Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

S. Antonogiannaki

Publications and source records attributed to S. Antonogiannaki.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

A clear detection of proper motion confirms that the claimed $\mathbf{z\simeq32}$ galaxy candidate, "Capotauro'', is a Y-type brown dwarf

The compact red source ``Capotauro'', discovered in deep JWST imaging in 2025, has been suggested as a possible galaxy candidate at redshift $z\simeq32$ on account of its extreme NIRCam colours. However, given the lack of evidence that this source is spatially resolved, a very cool brown dwarf, at a distance consistent with the scale-height of the Milky Way stellar disc ($\simeq 500$ pc), provides an alternative explanation of the observed photometry. Here we exploit new medium-band NIRCam imaging obtained $\simeq 3.5$ years after the discovery data to test this hypothesis. Using filter-dependent point-spread-function fitting, a robust local relative astrometric frame defined by 68 compact reference sources, and a joint four-image injection-recovery analysis, we show that Capotauro has moved by $132 \pm 20$ mas over the 3.5-yr interval span of the observations, ruling out the possibility that it is an extragalactic source (galaxy, AGN, or supernova) at $> 6 σ$. The observed apparent proper motion is $(μ_ξ,μ_η)=(+9.4^{+6.4}_{-4.8},-35.6^{+5.1}_{-5.9})$ mas yr$^{-1}$, or $37.6^{+5.5}_{-5.6}$ mas yr$^{-1}$ in total. Through comparison of its photometric spectral energy distribution with empirical templates, we find that Capotauro is best described as a brown dwarf of spectral type Y$1.0\pm0.5$ ($T_{\rm eff}\approx350$ K) at a distance of $730\pm110$ pc (although the existing data and spectral templates are insufficient to rule out an even colder, later-type brown dwarf). Capotauro is thus one of the most distant Y dwarfs found to date, as expected given its discovery in a deep JWST extragalactic survey field. This result demonstrates the value of multi-epoch imaging for identifying substellar contaminants among the most extreme photometric-redshift candidates.

astro-ph.GA↗

A search for the first galaxies across $>0.6$ deg$^2$ of JWST imaging: new evidence for a rapid decline in star-formation activity at $z>12$

We present a new determination of the evolving galaxy UV luminosity function (LF) over the extreme redshift range $12.5 $0.6 deg$^2$ of JWST NIRCam imaging containing $>150$ independent sight-lines. We find evidence for an accelerated decline in the UV LF, and hence inferred star-formation rate density ($ρ_{\rm SFR}$), over the $\simeq100\rm{Myr}$ cosmic time interval between $z=11$ and $z=13.5$. Moreover, based on a notable lack of galaxy candidates at $z>14.5$, we find evidence for an even more rapid descent in star-formation activity towards earlier times, with our new measurement of $ρ_{\rm SFR}$ at $z\simeq15.5$ lying significantly below an extrapolation of the log-linear $ρ_{\rm SFR}(\rm z)$ relation inferred from early JWST LF studies. Instead, we find that the evolution in $ρ_{\rm SFR}(\rm z)$ at these very early times is better described by a piece-wise log-linear relation, in which the decline in $ρ_{\rm SFR} (\rm z)$ at $z>12$ is $\simeq4$ times steeper than at redshifts $z < 12$. Our observational results are consistent with a number of theoretical models of galaxy evolution which have incorporated a range of treatments in an attempt to explain the prevalence of UV-bright galaxies at least out to $z \simeq 12$ (e.g., increased star-formation efficiency, stochastic star-formation histories, an evolving stellar initial mass function and/or a shift towards attenuation-free stellar populations). However, our results are also entirely consistent with a relatively simple galaxy evolution model with no such adjustments, in which the rapid evolution of the dark-matter halo mass function at early times is for a while partially masked by progressively younger stellar ages, with the inferred epoch of first galaxy formation lying at $z\simeq15$.

astro-ph.GA↗