arXiv subjects

Masami Ouchi

Publications and source records attributed to Masami Ouchi.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

MAMMOTH-Subaru. II. Diverse Populations of Circumgalactic Ly$α$ Nebulae at Cosmic Noon

Circumgalactic Lyman-alpha (Ly$α$) nebulae are gaseous halos around galaxies exhibiting luminous extended Ly$α$ emission. This work investigates Ly$α$ nebulae from deep imaging of $\sim12~\mathrm{deg}^2$ sky, targeted by the MAMMOTH-Subaru survey. Utilizing the wide-field capability of Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), we present one of the largest blind Ly$α$ nebula selections, including QSO nebulae, Ly$α$ blobs, and radio galaxy nebulae down to typical $2σ$ Ly$α$ surface brightness of $(5-10)\times10^{-18}\mathrm{~erg~s^{-1}~cm^{-2}~arcsec^{-2}}$. The sample contains 117 nebulae with Ly$α$ sizes of 40 - 400 kpc, and the most gigantic one spans about 365 kpc, referred to as the Ivory Nebula. Combining multiwavelength data, we investigate diverse nebula populations and associated galaxies. We find a small fraction of Ly$α$ nebulae have QSOs ($\sim7\%$), luminous infrared galaxies ($\sim1\%$), and radio galaxies ($\sim 2\%$). Remarkably, among the 28 enormous Ly$α$ nebulae (ELANe) exceeding 100 kpc, about 80\% are associated with UV-faint galaxies ($M_\mathrm{UV} > -22$), categorized as Type II ELANe. We underscore that Type II ELANe constitute the majority but remain largely hidden in current galaxy and QSO surveys. Dusty starburst and obscured AGN activity are proposed to explain the nature of Type II ELANe. The SED of stacking all Ly$α$ nebulae also reveals signs of massive dusty star-forming galaxies with obscured AGNs. We propose a model to explain the dusty nature where the diverse populations of Ly$α$ nebulae capture massive galaxies at different evolutionary stages undergoing violent assembling. Ly$α$ nebulae provide critical insights into the formation and evolution of today's massive cluster galaxies at cosmic noon.

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arXiv2024

The MUSE eXtremely Deep Field: Detections of circumgalactic SiII* emission at z>~2

The circumgalactic medium (CGM) serves as a baryon reservoir that connects galaxies to the intergalactic medium and fuels star formation. The spatial distribution of the metal-enriched cool CGM has not yet been directly revealed at cosmic noon (z~2-4), as bright emission lines at these redshifts are not covered by optical integral field units. To remedy this situation, we aim for the first-ever detections and exploration of extended SiII* emission (low-ionization state, LIS), referred to as ``SiII* halos'', at redshifts ranging from z=2 to 4 as a means to trace the metal-enriched cool CGM. We use a sample of 39 galaxies with systemic redshifts of z=2.1-3.9 measured with the [CIII] doublet in the MUSE Hubble Ultra Deep Field catalog, which contains integration times spanning from ~30 to 140 hours. We search for extended SiII*1265, 1309, 1533 emission (fluorescent lines) around individual galaxies. We also stack a subsample of 14 UV-bright galaxies. We report five individual detections of SiII*1533 halos. We also confirm the presence of SiII*1533 halos in stacks for the subsample containing UV-bright sources. The other lines do not show secure detections of extended emission in either individual or stacking analyses. These detections may imply that the presence of metal-enriched CGM is a common characteristic for UV-bright galaxies. To investigate whether the origin of SiII* is continuum pumping as suggested in previous studies, we check the consistency of the equivalent width (EW) of SiII* emission and the EW of SiII absorption for the individual halo object with the most reliable detection. We confirm the equivalence, suggesting that photon conservation works for this object and pointing toward continuum pumping as the source of SiII*. We also investigate SiII* lines in a RAMSES-RT zoom-in simulation including continuum pumping and find ubiquitous presence of extended halos.

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arXiv2024

Balmer Decrement Anomalies in Galaxies at z ~ 6 Found by JWST Observations: Density-Bounded Nebulae or Excited H I Clouds?

We investigate the physical origins of the Balmer decrement anomalies in GS-NDG-9422 (Cameron et al. 2023) and RXCJ2248-ID (Topping et al. 2024) galaxies at $z\sim 6$ whose $\mathrm{H}α/\mathrm{H}β$ values are significantly smaller than $2.7$, the latter of which also shows anomalous $\mathrm{H}γ/\mathrm{H}β$ and $\mathrm{H}δ/\mathrm{H}β$ values beyond the errors. Because the anomalous Balmer decrements are not reproduced under the Case B recombination, we explore the nebulae with the optical depths smaller and larger than the Case B recombination by physical modeling. We find two cases quantitatively explaining the anomalies; 1) density-bounded nebulae that are opaque only up to around Ly$γ$-Ly8 transitions and 2) ionization-bounded nebulae partly/fully surrounded by optically-thick excited H{\sc i} clouds. The case of 1) produces more H$β$ photons via Ly$γ$ absorption in the nebulae, requiring fine tuning in optical depth values, while this case helps ionizing photon escape for cosmic reionization. The case of 2) needs the optically-thick excited H{\sc i} clouds with $N_2\simeq 10^{12}-10^{13}$ $\mathrm{cm^{-2}}$, where $N_2$ is the column density of the hydrogen atom with the principal quantum number of $n=2$. Interestingly, the high $N_2$ values qualitatively agree with the recent claims for GS-NDG-9422 with the strong nebular continuum requiring a number of $2s$-state electrons and for RXCJ2248-ID with the dense ionized regions likely coexisting with the optically-thick clouds. While the physical origin of the optically-thick excited H{\sc i} clouds is unclear, these results may suggest gas clouds with excessive collisional excitation caused by an amount of accretion and supernovae in the high-$z$ galaxies.

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arXiv2024

Strong He I Emission Lines in High N/O Galaxies at $z \sim 6$ Identified in JWST Spectra: High He/H Abundance Ratios or High Electron Densities?

We present HeI/H$β$-flux and He/H-abundance ratios in three JWST galaxies with significant constraints on N/O-abundance ratios, GS-NDG-9422, RXCJ2248-ID, and GLASS150008 at $z\sim 6$ mostly with the spectroscopic coverage from HeI$λ$4471 and HeII$λ$4686 to HeI$λ$7065, comparing with 68 local-dwarf galaxies. We find that these high-$z$ galaxies present strong HeI emission with HeI/H$β$ flux ratios generally larger than those of local-dwarf galaxies. We derive He/H with all of the detected HeI, HeII, and $2-3$ hydrogen Balmer lines in the same manner as the local He/H determination conducted for cosmology studies. These high-$z$ galaxies show He overabundance He/H$\gtrsim 0.10$ or high electron density $n_\mathrm{e}\sim 10^{3-4}$ cm$^{-3}$ much larger than local values at low O/H, $12+\log \mathrm{(O/H)}=7-8$. In contrast, we obtain low He/H and $n_\mathrm{e}$ values for our local-dwarf galaxies by the same technique with the same helium and hydrogen lines, and confirm that the difference between the high-$z$ and local-dwarf galaxies are not mimicked by systematics. While two scenarios of 1) He overabundance and 2) high electron density are not clearly concluded, we find that there is a positive correlation on the He/H-N/O or $n_\mathrm{e}$-N/O plane by the comparison of the high-$z$ and local-dwarf galaxies. The scenario 1) suggests that the overabundant helium and nitrogen are not explained by the standard chemical enrichment of core-collapse supernovae, but the CNO-cycle products and equilibrium ratios, respectively. The scenario 2) indicates that the strong helium lines are originated from the central dense clouds of the high-$z$ galaxies by excessive collisional excitation.

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arXiv2024

ALMA Lensing Cluster Survey: Deep 1.2 mm Number Counts and Infrared Luminosity Functions at $z\simeq1-8$

We present a statistical study of 180 dust continuum sources identified in 33 massive cluster fields by the ALMA Lensing Cluster Survey (ALCS) over a total of 133 arcmin$^{2}$ area, homogeneously observed at 1.2 mm. ALCS enables us to detect extremely faint mm sources by lensing magnification, including near-infrared (NIR) dark objects showing no counterparts in existing {\it Hubble Space Telescope} and {\it Spitzer} images. The dust continuum sources belong to a blind sample ($N=141$) with S/N $\gtrsim$ 5.0 (a purity of $>$ 0.99) or a secondary sample ($N=39$) with S/N= $4.0-5.0$ screened by priors. With the blind sample, we securely derive 1.2-mm number counts down to $\sim7$ $μ$Jy, and find that the total integrated 1.2mm flux is 20.7$^{+8.5}_{-6.5}$ Jy deg$^{-2}$, resolving $\simeq$ 80 % of the cosmic infrared background light. The resolved fraction varies by a factor of $0.6-1.1$ due to the completeness correction depending on the spatial size of the mm emission. We also derive infrared (IR) luminosity functions (LFs) at $z=0.6-7.5$ with the $1/V_{\rm max}$ method, finding the redshift evolution of IR LFs characterized by positive luminosity and negative density evolution. The total (=UV+IR) cosmic star-formation rate density (SFRD) at $z>4$ is estimated to be $161^{+25}_{-21}$ % of the established measurements, which were almost exclusively based on optical$-$NIR surveys. Although our general understanding of the cosmic SFRD is unlikely to change beyond a factor of 2, these results add to the weight of evidence for an additional ($\approx 60$ %) SFRD component contributed by the faint-mm population, including NIR dark objects.

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arXiv2024

JWST Measurements of Neutral Hydrogen Fractions and Ionized Bubble Sizes at $z=7-12$ Obtained with Ly$α$ Damping Wing Absorptions in 27 Bright Continuum Galaxies

We present volume-averaged neutral hydrogen fractions $x_{\rm \HI}$ and ionized bubble radii $R_{\rm b}$ measured with Ly$α$ damping wing absorption of galaxies at the epoch of reionization. We combine JWST/NIRSpec spectra taken by CEERS, GO-1433, DDT-2750, and JADES programs, and obtain a sample containing 27 bright UV-continuum ($M_{\rm UV}<-18.5~{\rm mag}$) galaxies at $7<z<12$. We construct 4 composite spectra binned by redshift, and find the clear evolution of softening break towards high redshift at the rest-frame $1216$ Å, suggesting the increase of Ly$α$ damping wing absorption. We estimate Ly$α$ damping wing absorption in the galaxy spectra with realistic templates including Ly$α$ emission and circum-galactic medium absorptions. Assuming the standard inside-out reionization picture having an ionized bubble with radius $R_b$ around a galaxy embedded in the intergalactic medium with $x_{\rm \HI}$, we obtain $x_{\rm \HI}$ ($R_{\rm b}$) values generally increasing (decreasing) from $x_{\rm \HI}={0.53}^{+0.18}_{-0.47}$ to ${0.92}^{+0.08}_{-0.10}$ ($\log R_{\rm b}={1.67}^{+0.14}_{-0.16}$ to ${-0.69}^{+0.89}_{-0.24}$ comoving Mpc) at redshift $7.12^{+0.06}_{-0.08}$ to $9.91^{+1.49}_{-1.15}$. The redshift evolution of $x_{\rm \HI}$ indicates a moderately late reionization history consistent with the one previously suggested from the electron scattering of cosmic microwave background and the evolution of UV luminosity function with an escape fraction $f_{\rm esc}\sim 0.2$. Our ${R_{\rm b}}$ measurements suggest that bubble sizes could be up to a few dex larger than the cosmic average values estimated by analytic calculations for a given $x_{\rm \HI}$, while our $R_{\rm b}$ measurements are roughly comparable with the values for merged ionized bubbles around bright galaxies predicted by recent numerical simulations.

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arXiv2024

Statistics for Galaxy Outflows at $z\sim 6-9$ with Imaging and Spectroscopic Signatures Identified with JWST/NIRCam and NIRSpec Data

We present statistics of $z\sim 6-9$ galaxy outflows indicated by spatially-extended gas emission and broad lines. With a total of 61 spectroscopically confirmed galaxies at $z\sim 6-9$ in the JWST CEERS, GLASS, and ERO data, we find four galaxies with [O{\sc iii}]+H$β$ ionized gas emission significantly extended beyond the kpc-scale stellar components on the basis of the emission line images constructed by the subtraction of NIRCam broadband (line on/off-band) images. By comparison with low-$z$ galaxies, the fraction of galaxies with the spatially extended gas, 4/18, at $z\sim 6-9$ is an order of magnitude higher than those at $z\sim 0-1$, which can be explained by events triggered by frequent major mergers at high redshift. We also investigate medium- and high-resolution NIRSpec spectra of 30 galaxies at $z\sim 6-9$, and identify five galaxies with broad ($140-800$ km s$^{-1}$) lines in the [O{\sc iii}] forbidden line emission, suggestive of galaxy outflows. One galaxy at $z=6.38$ shows both the spatially-extended gas emission and the broad lines, while none of the galaxies with the spatially-extended gas emission or broad lines present a clear signature of AGN either in the line diagnostics or Type 1 AGN line broadening ($>1000$ km s$^{-1}$), which hint outflows mainly driven by stellar feedback. The existence of galaxies with/without spatially-extended gas emission or broad lines may be explained by different viewing angles towards outflows, or that these are galaxies in the early, late, post phases of galaxy outflows at high redshift, where the relatively large fractions of such galaxies indicate the longer-duration and/or more-frequent outflows at the early cosmic epoch.

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arXiv2024

Ly$α$ Emission at $z=7-13$: Clear Ly$α$ Equivalent Width Evolution Indicating the Late Cosmic Reionization History

We present the evolution of Ly$α$ emission derived from 53 galaxies at $z=6.6-13.2$ that are identified by multiple JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy programs of ERS, GO, DDT, and GTO. These galaxies fall on the star-formation main sequence and are the typical star-forming galaxies with UV magnitudes of $-22.5\leq M_\mathrm{UV}\leq-17.0$. We find that 15 out of 53 galaxies show Ly$α$ emission at the $>3σ$ levels, and obtain Ly$α$ equivalent width (EW) measurements and stringent $3σ$ upper limits for the 15 and 38 galaxies, respectively. Confirming that Ly$α$ velocity offsets and line widths of our galaxies are comparable with those of low-redshift Ly$α$ emitters, we investigate the redshift evolution of the Ly$α$ EW. We find that Ly$α$ EWs statistically decrease towards high redshifts on the Ly$α$ EW vs. $M_{\rm UV}$ plane for various probability distributions of the uncertainties. We then evaluate neutral hydrogen fractions $x_{\rm HI}$ with the Ly$α$ EW redshift evolution and the cosmic reionization simulation results on the basis of a Bayesian inference framework, and obtain $x_{\rm HI}<0.79$, $=0.62^{+0.15}_{-0.36}$, and $0.93^{+0.04}_{-0.07}$ at $z\sim7$, $8$, and $9-13$, respectively. These moderately large $x_{\rm HI}$ values are consistent with the Planck CMB optical depth measurement and previous $x_{\rm HI}$ constraints from galaxy and QSO Ly$α$ damping wing absorptions, and strongly indicate a late reionization history. Such a late reionization history suggests that major sources of reionization would emerge late and be hosted by moderately massive halos in contrast with the widely-accepted picture of abundant low-mass objects for the sources of reionization.

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arXiv2024

EMPRESS. XIII. Chemical Enrichments of Young Galaxies Near and Far at z ~ 0 and 4-10: Fe/O, Ar/O, S/O, and N/O Measurements with Chemical Evolution Model Comparisons

We present gas-phase elemental abundance ratios of 7 local extremely metal-poor galaxies (EMPGs) including our new Keck/LRIS spectroscopy determinations together with 33 JWST $z\sim 4-10$ star-forming galaxies in the literature, and compare chemical evolution models. We develop chemical evolution models with the yields of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), Type Ia supernovae, hypernovae (HNe), and pair-instability supernovae (PISNe), and compare the EMPGs and high-$z$ galaxies in conjunction with dust depletion contributions. We find that high Fe/O values of EMPGs can (cannot) be explained by PISN metal enrichments (CCSN/HN enrichments even with the mixing-and-fallback mechanism enhancing iron abundance), while that the observed Ar/O and S/O values are much smaller than the predictions of the PISN models. The abundance ratios of the EMPGs can be explained by the combination of Type Ia SNe and CCSNe/HNe whose inner layers of argon and sulfur mostly fallback, which are comparable with Sculptor stellar chemical abundance distribution, suggesting that early chemical enrichment is taken place in the EMPGs. Comparing our chemical evolution models with the star-forming galaxies at $z\sim 4-10$, we find that the Ar/O and S/O ratios of the high-$z$ galaxies are comparable with those of the CCSNe/HNe models, while majority of the high-$z$ galaxies do not have constraints good enough to rule out contributions from PISNe. The high N/O ratio recently reported in GN-z11 cannot be explained even by rotating PISNe, but could be reproduced by the winds of rotating Wolf Rayet stars that end up as a direct collapse.

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arXiv2024

EMPRESS. XIV. Strong High Ionization Lines of Young Galaxies at $z=0-8$: Ionizing Spectra Consistent with the Intermediate Mass Black Holes with $M_{\rm BH}\sim 10^3-10^6\ M_\odot$

We present ionizing spectra estimated at 13.6--100 eV for ten dwarf galaxies with strong high ionization lines of He {\sc {ii}}$λ$4686 and [Ne {\sc{v}}]$λ$3426 ([Ne {\sc{iv}}]$λ$2424) at $z=0$ ($z=8$) that are identified in our Keck/LRIS spectroscopy and the literature (the JWST ERO program). With the flux ratios of these high ionization lines and $>10$ low-ionization lines of hydrogen, helium, oxygen, neon, and sulfur, we determine ionizing spectra consisting of stellar and non-thermal power-law radiation by photoionization modeling with free parameters of nebular properties including metallicity and ionization parameter, cancelling out abundance ratio differences. We find that all of the observed flux ratios are well reproduced by the photoinization models with the power law index $α_{\rm EUV}$ of $α_{\rm EUV}\sim (-1)-0$ and the luminosity $L_{\rm EUV}$ of $L_{\rm EUV}\sim 10^{40}-10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$ at $\sim 55-100$ eV for six galaxies, while four galaxies include large systematics in $α_{\rm EUV}$ caused by stellar radiation contamination. We then compare $α_{\rm EUV}$ and $L_{\rm EUV}$ of these six galaxies with those predicted by the black hole (BH) accretion disk models, and find that $α_{\rm EUV}$ and $L_{\rm EUV}$ are similar to those of the intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) in BH accretion disk models {albeit with possibilities of the other scenarios.} Confirming these results with a known IMBH having a mass $M_{\rm BH}$ of $M_{\rm BH}=10^{5.75} \ M_\odot$, we find that four local galaxies and one $z=7.665$ galaxy have ionizing spectra consistent with those of IMBHs with $M_{\rm BH} \sim 10^3-10^5 \ M_\odot$.

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arXiv2024

JASMINE: Near-Infrared Astrometry and Time Series Photometry Science

Japan Astrometry Satellite Mission for INfrared Exploration (JASMINE) is a planned M-class science space mission by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. JASMINE has two main science goals. One is the Galactic archaeology with Galactic Center Survey, which aims to reveal the Milky Way's central core structure and formation history from Gaia-level (~25 $μ$as) astrometry in the Near-Infrared (NIR) Hw-band (1.0-1.6 $μ$m). The other is the Exoplanet Survey, which aims to discover transiting Earth-like exoplanets in the habitable zone from NIR time-series photometry of M dwarfs when the Galactic center is not accessible. We introduce the mission, review many science objectives, and present the instrument concept. JASMINE will be the first dedicated NIR astrometry space mission and provide precise astrometric information of the stars in the Galactic center, taking advantage of the significantly lower extinction in the NIR. The precise astrometry is obtained by taking many short-exposure images. Hence, the JASMINE Galactic center survey data will be valuable for studies of exoplanet transits, asteroseismology, variable stars and microlensing studies, including discovery of (intermediate mass) black holes. We highlight a swath of such potential science, and also describe synergies with other missions.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2024

EMPRESS. XII. Statistics on the Dynamics and Gas Mass Fraction of Extremely-Metal Poor Galaxies

We present demography of the dynamics and gas-mass fraction of 33 extremely metal-poor galaxies (EMPGs) with metallicities of $0.015-0.195~Z_\odot$ and low stellar masses of $10^4-10^8~M_\odot$ in the local universe. We conduct deep optical integral-field spectroscopy (IFS) for the low-mass EMPGs with the medium high resolution ($R=7500$) grism of the 8m-Subaru FOCAS IFU instrument by the EMPRESS 3D survey, and investigate H$α$ emission of the EMPGs. Exploiting the resolution high enough for the low-mass galaxies, we derive gas dynamics with the H$α$ lines by the fitting of 3-dimensional disk models. We obtain an average maximum rotation velocity ($v_\mathrm{rot}$) of $15\pm3~\mathrm{km~s^{-1}}$ and an average intrinsic velocity dispersion ($σ_0$) of $27\pm10~\mathrm{km~s^{-1}}$ for 15 spatially resolved EMPGs out of the 33 EMPGs, and find that all of the 15 EMPGs have $v_\mathrm{rot}/σ_0<1$ suggesting dispersion dominated systems. There is a clear decreasing trend of $v_\mathrm{rot}/σ_0$ with the decreasing stellar mass and metallicity. We derive the gas mass fraction ($f_\mathrm{gas}$) for all of the 33 EMPGs, and find no clear dependence on stellar mass and metallicity. These $v_\mathrm{rot}/σ_0$ and $f_\mathrm{gas}$ trends should be compared with young high-$z$ galaxies observed by the forthcoming JWST IFS programs to understand the physical origins of the EMPGs in the local universe.

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arXiv2024

JWST and ALMA Multiple-Line Study in and around a Galaxy at $z=8.496$: Optical to FIR Line Ratios and the Onset of an Outflow Promoting Ionizing Photon Escape

We present ALMA deep spectroscopy for a lensed galaxy at $z_{\rm spec}=8.496$ with $\log(M_{\rm star}/M_{\odot})\sim7.8$ whose optical nebular lines and stellar continuum are detected by JWST/NIRSpec and NIRCam Early Release Observations in SMACS0723. Our ALMA spectrum shows [OIII]88$μ$m and [CII]158$μ$m line detections at $4.0σ$ and $4.5σ$, respectively. The redshift and position of the [OIII] line coincide with those of the JWST source, while the [CII] line is blue-shifted by 90 km s$^{-1}$ with a spatial offset of $0.''5$ ($\approx0.5$ kpc in source plane) from the JWST source. The NIRCam F444W image, including [OIII]$λ$5007 and H$β$ line emission, spatially extends beyond the stellar components by a factor of $>8$. This indicates that the $z=8.5$ galaxy has already experienced strong outflows whose oxygen and carbon produce the extended [OIII]$λ$5007 and the offset [CII] emission, which would promote ionizing photon escape and facilitate reionization. With careful slit-loss corrections and removals of emission spatially outside the galaxy, we evaluate the [OIII]88$μ$m/$λ$5007 line ratio, and derive the electron density $n_{\rm e}$ by photoionization modeling to be $220^{+170}_{-100}$ cm$^{-3}$, which is comparable with those of $z\sim2-3$ galaxies. We estimate an [OIII]88$μ$m/[CII]158$μ$m line ratio in the galaxy of $>4$, as high as those of known $z\sim6-9$ galaxies. This high [OIII]88$μ$m/[CII]158$μ$m line ratio is generally explained by the high $n_{\rm e}$ as well as the low metallicity ($Z_{\rm gas}/Z_{\odot}=0.04^{+0.02}_{-0.02}$), high ionization parameter ($\log U > -2.27$), and low carbon-to-oxygen abundance ratio ($\log$(C/O) $=[-0.52:-0.24]$) obtained from the JWST/NIRSpec data; further [CII] follow-up observations will constrain the covering fraction of photodissociation regions.

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arXiv2024

Census for the Rest-frame Optical and UV Morphologies of Galaxies at $z=4-10$: First Phase of Inside-Out Galaxy Formation

We present the rest-frame optical and UV surface brightness (SB) profiles for $149$ galaxies with $M_{\rm opt}< -19.4$ mag at $z=4$-$10$ ($29$ of which are spectroscopically confirmed with JWST NIRSpec), securing high signal-to-noise ratios of $10$-$135$ with deep JWST NIRCam $1$-$5μ$m images obtained by the CEERS survey. We derive morphologies of our high-$z$ galaxies, carefully evaluating the systematics of SB profile measurements with Monte Carlo simulations as well as the impacts of a) AGNs, b) multiple clumps including galaxy mergers, c) spatial resolution differences with previous HST studies, and d) strong emission lines, e.g., H$α$ and [OIII], on optical morphologies with medium-band F410M images. Conducting Sérsic profile fitting to our high-$z$ galaxy SBs with GALFIT, we obtain the effective radii of optical $r_{\rm e, opt}$ and UV $r_{\rm e, UV}$ wavelengths ranging $r_{\rm e, opt}=0.05$-$1.6$ kpc and $r_{\rm e, UV}=0.03$-$1.7$ kpc that are consistent with previous results within large scatters in the size luminosity relations. However, we find the effective radius ratio, $r_{\rm e, opt}/r_{\rm e, UV}$, is almost unity, $1.01^{+0.35}_{-0.22}$, over $z=4$-$10$ with no signatures of past inside-out star formation such found at $z\sim 0$-$2$. There are no spatial offsets exceeding $3σ$ between the optical and UV morphology centers in case of no mergers, indicative of major star-forming activity only found near a mass center of galaxies at $z\gtrsim 4$ probably experiencing the first phase of inside-out galaxy formation.

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arXiv2023

Pure Spectroscopic Constraints on UV Luminosity Functions and Cosmic Star Formation History From 25 Galaxies at $z_\mathrm{spec}=8.61-13.20$ Confirmed with JWST/NIRSpec

We present pure spectroscopic constraints on the UV luminosity functions and cosmic star formation rate (SFR) densities from 25 galaxies at $z_\mathrm{spec}=8.61-13.20$. By reducing the JWST/NIRSpec spectra taken in multiple programs of ERO, ERS, GO, and DDT with our analysis technique, we independently confirm 16 galaxies at $z_\mathrm{spec}=8.61-11.40$ including new redshift determinations, and a bright interloper at $z_\mathrm{spec}=4.91$ that was claimed as a photometric candidate at z~16. In conjunction with nine galaxies at redshifts up to $z_\mathrm{spec}=13.20$ in the literature, we make a sample of 25 spectroscopically-confirmed galaxies in total and carefully derive the best estimates and lower limits of the UV luminosity functions. These UV luminosity function constraints are consistent with the previous photometric estimates within the uncertainties and indicate mild redshift evolution towards z~12 showing tensions with some theoretical models of rapid evolution. With these spectroscopic constraints, we obtain firm lower limits of the cosmic SFR densities and spectroscopically confirm a high SFR density at z~12 beyond the constant star-formation efficiency models, which supports earlier claims from the photometric studies. While there are no spectroscopically-confirmed galaxies with very large stellar masses violating the $Λ$CDM model due to the removal of the bright interloper, we confirm star-forming galaxies at $z_\mathrm{spec}=11-13$ with stellar masses much higher than model predictions. Our results indicate possibilities of high star-formation efficiency (>5%), hidden AGN, top-heavy initial mass function (possibly with Pop-III), and large scatter/variance. Having these successful and unsuccessful spectroscopy results, we suggest observational strategies for efficiently removing low redshift interlopers for future JWST programs.

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arXiv2023

JWST Identification of Extremely Low C/N Galaxies with [N/O]$\gtrsim 0.5$ at $z\sim 6-10$ Evidencing the Early CNO-Cycle Enrichment and a Connection with Globular Cluster Formation

We present chemical abundance ratios of 70 star-forming galaxies at $z\sim4$-10 observed by the JWST/NIRSpec ERO, GLASS, and CEERS programs. Among the 70 galaxies, we have pinpointed 2 galaxies, CEERS_01019 at $z=8.68$ and GLASS_150008 at $z=6.23$, with extremely low C/N ([C/N]$\lesssim -1$), evidenced with CIII]$λλ$1907,1909, NIII]$λ$1750, and NIV]$λλ$1483,1486, which show high N/O ratios ([N/O]$\gtrsim 0.5$) comparable with the one of GN-z11 regardless of whether stellar or AGN radiation is assumed. Such low C/N and high N/O ratios found in CEERS_01019 and GLASS_150008 (additionally identified in GN-z11) are largely biased towards the equilibrium of the CNO cycle, suggesting that these 3 galaxies are enriched by metals processed by the CNO cycle. On the C/N vs. O/H plane, these 3 galaxies do not coincide with Galactic HII regions, normal star-forming galaxies, and nitrogen-loud quasars with asymptotic giant branch stars, but globular-cluster (GC) stars, indicating a connection with GC formation. We compare C/O and N/O of these 3 galaxies with those of theoretical models, and find that these 3 galaxies are explained by scenarios with dominant CNO-cycle materials, i.e. Wolf-Rayet stars, supermassive ($10^{3}-10^{5}\ M_{\odot}$) stars, and tidal disruption events, interestingly with a requirement of frequent direct collapses. For all the 70 galaxies, we present measurements of Ne/O, S/O, and Ar/O, together with C/O and N/O. We identify 4 galaxies with very low Ne/O, $\log(\rm Ne/O)<-1.0$, indicating abundant massive ($\gtrsim30\ M_\odot$) stars.

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arXiv2023

A JWST/NIRSpec First Census of Broad-Line AGNs at z=4-7: Detection of 10 Faint AGNs with M_BH~10^6-10^8 M_sun and Their Host Galaxy Properties

We present a first statistical sample of faint type-1 AGNs at $z>4$ identified by JWST/NIRSpec deep spectroscopy. Among the 185 galaxies at $z_\mathrm{spec}=3.8-8.9$ confirmed with NIRSpec, our systematic search for broad-line emission reveals 10 type-1 AGNs at $z=4.015-6.936$ whose broad component is only seen in the permitted H$α$ line and not in the forbidden [OIII]$λ$5007 line that is detected with greater significance than H$α$. The broad H$α$ line widths of $\mathrm{FWHM}\simeq1000-6000\ \mathrm{km\ s^{-1}}$ suggest that the AGNs have low-mass black holes with $M_\mathrm{BH}\sim10^6-10^8\ M_\odot$, remarkably lower than those of low-luminosity quasars previously identified at $z>4$ with ground-based telescopes. JWST and HST high-resolution images reveal that the majority of them show extended morphologies indicating significant contribution to the total lights from their host galaxies, except for three compact objects two of which show red SEDs, probably in a transition phase from faint AGNs to low luminosity quasars. Careful AGN-host decomposition analyses show that their host's stellar masses are systematically lower than the local relation between the black hole mass and the stellar mass, implying a fast black hole growth consistent with predictions from theoretical simulations. A high fraction of the broad-line AGNs ($\sim5\%$), higher than $z\sim0$, indicates that a number density of such faint AGNs is higher than an extrapolation of the quasar luminosity function, implying a large population of AGNs including type 1 and type 2 in the early universe. Such faint AGNs contribute to cosmic reionization, while the total contribution is not large, up to $\sim50\%$ at $z\sim6$, because of their faint nature.

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arXiv2023

FOREVER22: the first bright galaxies with population III stars at redshifts $z \simeq 10-20$ and comparisons with JWST data

We study the formation of the first galaxies in overdense regions modelled by the FORmation and EVolution of galaxies in Extremely overdense Regions motivated by SSA22 (FOREVER22) simulation project. Our simulations successfully reproduce the star formation rates and the $M_{\rm UV}-M_{\rm star}$ relations of candidate galaxies at $z \sim 10-14$ observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We suggest that the observed galaxies are hosted by dark-matter haloes with $M_{\rm h} \gtrsim 10^{10}~{\rm M_{\odot}}$ and are in short-period starburst phases. On the other hand, even simulated massive galaxies in overdense regions cannot reproduce the intense star formation rates and the large stellar masses of observed candidates at $z \sim 16$. Also, we show that the contribution of population III stars to the UV flux decreases as the stellar mass increases and it is a few percent for galaxies with $M_{\rm star} \sim 10^{7}~{\rm M_{\odot}}$. Therefore, a part of the observed flux by JWST could be the light from population III stars. Our simulations suggest that the UV flux can be dominated by population III stars and the UV-slope shows $β\lesssim -3$ if future observations would reach galaxies with $M_{\rm stars} \sim 10^{5}~{\rm M_{\odot}}$ at $z \sim 20$ of which the mass fraction of population III stars can be greater than 10 percent.

astro-ph.GA↗