arXiv subjects

Yuichi Harikane

Publications and source records attributed to Yuichi Harikane.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Probing the Origin of the Star Formation Excess Discovered by JWST through Gamma-Ray Bursts

The recent observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed a larger number of bright galaxies at $z\gtrsim10$ than was expected. The origin of this excess is still under debate, although several possibilities have been presented. We propose that gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are a powerful probe to explore the origin of the excess and, hence, the star and galaxy formation histories in the early universe. Focusing on the recently launched mission, Einstein Probe (EP), we find that EP can detect several GRBs annually at $z\gtrsim10$, assuming the GRB formation rate calibrated by events at $z\lesssim6$ can be extrapolated. Interestingly, depending on the excess scenarios, the GRB event rate may also show an excess at $z\simeq10$, and its detection will help to discriminate between the scenarios that are otherwise difficult to distinguish. Additionally, we discuss that the puzzling, red-color, compact galaxies discovered by JWST, the so-called ``little red dots'', could host dark GRBs if they are dust-obscured star forming galaxies. We are eager for unbiased follow-up of GRBs and encourage future missions such as HiZ-GUNDAM to explore the early universe.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy of intermediate-mass quiescent galaxies at $z \sim 3-4$

We present the analysis of three intermediate-mass quiescent galaxies (QGs) with stellar masses of $\sim10^{10}M_{\rm \odot}$ at redshifts $z\sim 3 - 4$ using NIRSpec low-resolution spectroscopy. Utilising the SED fitting code BAGPIPES, we confirm these target galaxies are consistent with quiescent population, with their specific star formation rates (sSFR) falling below 2-dex the star-forming main sequence at the same redshifts. Additionally, we identify these QGs to be less massive than those discovered in previous works, particularly prior to the JWST era. Two of our target galaxies exhibit the potentially-blended H$α$+[NII] emission line within their spectra with $S/N>5$. We discuss whether this feature comes from an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) or star formation although future high-resolution spectroscopy is required to reach a conclusion. One of the target galaxies is covered by JWST/NIRCam imaging of the PRIMER survey. Using the 2D profile fitting code Galfit, we examine its morphology, revealing a disc-like profile with a Sérsic index of $n=1.1 \pm 0.1$. On the size-mass relation, we find a potential distinction between less-massive ($\log_{10}{(M_*/M_\odot)}<10.3$) and massive ($\log_{10}{(M_*/M_\odot)}>10.3$) QGs in their evolutionary pathways. The derived quenching timescales for our targets are less than 1 Gyr. This may result from these galaxies being quenched by AGN feedback, supporting the AGN scenario of the emission line features.

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arXiv2024

Dynamics of a Galaxy at z > 10 Explored by JWST Integral Field Spectroscopy: Hints of Rotating Disk Suggesting Weak Feedback

We investigate the dynamics of GN-z11, a luminous galaxy at $z=10.60$, carefully analyzing the public deep integral field spectroscopy (IFS) data taken with JWST NIRSpec IFU. While the observations of the IFS data originally targeted a He II clump near GN-z11, we find that CIII]$λλ$1907,1909 emission from ionized gas at GN-z11 is bright and spatially extended significantly beyond the point-spread function (PSF). The spatially extended CIII emission of GN-z11 shows a velocity gradient, red- and blue-shifted components in the north and south directions, respectively, which cannot be explained by the variation of [CIII]$λ$1907/CIII]$λ$1909 line ratios. Assuming the velocity gradient is produced by disk rotation, we perform forward modeling with GalPak$^{3D}$, including the effects of PSF smearing and line blending, and obtain a rotation velocity of $v_{rot}=257^{+138}_{-117}$ km s$^{-1}$, a velocity dispersion of $σ_v=91^{+18}_{-32}$ km s$^{-1}$, and a ratio of $v_{rot}/σ_v=2.83^{+1.82}_{-1.41}$. The $v_{rot}/σ_v$ value would suggest a rotation-dominated disk existing at $z>10$ albeit with the large uncertainties. The rotation velocity agrees with those of numerical simulations predicting a rotating disk formed in the early universe under the condition of mass compaction and weak feedback. While the velocity gradient is consistent with the rotating disk solution, we recognize that galactic outflows can also explain the velocity gradient as well as the extended morphology and the high velocity dispersion found in the outskirt. Higher S/N and resolution data are necessary to conclude the physical origin of the velocity gradient in GN-z11.

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arXiv2024

Low [O/Fe] Ratio in a Luminous Galaxy at the Early Cosmic Epoch ($z>10$): Signature of Short Delay Time or Bright Hypernovae/Pair-Instability Supernovae?

We present an [O/Fe] ratio of a luminous galaxy GN-z11 at $z=10.60$ derived with the deep public JWST/NIRSpec data. We fit the medium-resolution grating (G140M, G235M, and G395M) data with the model spectra consisting of BPASS-stellar and CLOUDY-nebular spectra in the rest-frame UV wavelength ranges with Fe absorption lines, carefully masking out the other emission and absorption lines in the same manner as previous studies conducted for lower redshift ($z\sim 2-6$) galaxies with oxygen abundance measurements. We obtain an Fe-rich abundance ratio $\mathrm{[O/Fe]}=-0.37^{+0.43}_{-0.22}$, which is confirmed with the independent deep prism data as well as by the classic 1978 index method. This [O/Fe] measurement is lower than measured for star-forming galaxies at $z\sim 2-3$. Because $z=10.60$ is an early epoch after the Big Bang ($\sim 430$ Myr) and the first star formation (likely $\sim 200$ Myr), it is difficult to produce Fe by Type Ia supernovae (SNeIa) requiring sufficient delay time for white-dwarf formation and gas accretion. The Fe-rich abundance ratio in GN-z11 suggests that the delay time is short, or that the major Fe enrichment is not accomplished by SNeIa but bright hypernovae (BrHNe) and/or pair-instability supernovae (PISNe), where the yield models of BrHNe and PISNe explain Fe, Ne, and O abundance ratios of GN-z11. The [O/Fe] measurement is not too low to rule out the connection between GN-z11 and globular clusters (GCs) previously suggested by the nitrogen abundance, but rather supports the connection with a GC population at high [N/O] if a metal dilution process exists.

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arXiv2024

Exploring Low-Mass Black Holes through Tidal Disruption Events in the Early Universe: Perspectives in the Era of JWST, RST, and LSST Surveys

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has recently uncovered the presence of low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at $z=4-11$. Spectroscopic observations have provided estimates of the nuclear black hole (BH) masses for these sources, extending the low-mass boundary down to $M_{\rm BH} \sim 10^{6-7}~M_\odot$. Despite this breakthrough, the observed lowest mass of BHs is still $\gtrsim 1-2$ orders of magnitude heavier than the predicted mass range of their seed population, thereby leaving the initial mass distribution of massive BHs poorly constrained. In this paper, we focus on UV-to-optical (in rest frame) flares of stellar tidal disruption events (TDEs) embedded in low-luminosity AGNs as a tool to explore low-mass BH populations with $\lesssim 10^{4-6}~M_\odot$. We provide an estimate of the TDE rate over $z=4-11$ associated wth the properties of JWST-detected AGN host galaxies, and find that deep and wide survey programs with JWST and Roman Space Telescope (RST) can detect and identify TDEs up to $z\simeq 4-7$. The predicted detection numbers of TDEs at $z>4$ in one year are $N_{\rm TDE} \sim 2-10~(0.2-2)$ for the JADES-Medium (and COSMOS-Web) survey with JWST, and $N_{\rm TDE} \sim 2-10~(8-50)$ for the Deep (and Wide) tier of the High-latitude Time Domain Survey with RST. We further discuss the survey strategies to hunt for the transient high-redshift TDEs in wide-field surveys with RST, as well as a joint observation campaign with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory for enhancing the detection number. The high-redshift TDE search will give us a unique opportunity to probe the mass distribution of early BH populations.

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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

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

FINER: Far-Infrared Nebular Emission Receiver for the Large Millimeter Telescope

Unveiling the emergence and prevalence of massive/bright galaxies during the epoch of reionization and beyond, within the first 600 million years of the Universe, stands as a pivotal pursuit in astronomy. Remarkable progress has been made by JWST in identifying an immense population of bright galaxies, which hints at exceptionally efficient galaxy assembly processes. However, the underlying physical mechanisms propelling their rapid growth remain unclear. With this in mind, millimeter and submillimeter-wave spectroscopic observations of redshifted far-infrared spectral lines, particularly the [O III] 88 micron and [C II] 158 micron lines, offers a crucial pathway to address this fundamental query. To this end, we develop a dual-polarization sideband-separating superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer receiver, FINER, for the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) situated in Mexico. Harnessing advancements from ALMA's wideband sensitivity upgrade (WSU) technology, FINER covers radio frequencies spanning 120-360 GHz, delivering an instantaneous intermediate frequency (IF) of 3-21 GHz per sideband per polarization, which is followed by a set of 10.24 GHz-wide digital spectrometers. At 40% of ALMA's light-collecting area, the LMT's similar atmospheric transmittance and FINER's 5 times wider bandwidth compared to ALMA culminate in an unparalleled spectral scanning capability in the northern hemisphere, paving the way for finer spectral-resolution detection of distant galaxies.

astro-ph.IM↗

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

Tip of the iceberg: overmassive black holes at 4<z<7 found by JWST are not inconsistent with the local $\mathcal{M}_{\rm BH}$-$\mathcal{M}_\star$ relation

JWST is revealing a new remarkable population of high-redshift ($z\gtrsim4$), low-luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) in deep surveys and detecting the host galaxy stellar light in the most luminous and massive quasars at $z\sim 6$ for the first time. Latest results claim supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in these systems to be significantly more massive than expected from the local BH mass - stellar mass ($\mathcal{M}_{\rm BH} - \mathcal{M}_\star$) relation and that this is not due to sample selection effects. Through detailed statistical modeling, we demonstrate that the coupled effects of selection biases (i.e., finite detection limit and requirements on detecting broad lines) and measurement uncertainties in $\mathcal{M}_{\rm BH}$ and $\mathcal{M}_\star$ can in fact largely account for the reported offset and flattening in the observed $\mathcal{M}_{\rm BH} - \mathcal{M}_\star$ relation toward the upper envelope of the local relation, even for those at $\mathcal{M}_{\rm BH} < 10^8\,M_{\odot}$. We further investigate the possible evolution of the $\mathcal{M}_{\rm BH} - \mathcal{M}_\star$ relation at $z\gtrsim 4$ with careful treatment of observational biases and consideration of the degeneracy between intrinsic evolution and dispersion in this relation. The bias-corrected intrinsic $\mathcal{M}_{\rm BH} - \mathcal{M}_\star$ relation in the low-mass regime suggests that there might be a large population of low-mass BHs (${\rm log}\,\mathcal{M}_{\rm BH} \lesssim 5$), possibly originating from lighter seeds, remaining undetected or unidentified even in the deepest JWST surveys. These results have important consequences for JWST studies of BH seeding and the coevolution between SMBHs and their host galaxies at the earliest cosmic times.

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arXiv2024

Sub-Parsec-Scale Jet-Driven Water Maser with Possible Gravitational Acceleration in the Radio Galaxy NGC 1052

We report sub-pc-scale observations of the 321-GHz H$_2$O emission line in the radio galaxy NGC 1052. The H$_2$O line emitter size is constrained in $< 0.6$ milliarcsec distributed on the continuum core component. The brightness temperature exceeding $10^6$ K and the intensity variation indicate certain evidence for maser emission. The maser spectrum consists of redshifted and blueshifted velocity components spanning $\sim 400$ km s$^{-1}$, separated by a local minimum around the systemic velocity of the galaxy. Spatial distribution of maser components show velocity gradient along the jet direction, implying that the population-inverted gas is driven by the jets interacting with the molecular torus. We identified significant change of the maser spectra between two sessions separated by 14 days. The maser profile showed a radial velocity drift of $127 \pm 13$ km s$^{-1}$ yr$^{-1}$ implying inward gravitational acceleration at 5000 Schwarzschild radii. The results demonstrate feasibility of future VLBI observations to resolve the jet-torus interacting region.

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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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