2021/04/30 by N. Laporte, Nicolas Laporte, R. A. Meyer +8 · 80 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Balmer series #Emission spectrum #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Photometric redshift #Physics #Population #Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology #Redshift #Spectral line #Star formation #Stellar mass #Stellar population #astro-ph.CO #astro-ph.GA
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/mnras/stab1239
published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 505(3), 3336-3346 (Oxford University Press) · updated version with correction of a numerical error on MACS1149-JD1 age estimate. The predicted earlier luminosity for this galaxy has been corrected on Figure 11
openalex created_date 2021/04/26 · openalex publication_date 2021/05/04 · arxiv created 2021/11/17 · arxiv updated 2021/11/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
ABSTRACT We discuss the spectral energy distributions and physical properties of six galaxies whose photometric redshifts suggest they lie beyond a redshift z ≃ 9. Each was selected on account of a prominent excess seen in the Spitzer/IRAC 4.5 μm band which, for a redshift above z = 9.0, likely indicates the presence of a rest-frame Balmer break and a stellar component that formed earlier than a redshift z ≃ 10. In addition to constraining the earlier star formation activity on the basis of fits using stellar population models with BAGPIPES, we have undertaken the necessary, but challenging, follow-up spectroscopy for each candidate using various combinations of Keck/MOSFIRE, VLT/X-shooter, Gemini/FLAMINGOS2, and ALMA. Based on either Lyman-α or [O iii] 88 μm emission, we determine a convincing redshift of z = 8.78 for GN-z-10-3 and a likely redshift of z = 9.28 for the lensed galaxy MACS0416-JD. For GN-z9-1, we conclude the case remains promising for a source beyond z ≃ 9. Together with earlier spectroscopic data for MACS1149-JD1, our analysis of this enlarged sample provides further support for a cosmic star formation history extending beyond redshifts z ≃ 10. We use our best-fitting stellar population models to reconstruct the past rest-frame UV luminosities of our sources and discuss the implications for tracing earlier progenitors of such systems with the James Webb Space Telescope.