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1. Rest-frame UV Colors for Faint Galaxies at z ∼ 9–16 with the JWST NGDEEP Survey

   https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad2de4  

   Morales, Alexa M. ; Finkelstein, Steven L. ; Leung, Gene C. K. ; Bagley, Micaela B. ; Cleri, Nikko J. ; Dave, Romeel ; Dickinson, Mark ; Ferguson, Henry C. ; Hathi, Nimish P. ; Jones, Ewan ; et al ( March 2024 , The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

   We present measurements of the rest-frame UV spectral slope,β, for a sample of 36 faint star-forming galaxies atz∼ 9–16 discovered in one of the deepest JWST NIRCam surveys to date, the Next Generation Deep Extragalactic Exploratory Public Survey. We use robust photometric measurements for UV-faint galaxies (down toM_UV∼ −16), originally published in Leung et al., and measure values of the UV spectral slope via photometric power-law fitting to both the observed photometry and stellar population models obtained through spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting withBagpipes. We obtain a median and 68% confidence interval forβfrom photometric power-law fitting of${\beta }_{\mathrm{PL}}=-{2.7}_{-0.5}^{+0.5}$and from SED fitting,${\beta }_{\mathrm{SED}}=-{2.3}_{-0.1}^{+0.2}$for the full sample. We show that when only two to three photometric detections are available, SED fitting has a lower scatter and reduced biases than photometric power-law fitting. We quantify this bias and find that after correction the median${\beta }_{\mathrm{SED},\mathrm{corr}}=-{2.5}_{-0.2}^{+0.2}$. We measure physical properties for our galaxies withBagpipesand find that our faint ($M_{\mathrm{UV}}=-{18.1}_{-0.9}^{+0.7}$) sample is low in mass ($\log [M_{*}/M_{\odot }]={7.7}_{-0.5}^{+0.5}$), fairly dust-poor ($A_{\mathrm{v}}={0.1}_{-0.1}^{+0.2}$mag), and modestly young ($\log [\mathrm{age}]={7.8}_{-0.8}^{+0.2}$yr) with a median star formation rate of$\log (\mathrm{SFR})=-{0.3}_{-0.4}^{+0.4}{M}_{\odot }{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$. We find no strong evidence for ultrablue UV spectral slopes (β∼ −3) within our sample, as would be expected for exotically metal-poor (Z/Z_⊙< 10⁻³) stellar populations with very high Lyman continuum escape fractions. Our observations are consistent with model predictions that galaxies of these stellar masses atz∼ 9–16 should have only modestly low metallicities (Z/Z_⊙∼ 0.1–0.2).

    

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2. Morphologies of Galaxies at z ≳ 9 Uncovered by JWST/NIRCam Imaging: Cosmic Size Evolution and an Identification of an Extremely Compact Bright Galaxy at z ∼ 12

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acd44a  

   Ono, Yoshiaki ; Harikane, Yuichi ; Ouchi, Masami ; Yajima, Hidenobu ; Abe, Makito ; Isobe, Yuki ; Shibuya, Takatoshi ; Wise, John H. ; Zhang, Yechi ; Nakajima, Kimihiko ; et al ( July 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We present morphologies of galaxies atz≳ 9 resolved by JWST/NIRCam 2–5μm imaging. Our sample consists of 22 galaxy candidates identified by stringent dropout and photo-zcriteria in GLASS, CEERS, SMACS J0723, and Stephan’s Quintet flanking fields, one of which has been spectroscopically identified atz= 11.44. We perform surface brightness (SB) profile fitting with GALFIT for six bright galaxies with a signal-to-noise ratio = 10–40 on an individual basis and for stacked faint galaxies with secure point-spread functions (PSFs) of the NIRCam real data, carefully evaluating systematics by Monte Carlo simulations. We compare our results with those of previous JWST studies, and confirm that the effective radiir_eof our measurements are consistent with those of previous measurements atz∼ 9. We obtainr_e≃ 200–300 pc with the exponential-like profiles, Sérsic indexes ofn≃ 1–1.5, for galaxies atz∼ 12–16, indicating that the relation ofr_e∝ (1 +z)^sfor$s=-{1.22}_{-0.16}^{+0.17}$explains cosmic evolution overz∼ 0–16 for$\sim L_{z=3}^{*}$galaxies. One bright (M_UV= −21 mag) galaxy atz∼ 12, GL-z12-1, has an extremely compact profile withr_e= 39 ± 11 pc that is surely extended over the PSF. Even in the case that the GL-z12-1 SB is fit by active galactic nuclei + galaxy composite profiles, the best-fit galaxy component is again compact,$r_{\mathrm{e}}={48}_{-15}^{+38}$pc, which is significantly (>5σ) smaller than the typicalr_evalue atz∼ 12. Compared with numerical simulations, we find that such a compact galaxy naturally forms atz≳ 10, and that frequent mergers at the early epoch produce more extended galaxies following ther_e∝ (1 +z)^srelation.

    

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3. ALMA Reveals Extended Cool Gas and Hot Ionized Outflows in a Typical Star-forming Galaxy at Z = 7.13

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac795b  

   Akins, Hollis B. ; Fujimoto, Seiji ; Finlator, Kristian ; Watson, Darach ; Knudsen, Kirsten K. ; Richard, Johan ; C. Bakx, Tom J. L. ; Hashimoto, Takuya ; Inoue, Akio K. ; Matsuo, Hiroshi ; et al ( July 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We present spatially resolved morphological properties of [CII] 158μm, [OIII] 88μm, dust, and rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) continuum emission for A1689-zD1, a strongly lensed, sub-L* galaxy atz= 7.13, by utilizing deep Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations. While the [OIII] line and UV continuum are compact, the [CII] line is extended up to a radius ofr∼ 12 kpc. Using multi-band rest-frame far-infrared continuum data ranging from 52 to 400μm, we find an average dust temperature and emissivity index of$T_{\mathrm{dust}}={41}_{-14}^{+17}$K and$\beta ={1.7}_{-0.7}^{+1.1}$, respectively, across the galaxy. We find slight differences in the dust continuum profiles at different wavelengths, which may indicate that the dust temperature decreases with distance. We map the star formation rate (SFR) via IR and UV luminosities and determine a total SFR of 37 ± 1M_⊙yr⁻¹with an obscured fraction of 87%. While the [OIII] line is a good tracer of the SFR, the [CII] line shows deviation from the localL_[CII]-SFR relations in the outskirts of the galaxy. Finally, we observe a clear difference in the line profile between [CII] and [OIII], with significant residuals (∼5σ) in the [OIII] line spectrum after subtracting a single Gaussian model. This suggests a possible origin of the extended [CII] structure from the cooling of hot ionized outflows. The extended [CII] and high-velocity [OIII] emission may both contribute in part to the highL_[OIII]/L_[CII]ratios recently reported inz> 6 galaxies.

    

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4. Mapping Obscuration to Reionization with ALMA (MORA): 2 mm Efficiently Selects the Highest-redshift Obscured Galaxies

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac2eb4  

   Casey, Caitlin M. ; Zavala, Jorge A. ; Manning, Sinclaire M. ; Aravena, Manuel ; Béthermin, Matthieu ; Caputi, Karina I. ; Champagne, Jaclyn B. ; Clements, David L. ; Drew, Patrick ; Finkelstein, Steven L. ; et al ( December 2021 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We present the characteristics of 2 mm selected sources from the largest Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) blank-field contiguous survey conducted to date, the Mapping Obscuration to Reionization with ALMA (MORA) survey covering 184 arcmin²at 2 mm. Twelve of 13 detections above 5σare attributed to emission from galaxies, 11 of which are dominated by cold dust emission. These sources have a median redshift of$〈z_{2\mathrm{mm}}〉={3.6}_{-0.3}^{+0.4}$primarily based on optical/near-infrared photometric redshifts with some spectroscopic redshifts, with 77% ± 11% of sources atz> 3 and 38% ± 12% of sources atz> 4. This implies that 2 mm selection is an efficient method for identifying the highest-redshift dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs). Lower-redshift DSFGs (z< 3) are far more numerous than those atz> 3 yet are likely to drop out at 2 mm. MORA shows that DSFGs with star formation rates in excess of 300M_⊙yr⁻¹and a relative rarity of ∼10⁻⁵Mpc⁻³contribute ∼30% to the integrated star formation rate density at 3 <z< 6. The volume density of 2 mm selected DSFGs is consistent with predictions from some cosmological simulations and is similar to the volume density of their hypothesized descendants: massive, quiescent galaxies atz> 2. Analysis of MORA sources’ spectral energy distributions hint at steeper empirically measured dust emissivity indices than reported in typical literature studies, with$〈\beta 〉={2.2}_{-0.4}^{+0.5}$. The MORA survey represents an important step in taking census of obscured star formation in the universe’s first few billion years, but larger area 2 mm surveys are needed to more fully characterize this rare population and push to the detection of the universe’s first dusty galaxies.

    

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5. Short GRB Host Galaxies. II. A Legacy Sample of Redshifts, Stellar Population Properties, and Implications for Their Neutron Star Merger Origins

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac91d1  

   Nugent, Anya E. ; Fong, Wen-Fai ; Dong 董, Yuxin 雨欣 ; Leja, Joel ; Berger, Edo ; Zevin, Michael ; Chornock, Ryan ; Cobb, Bethany E. ; Kelley, Luke Zoltan ; Kilpatrick, Charles D. ; et al ( November 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We present the stellar population properties of 69 short gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxies, representing the largest uniformly modeled sample to date. Using theProspectorstellar population inference code, we jointly fit photometry and/or spectroscopy of each host galaxy. We find a population median redshift of$z={0.64}_{-0.32}^{+0.83}$(68% confidence), including nine photometric redshifts atz≳ 1. We further find a median mass-weighted age oft_m=${0.8}_{-0.53}^{+2.71}$Gyr, stellar mass of log(M_*/M_⊙) =${9.69}_{-0.65}^{+0.75}$, star formation rate of SFR =${1.44}_{-1.35}^{+9.37}$M_⊙yr⁻¹, stellar metallicity of log(Z_*/Z_⊙) =$-{0.38}_{-0.42}^{+0.44}$, and dust attenuation of$A_V={0.43}_{-0.36}^{+0.85}$mag (68% confidence). Overall, the majority of short GRB hosts are star-forming (≈84%), with small fractions that are either transitioning (≈6%) or quiescent (≈10%); however, we observe a much larger fraction (≈40%) of quiescent and transitioning hosts atz≲ 0.25, commensurate with galaxy evolution. We find that short GRB hosts populate the star-forming main sequence of normal field galaxies, but do not include as many high-mass galaxies as the general galaxy population, implying that their binary neutron star (BNS) merger progenitors are dependent on a combination of host star formation and stellar mass. The distribution of ages and redshifts implies a broad delay-time distribution, with a fast-merging channel atz> 1 and a decreased neutron star binary formation efficiency from high to low redshifts. If short GRB hosts are representative of BNS merger hosts within the horizon of current gravitational wave detectors, these results can inform future searches for electromagnetic counterparts. All of the data and modeling products are available on the Broadband Repository for Investigating Gamma-ray burst Host Traits website.

    

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