Search for: All records

Motivated by spectroscopic confirmation of three overdense regions in the COSMOS field at z ∼ 3.35, we analyse the uniquely deep multiwavelength photometry and extensive spectroscopy available in the field to identify any further related structure. We construct a three-dimensional density map using the Voronoi tesselation Monte Carlo method and find additional regions of significant overdensity. Here, we present and examine a set of six overdense structures at 3.20 < z < 3.45 in the COSMOS field, the most well-characterized of which, PCl J0959 + 0235, has 80 spectroscopically confirmed members and an estimated mass of 1.35 × 1015 M⊙, and is modelled to virialize at z ∼ 1.5−2.0. These structures contain 10 overdense peaks with >5σ overdensity separated by up to 70 cMpc, suggestive of a proto-supercluster similar to the Hyperion system at z ∼ 2.45. Upcoming photometric surveys with JWST such as COSMOS-Web, and further spectroscopic follow-up will enable more extensive analysis of the evolutionary effects that such an environment may have on its component galaxies at these early times.

In this work, we publish stellar velocity dispersions, sizes, and dynamical masses for eight ultramassive galaxies (UMGs;$\log (M_{*}/M_{\odot })$> 11),z≳ 3) from the Massive Ancient Galaxies Atz> 3 NEar-infrared (MAGAZ3NE) Survey, more than doubling the number of such galaxies with velocity dispersion measurements at this epoch. Using the deep Keck/MOSFIRE and Keck/NIRES spectroscopy of these objects in theHandKbandpasses, we obtain large velocity dispersions of ∼400 km s⁻¹for most of the objects, which are some of the highest stellar velocity dispersions measured and ∼40% larger than those measured for galaxies of similar mass atz∼ 1.7. The sizes of these objects are also smaller by a factor of 1.5–3 compared to this samez∼ 1.7 sample. We combine these large velocity dispersions and small sizes to obtain dynamical masses. The dynamical masses are similar to the stellar masses of these galaxies, consistent with a Chabrier initial mass function (IMF). Considered alongside previous studies of massive quiescent galaxies across 0.2 <z< 4.0, there is evidence for an evolution in the relation between the dynamical mass–stellar mass ratio and velocity dispersion as a function of redshift. This implies an IMF with fewer low-mass stars (e.g., Chabrier IMF) for massive quiescent galaxies at higher redshifts in conflict with the bottom-heavy IMF (e.g., Salpeter IMF) found in their likelyz∼ 0 descendants, though a number of alternative explanations such as a different dynamical structure or significant rotation are not ruled out. Similar to data at lower redshifts, we see evidence for an increase of IMF normalization with velocity dispersion, though thez≳ 3 trend is steeper than that forz∼ 0.2 early-type galaxies and offset to lower dynamical-to-stellar mass ratios.

We report the discovery of MAGAZ3NE J095924+022537, a spectroscopically confirmed protocluster at$z={3.3665}_{-0.0012}^{+0.0009}$around a spectroscopically confirmedUVJ-quiescent ultramassive galaxy (UMG;$M_{\star }={2.34}_{-0.34}^{+0.23}\times {10}^{11}{M}_{\odot }$) in the COSMOS UltraVISTA field. We present a total of 38 protocluster members (14 spectroscopic and 24 photometric), including the UMG. Notably, and in marked contrast to protoclusters previously reported at this epoch that have been found to contain predominantly star-forming members, we measure an elevated fraction of quiescent galaxies relative to the coeval field (${73.3}_{-16.9}^{+26.7}\mathrm{\%}$versus${11.6}_{-4.9}^{+7.1}\mathrm{\%}$for galaxies with stellar massM_⋆≥ 10¹¹M_⊙). This high quenched fraction provides a striking and important counterexample to the seeming ubiquitousness of star-forming galaxies in protoclusters atz> 2 and suggests, rather, that protoclusters exist in a diversity of evolutionary states in the early universe. We discuss the possibility that we might be observing either “early mass quenching” or nonclassical “environmental quenching.” We also present the discovery of MAGAZ3NE J100028+023349, a second spectroscopically confirmed protocluster, at a very similar redshift of$z={3.3801}_{-0.0281}^{+0.0213}$. We present a total of 20 protocluster members, 12 of which are photometric and eight spectroscopic including a poststarburst UMG ($M_{\star }={2.95}_{-0.20}^{+0.21}\times {10}^{11}{M}_{\odot }$). Protoclusters MAGAZ3NE J0959 and MAGAZ3NE J1000 are separated by 18′ on the sky (35 comoving Mpc), in good agreement with predictions from simulations for the size of “Coma”-type cluster progenitors at this epoch. It is highly likely that the two UMGs are the progenitors of Brightest Cluster Galaxies seen in massive virialized clusters at lower redshift.