), old (15\%), and low-mass (50\%) galaxies. We apply the empirical $β$-f$_{\rm esc}$ relation from local Lyman continuum leakers, finding the mean f$_{\rm esc}$ peaks at $\sim 20\%$ at M$_{\rm UV}=-$16.5 and declines towards fainter galaxies, while remaining consistent with f$_{\rm esc}$ = 14\% within uncertainties, in agreement with recent radiative transfer simulations. Incorporating GLIMPSE constraints on the UV luminosity function, ionizing photon production efficiency, and escape fractions produces a reionization history consistent with independent observational constraints. Our results indicate galaxies with M$_{\rm UV}$ between $-18$ and $-14$ supplied $\sim 60\%$ of the ionizing photons to cosmic reionization, while the lower f$_{\rm esc}$ of fainter galaxies produces a natural cutoff in the ionizing photon production rate density.

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arXiv2026

The Rise and Fall of Acoustic Oscillations at Cosmic Dawn

Cosmic dawn 21-cm observations will extend standard-ruler cosmology into the first billion years, unlocking epochs inaccessible by the cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure. Realizing this promise requires an accurate model of the acoustic structure imprinted onto early star formation. At such early times, two counterbalancing phenomena -- matter overdensities and streaming velocities between cold dark matter and baryons -- modulate the spatial statistics of star formation. While overdensities dictate where early galaxy-bearing haloes form, regions of high velocity suppress star formation. Their combined influence on the intergalactic medium yields 21-cm fluctuations with both baryon (BAO) and velocity-induced (VAO) acoustic oscillations. Here we present the first prescription to decompose the 21-cm power spectrum into its constituent acoustic features. We find a percent-level offset between the BAO and VAO shapes which, if ignored in standard-ruler analyses, would bias inferred values of $H(z)$ by $\sim 2\%$; we provide a correction. Moreover, as the relative prominence of BAOs and VAOs ebbs and flows non-monotonically across cosmic dawn, we demonstrate how their evolution is sensitive to the physics of early galaxy evolution and the first stars. Finally, we forecast how sensitive SKA will be to the BAO-VAO combined standard ruler. Our results establish joint BAO-VAO modeling as an essential ingredient of 21-cm acoustic inference, enabling robust constraints on both cosmic expansion and the first stars.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

UV Luminosity Functions from HST and JWST: A Possible Resolution to the High-Redshift Galaxy Abundance Puzzle and Implications for Cosmic Strings

Recent observations of high redshift galaxies by the James Webb Space Telescope suggest the presence of a bright population of galaxies that is more abundant than predicted by most galaxy formation models. These observations have led to a rethinking of these models, and numerous astrophysical and cosmological solutions have been proposed, including cosmic strings, topological defects that may be remnants of a specific phase transition in the very early moments of the Universe. In this paper, we integrate cosmic strings, a source of nonlinear and non-Gaussian perturbations, into the semi analytical code Zeus21, allowing us to efficiently predict the ultraviolet luminosity function (UVLF). We conduct a precise study of parameter degeneracies between star-formation astrophysics and cosmic-string phenomenology. Our results suggest that cosmic strings can boost the early-galaxy abundance enough to explain the measured UVLFs from the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes from redshift z = 4 to z = 17 without modifying the star-formation physics. In addition, we set a new upper bound on the string tension of $Gμ\lessapprox 10^{-8}$ ($95\%$ credibility), improving upon previous limits from the cosmic microwave background. Although with current data there is some level of model and prior dependence to this limit, it suggests that UVLFs are a promising avenue for future observational constraints on cosmic-string physics.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

High-Redshift Signatures from the Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionization

In this chapter, we provide a comprehensive overview of the astrophysical and cosmological processes that shape the 21-cm signal during Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionization. We investigate both standard and exotic signatures potentially observable with SKA-Low. Standard signatures are those expected within the $Λ$CDM framework, including contributions from the first stars, galaxies, and black holes. Exotic signatures are more speculative indicating new physics, such as primordial black holes, modifications to the dark matter sector, non-standard primordial fluctuations, or strongly emitting radio galaxies. The effects of these different sources or scenarios are evaluated in the context of the expected sensitivity of SKA-Low, considering the AA* and AA4 configurations. The chapter aims to provide an overview of the theoretical landscape of 21-cm signatures and to highlight how the forthcoming SKA-Low observations will improve our understanding of astrophysical processes at early times and may open the door towards new physics beyond the $Λ$CDM framework.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Semi-analytical approach to Ly$α$ multiple-scattering in 21-cm signal simulations

A crucial physical quantity in determining the 21-cm signal during cosmic dawn is the inhomogeneous background of Ly$α$ photons originating from the first galaxies. As these photons travel through the intergalactic medium, their scattering cross-section is often approximated as a delta function at resonance due to computational cost. That is, photons with emitted wavelengths between Ly$α$ and Ly$β$ are assumed to travel in straight lines until they redshift into the Ly$α$ resonance. However, due to the damping wing in the Ly$α$ cross-section, this approximation fails as the frequency of the photon approaches the resonant frequency, resulting in multiple scatterings events that could be separated by non-negligible distances. Some previous works studied this effect of Ly$α$ multiple scattering by running computationally heavy radiative-transfer simulations. However, robustly interpreting the cosmic 21cm signal requires exploring a large parameter space of astrophysical uncertainties, motivating more computationally-efficient approaches. Here we incorporate Ly$α$ multiple scatterings in the public, semi-numerical simulation 21cmFAST. We employ Monte Carlo simulations to study the trajectories of Ly$α$ photons on different scales. We find that the distance distributions of Ly$α$ photons with respect to the absorption point can be modeled as analytical functions that are governed by a single parameter. Upon implementing the distance distributions in 21cmFAST, we find that the multiple scattering effect is important (about 50% difference in the 21-cm power spectrum) only at high redshifts before the spin temperature is fully coupled to the kinetic temperature. Furthermore, we find that Ly$α$ multiple scattering does not enhance Ly$α$ heating, and that the combined effect is negligible, especially under realistic X-ray heating scenarios.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

When galaxies burst: enhanced shot-noise for line-intensity mapping in the JWST era

Recent JWST observations indicate that star formation at $z\!\sim\!4-6$ is more stochastic than previously assumed, with rms log-SFR scatter $\sim\!0.6$ dex at $M_h\!\sim\!10^{11}M_{\odot}$, growing toward smaller halos and time-correlated on $\sim\!25$ Myr. This is significantly higher than the typical $\sim\!0.3$ dex phenomenological lognormal scatter assumed in standard line-intensity mapping (LIM) forecasts. We propagate the JWST-era burstiness through to the LIM shot-noise power spectrum and show that the result is a simple multiplicative correction: the deterministic shot noise multiplied by a line-dependent boost factor $B_λ$ derived in closed form by convolving the SFR correlation function with the stellar-population-synthesis kernel of each line. At $z\!\sim\!6$, we find $B_{{\rm H}α}\!\simeq\!7$ and $B\!\sim\!2.5$-$3.5$ for longer-window tracers ([CII], CO, UV) - factors of $\sim\!2$-$5$ above the standard prescription, and growing further toward higher redshift. The enhancement transforms the LIM landscape: it improves auto-spectrum detectability and suppresses lower-redshift interloper contamination, but degrades cosmological applications such as BAO that rely on a clean clustering measurement. Crucially, it also opens a new use of LIM as a diagnostic of high-redshift star-formation physics beyond the regime of individually resolved galaxies: redshift tomography of a single line constrains the amplitude and mass dependence of the burstiness, while cross-line shot-noise correlations probe its time coherence.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

A Fleeting GLIMPSE of N/O Enrichment at Cosmic Dawn: Evidence for Wolf Rayet N Stars in a z = 6.1 Galaxy

We present the discovery of extreme nitrogen enrichment by Wolf Rayet nitrogen stars (WN) in the metal-poor (~10% Z_odot), lensed, compact (R_eff ~ 20 pc) galaxy RXCJ2248 at z=6.1, revealed by unprecedentedly deep JWST/NIRSpec medium-resolution spectroscopy from the GLIMPSE-D Survey. The exquisite S/N reveals multiple high-ionization nebular lines and broad Balmer and [OIII] components (FWHM~700-3000 km/s). We detect broadened HeII 1640 and 4687 (FWHM~530 km/s) and strong NIII] 4642 emission consistent with a population of WN stars, making RXCJ2248 the most distant galaxy with confirmed WR features to date. We measure the multi-phase nebular density across five ions, the direct-method metallicity (12+log(O/H)= 7.749+/-0.023), and a non-uniform elemental enrichment pattern of extreme N/O enhancement (log(N/O)=-0.390+/-0.035 from N^+, N^+2, and N^+3) and suppressed C/O relative to empirical C/N trends. We show that this abundance pattern can be explained by enrichment from a dual-burst with a low WC/WN ratio, as expected at low metallicities. Crucially, these signatures can only arise during a brief, rare evolutionary window shortly after a burst (~3-6 Myr), when WN stars dominate chemical feedback but before dilution by later yields (e.g., supernovae). The observed frequency of strong N emitters at high-z implies a ~50 Myr burst duty cycle, suggesting that N/O outliers may represent a brief but ubiquitous phase in the evolution of highly star-forming early galaxies. The detection in RXCJ2248, therefore, provides the first direct evidence of WN-driven chemical enrichment in the early Universe and a novel timing argument for the bursty star formation cycles that shaped galaxies at cosmic dawn.

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arXiv2026

An Improved Fit for Linear Halo Bias at High Redshift

High- to ultrahigh-redshift clustering of halos provides a powerful tool to understand cosmology and galaxy formation. However, theoretical predictions are not firmly established in the first billion years, where current and upcoming surveys are beginning to reach percent-level precision. Here we measure dark matter halo biases at $z=6$ - 19 from simulation data, and find they are $\sim$ 3 - 4$\%$ higher than canonical results calibrated at low $z$. We provide an updated linear-bias fit at these early times, reducing the mean systematic offset to $< 1\%$. These results will enable robust interpretation of early-Universe galaxy clustering from JWST, Roman, and intensity-mapping surveys.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Enhancing Lyα Emitter Identification in HETDEX with a Convolutional Neural Network

We present a deep learning framework to enhance the identification of Ly$α$ emitters (LAEs) in the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX), an untargeted spectroscopic survey of LAEs at $1.9 < z < 3.5$ without imaging pre-selection. We primarily address the low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) regime ($4.8 \leq \mathrm{S/N} \leq 5.5$), where LAE candidates suffer from substantial noise contamination. To distinguish LAE candidates from artifacts and sky residuals, we employ a convolutional neural network (CNN) trained on two-dimensional spectral images of single emission lines. The training sample is constructed from the HETDEX COSMOS catalog, with external validation from ancillary observations and our participatory science project, \textit{Dark Energy Explorers}. For small-format, low-resolution spectroscopic data, the model achieves a balanced accuracy, precision, and recall of $94.1\%$, $97.5\%$, and $97.5\%$, respectively, in the high-S/N regime ($\mathrm{S/N}>5.5$), and $85.1\%$, $78.2\%$, and $84.4\%$ in the low-S/N regime. Using HETDEX LAEs independently identified by DESI spectroscopy, the model recovers $99\%$ and $93\%$ of the high- and low-S/N LAEs, respectively. Visual attribution indicates that the CNN attends to smooth, spatially extended central emission in true positives and to irregular or noisy features in true negatives. Applied to the full HETDEX catalog, the CNN enables an S/N threshold down to 4.8 by suppressing spurious spikes across $z\sim 1.9$--$2.5$ in the redshift distribution. Our approach facilitates HETDEX cosmological analyses by mitigating false positives in galaxy clustering and highlights the value of domain-specific deep learning for refining low-S/N spectroscopic identification in untargeted surveys.

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arXiv2026

A GLIMPSE into the very faint-end of the H$β$+[OIII]$λλ$4960,5008 luminosity function at z=7-9 behind Abell S1063

We use the ultra-deep GLIMPSE JWST/NIRCam survey to constrain the faint-end of the H$β$+[OIII]$λλ$4960,5008 luminosity function (LF) down to $10^{39}$ erg/s at z=7-9 behind the lensed Hubble Frontier Field Abell S1063. We perform SED fitting on a Lyman-Break Galaxy sample, measuring combined H$β$+[OIII] fluxes to construct the emission-line LF. The resulting LF ($α$=-1.55 to -1.78) is flatter than the UV LF ($α<-2$), indicating a lower number density of low H$β$+[OIII] emitters at fixed MUV. We explore three explanations: (i) bursty star formation histories reducing the H$β$+[OIII]-to-UV ratio, (ii) metallicity effects on [OIII]/H$β$, or (iii) a faint-end turnover in the UV LF. Assuming an evolving [OIII]/H$β$ ratio, we derive a flatter [OIII]$λ$5008 LF ($α$=-1.45 to -1.66) and a steeper H$β$ LF ($α$=-1.68 to -1.95). The combination of decreasing metallicity and bursty star formation can reconcile the UV and H$β$+[OIII] LF differences. Converting the LF to the ionising photon production rate, we find that galaxies with H$α$ flux $>10^{39}$ erg/s (SFR(H$α$)$>5\times10^{-3} M_\odot$/yr) contribute 31%-90% and 46%-156% of the ionising photon budget at 7<z<8 and 8<z<9, respectively (for $f_{esc}=0.14$). The LF shape suggests faint galaxies contribute minimally to the ionising photon production rate. Our cosmic star formation rate density (CSFRD) estimates align with previous work, but GLIMPSE's sensitivity to low SFRs confirms that very faint galaxies are minor contributors to both the ionising photon production rate and the CSFRD. Our results suggest that GLIMPSE has detected the bulk of the total H$β$+[OIII] emission from star-forming galaxies, with fainter sources playing a limited role in cosmic reionisation.

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arXiv2026

Relatively Fast and Reasonably Furious: Evidence for Increased Burstiness in Smaller Halos at Cosmic Dawn

We introduce an effective framework to model star-formation burstiness and use it to jointly fit galaxy UV luminosity functions (UVLFs), clustering, and H$α$/UV ratios, providing the first robust empirical evidence that early galaxies hosted in lower-mass halos are burstier. Using $z\sim 4-6$ observations, we find that galaxies show approximately $0.6$ dex of SFR variability if hosted in halos of $M_h = 10^{11}\, M_\odot$ (typical of $M_{\rm UV}\approx -19$ galaxies at $z = 6$). This translates into a scatter of $σ_{M_{\rm UV}}\approx 0.75$ mag in the UVLF, in line with past findings. Strikingly, we find that burstiness grows for galaxies hosted in smaller halos, reaching $\gtrsim 1$ dex for $M_h \leq 10^{9}\, M_\odot$ (corresponding to $σ_{M_{\rm UV}} \approx 1.5$ mag for faint $M_{\rm UV} \gtrsim -15$ galaxies). Extrapolating to higher redshifts, when small halos were more prevalent, the inferred mass-dependent burstiness can reproduce observed UVLFs up to $z\sim 17$ within 1$σ$, potentially alleviating the tension between pre- and post-JWST galaxy-formation models. Current observations allow us to constrain the main burst timescale to approximately $20$ Myr, consistent with expectations from supernova feedback, and suggest broad distributions of ionizing efficiencies at fixed $M_{\rm UV}$. Our results demonstrate that mass-dependent burstiness, as predicted by hydrodynamical simulations, is critical for understanding the mass assembly of early galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Lyα Intensity Mapping in HETDEX: Galaxy-Lyα Intensity Cross-Power Spectrum

We present a measurement of the Lyman-$α$ (Ly$α$) intensity mapping power spectrum from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). We measure the cross-power spectrum of the Ly$α$ intensity and Ly$α$-emitting galaxies (LAEs) in a redshift range of $1.9 < z < 3.5$. We calculate the intensity from HETDEX spectra that do not contain any detected LAEs above a signal-to-noise ratio of $5.5$. To produce a power spectrum model and its covariance matrix, we simulate the data using lognormal mocks for the LAE catalog and Ly$α$ intensity in redshift space. The simulations include the HETDEX sensitivity, selection function, and mask. The measurements yield the product of the LAE bias, the intensity bias, the mean intensity of undetected sources, and the ratio of the actual and fiducial redshift-space distortion parameters, $b_\mathrm{g} b_I \langle I \rangle \bar{F}_{\rm RSD} / \bar{F}^{\rm fid}_{\rm RSD}= (6.7 \pm 3.1)$, $(11.7 \pm 1.4)$, and $(8.3 \pm 1.5) \times 10^{-22} \, \text{erg}\, \text{s}^{-1} \, \text{cm}^{-2} \, \text{arcsec}^{-2} \, \text{Å}^{-1}$ in three redshift bins centered at $\bar z=2.1$, 2.6, and 3.2, respectively. The results are reasonably consistent with cosmological hydrodynamical simulations that include Ly$α$ radiative transfer. They are, however, significantly smaller than previous results from cross-correlations of quasars with Ly$α$ intensity. These results demonstrate the statistical power of HETDEX for Ly$α$ intensity mapping and pave the way for a more comprehensive analysis. They will also be useful for constraining models of Ly$α$ emission from galaxies used in modern cosmological simulations of galaxy formation and evolution.

astro-ph.CO↗