TY - JOUR
T1 - Early Results from GLASS-JWST. XXI. Rapid Asembly of a Galaxy at z = 6.23 Revealed by Its C/O Abundance
AU - Jones, Tucker
AU - Sanders, Ryan
AU - Chen, Yuguang
AU - Wang, Xin
AU - Morishita, Takahiro
AU - Roberts-Borsani, Guido
AU - Treu, Tommaso
AU - Dressler, Alan
AU - Merlin, Emiliano
AU - Paris, Diego
AU - Santini, Paola
AU - Bergamini, Pietro
AU - Henry, A.
AU - Huntzinger, Erin
AU - Nanayakkara, Themiya
AU - Boyett, Kristan
AU - Bradac, Marusa
AU - Brammer, Gabriel
AU - Calabró, Antonello
AU - Glazebrook, Karl
AU - Grasha, Kathryn
AU - Mascia, Sara
AU - Pentericci, Laura
AU - Trenti, Michele
AU - Vulcani, Benedetta
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
PY - 2023/7/1
Y1 - 2023/7/1
N2 - The abundance of carbon relative to oxygen (C/O) is a promising probe of star formation history in the early universe, as the ratio changes with time due to production of these elements by different nucleosynthesis pathways. We present a measurement of log ( C / O ) = − 1.01 ± 0.12 (stat) ±0.15 (sys) in a z = 6.23 galaxy observed as part of the GLASS-JWST Early Release Science Program. Notably, we achieve good precision thanks to the detection of the rest-frame ultraviolet O iii], C iii], and C iv emission lines delivered by JWST/NIRSpec. The C/O abundance is ∼0.8 dex lower than the solar value and is consistent with the expected yield from core-collapse supernovae, indicating that longer-lived intermediate-mass stars have not fully contributed to carbon enrichment. This in turn implies rapid buildup of a young stellar population with age ≲100 Myr in a galaxy seen ∼900 Myr after the big bang. Our chemical abundance analysis is consistent with spectral energy distribution modeling of JWST/NIRCam photometric data, which indicates a current stellar mass log M * / M ☉ = 8.4 − 0.2 + 0.4 and specific star formation rate ≃20 Gyr−1. These results showcase the value of chemical abundances and C/O in particular to study the earliest stages of galaxy assembly.
AB - The abundance of carbon relative to oxygen (C/O) is a promising probe of star formation history in the early universe, as the ratio changes with time due to production of these elements by different nucleosynthesis pathways. We present a measurement of log ( C / O ) = − 1.01 ± 0.12 (stat) ±0.15 (sys) in a z = 6.23 galaxy observed as part of the GLASS-JWST Early Release Science Program. Notably, we achieve good precision thanks to the detection of the rest-frame ultraviolet O iii], C iii], and C iv emission lines delivered by JWST/NIRSpec. The C/O abundance is ∼0.8 dex lower than the solar value and is consistent with the expected yield from core-collapse supernovae, indicating that longer-lived intermediate-mass stars have not fully contributed to carbon enrichment. This in turn implies rapid buildup of a young stellar population with age ≲100 Myr in a galaxy seen ∼900 Myr after the big bang. Our chemical abundance analysis is consistent with spectral energy distribution modeling of JWST/NIRCam photometric data, which indicates a current stellar mass log M * / M ☉ = 8.4 − 0.2 + 0.4 and specific star formation rate ≃20 Gyr−1. These results showcase the value of chemical abundances and C/O in particular to study the earliest stages of galaxy assembly.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85164432097&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3847/2041-8213/acd938
DO - 10.3847/2041-8213/acd938
M3 - Article
SN - 2041-8205
VL - 951
JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters
JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters
IS - 1
M1 - L17
ER -