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Abstract The LyαTomography IMACS Survey (LATIS) has produced large 3D maps of the intergalactic medium (IGM), providing a new window on the cosmic web atz∼ 2.5. A key advantage of Lyαtomography is that it enables the discovery of overdense regions without the need to detect their galaxy members in spectroscopic surveys, circumventing possible selection biases. We use these maps to identify 37 IGM-selected overdensities as regions of strong and spatially coherent Lyαabsorption. Simulations indicate that 85% of these are protoclusters, defined as the progenitors ofz= 0 halos with massM_desc> 10¹⁴M_⊙, and that nearly all of the rest are protogroups (10^13.5<M_desc/M_⊙< 10¹⁴). We estimate the masses and space densities of the IGM-selected overdensities and show they are in accordance with mock surveys. We investigate the LATIS counterparts of some previously reported protoclusters, including the proto-supercluster Hyperion. We identify a new component of Hyperion beyond its previously known extent. We show that the Lyαtransmission of the galaxy density peaks within Hyperion is consistent with a simple physical model (the fluctuating Gunn–Peterson approximation), suggesting that active galactic nucleus feedback or other processes have not affected the large-scale gas ionization within this structure as a whole. The LATIS catalog represents an order-of-magnitude increase in the number of IGM-selected protogroups and protoclusters and will enable new investigations of the connections between galaxies and their large-scale environments at cosmic noon. 

Abstract We investigate the consistency of intergalactic medium (IGM) tomography and galaxy surveys as tracers of the cosmic web and protoclusters atz ∼ 2.5. We use maps from the LyαTomography IMACS Survey (LATIS), which trace the distributions of Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) and IGM Lyαabsorption on ≃4h⁻¹cMpc scales within the same large volume. Overall, the joint distribution of IGM absorption and LBG density is well constrained and accurately described by a simple physical model. However, we identify several exceptional locations exhibiting strong IGM absorption indicative of a massive protocluster, yet no coincident overdensity of LBGs. As discussed by Newman et al., whose results we revise using the complete LATIS survey data, these are candidate ultraviolet (UV)-dim protoclusters that may harbor distinct galaxy populations missed by rest-UV spectroscopic surveys. We present follow-up observations targeting one such candidate embedded within Antu, an extended region of IGM absorption atz= 2.685 that contains five IGM-selected protoclusters and has a total mass of 3 × 10¹⁵M_⊙. Lyαemitters trace the overall structure of Antu but avoid the center of the candidate UV-dim protocluster, which also appears to contain no submillimeter-selected sources. A near-infrared spectroscopic galaxy census is needed to determine whether this large region is dominated by galaxies with reduced or absent star formation activity. This work adds to a growing and puzzling literature on discrepancies among different galaxy and IGM tracers, whose resolution promises to shed light on the early stages of environment-dependent galaxy evolution. 

Abstract We report the discovery of 15 exceptionally luminous 10 ≲z≲ 14 candidate galaxies discovered in the first 0.28 deg²of JWST/NIRCam imaging from the COSMOS-Web survey. These sources span rest-frame UV magnitudes of −20.5 >M_UV> −22, and thus constitute the most intrinsically luminousz≳ 10 candidates identified by JWST to date. Selected via NIRCam imaging, deep ground-based observations corroborate their detection and help significantly constrain their photometric redshifts. We analyze their spectral energy distributions using multiple open-source codes and evaluate the probability of low-redshift solutions; we conclude that 12/15 (80%) are likely genuinez≳ 10 sources and 3/15 (20%) likely low-redshift contaminants. Three of ourz∼ 12 candidates push the limits of early stellar mass assembly: they have estimated stellar masses ∼ 5 × 10⁹M_⊙, implying an effective stellar baryon fraction ofϵ_⋆∼ 0.2−0.5, whereϵ_⋆≡M_⋆/(f_bM_halo). The assembly of such stellar reservoirs is made possible due to rapid, burst-driven star formation on timescales < 100 Myr where the star formation rate may far outpace the growth of the underlying dark matter halos. This is supported by the similar volume densities inferred forM_⋆∼ 10¹⁰M_⊙galaxies relative toM_⋆∼ 10⁹M_⊙—both about 10⁻⁶Mpc⁻³—implying they live in halos of comparable mass. At such high redshifts, the duty cycle for starbursts would be of order unity, which could cause the observed change in the shape of the UV luminosity function from a double power law to a Schechter function atz≈ 8. Spectroscopic redshift confirmation and ensuing constraints of their masses will be critical to understand how, and if, such early massive galaxies push the limits of galaxy formation in the Lambda cold dark matter paradigm. 

Abstract The 2 mm Mapping Obscuration to Reionization with ALMA (MORA) Survey was designed to detect high-redshift ( z ≳ 4), massive, dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs). Here we present two likely high-redshift sources, identified in the survey, whose physical characteristics are consistent with a class of optical/near-infrared (OIR)-invisible DSFGs found elsewhere in the literature. We first perform a rigorous analysis of all available photometric data to fit spectral energy distributions and estimate redshifts before deriving physical properties based on our findings. Our results suggest the two galaxies, called MORA-5 and MORA-9, represent two extremes of the “OIR-dark” class of DSFGs. MORA-5 ( z phot = 4.3 − 1.3 + 1.5 ) is a significantly more active starburst with a star formation rate (SFR) of 830 − 190 + 340 M ⊙ yr −1 compared to MORA-9 ( z phot = 4.3 − 1.0 + 1.3 ), whose SFR is a modest 200 − 60 + 250 M ⊙ yr −1 . Based on the stellar masses ( M ⋆ ≈ 10 10−11 M ⊙ ), space density ( n ∼ (5 ± 2) × 10 −6 Mpc −3 , which incorporates two other spectroscopically confirmed OIR-dark DSFGs in the MORA sample at z = 4.6 and z = 5.9), and gas depletion timescales (<1 Gyr) of these sources, we find evidence supporting the theory that OIR-dark DSFGs are the progenitors of recently discovered 3 < z < 4 massive quiescent galaxies. 

Abstract 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. 

Abstract We report the discovery of an accreting supermassive black hole atz= 8.679. This galaxy, denoted here as CEERS_1019, was previously discovered as a Lyα-break galaxy by Hubble with a Lyαredshift from Keck. As part of the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey, we have observed this source with JWST/NIRSpec, MIRI, NIRCam, and NIRCam/WFSS and uncovered a plethora of emission lines. The Hβline is best fit by a narrow plus a broad component, where the latter is measured at 2.5σwith an FWHM ∼1200 km s⁻¹. We conclude this originates in the broadline region of an active galactic nucleus (AGN). This is supported by the presence of weak high-ionization lines (N V, N IV], and C III]), as well as a spatial point-source component. The implied mass of the black hole (BH) is log (M_BH/M_⊙) = 6.95 ± 0.37, and we estimate that it is accreting at 1.2 ± 0.5 times the Eddington limit. The 1–8μm photometric spectral energy distribution shows a continuum dominated by starlight and constrains the host galaxy to be massive (log M/M_⊙∼9.5) and highly star-forming (star formation rate, or SFR ∼ 30 M_⊙yr⁻¹; log sSFR ∼ − 7.9 yr⁻¹). The line ratios show that the gas is metal-poor (Z/Z_⊙∼ 0.1), dense (n_e∼ 10³cm⁻³), and highly ionized (logU∼ − 2.1). We use this present highest-redshift AGN discovery to place constraints on BH seeding models and find that a combination of either super-Eddington accretion from stellar seeds or Eddington accretion from very massive BH seeds is required to form this object.