The Physical Conditions of Emission-line Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn from JWST/NIRSpec Spectroscopy in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations

Jonathan R. Trump; Pablo Arrabal Haro; Raymond C. Simons; Bren E. Backhaus; Ricardo O. Amorín; Mark Dickinson; Vital Fernández; Casey Papovich; David C. Nicholls; Lisa J. Kewley; Samantha W. Brunker; John J. Salzer; Stephen M. Wilkins; Omar Almaini; Micaela B. Bagley; Danielle A. Berg; Rachana Bhatawdekar; Laura Bisigello; Véronique Buat; Denis Burgarella; Antonello Calabrò; Caitlin M. Casey; Laure Ciesla; Nikko J. Cleri; Justin W. Cole; M. C. Cooper; Asantha R. Cooray; Luca Costantin; Darren Croton; Henry C. Ferguson; Steven L. Finkelstein; Seiji Fujimoto; Jonathan P. Gardner; Eric Gawiser; Mauro Giavalisco; Andrea Grazian; Norman A. Grogin; Nimish P. Hathi; Michaela Hirschmann; Benne W. Holwerda; Marc Huertas-Company; Taylor A. Hutchison; Shardha Jogee; Stéphanie Juneau; Intae Jung; Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe; Allison Kirkpatrick; Dale D. Kocevski; Anton M. Koekemoer; Jennifer M. Lotz; Ray A. Lucas; Benjamin Magnelli; Jasleen Matharu; Pablo G. Pérez-González; Nor Pirzkal; Marc Rafelski; Caitlin Rose; Lise Marie Seillé; Rachel S. Somerville; Amber N. Straughn; Sandro Tacchella; Brittany N. Vanderhoof; Benjamin J. Weiner; Stijn Wuyts; L. Y. Aaron Yung; Jorge A. Zavala

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acba8a

The Physical Conditions of Emission-line Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn from JWST/NIRSpec Spectroscopy in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations

Jonathan R. Trump^*, Pablo Arrabal Haro, Raymond C. Simons, Bren E. Backhaus, Ricardo O. Amorín, Mark Dickinson, Vital Fernández, Casey Papovich, David C. Nicholls, Lisa J. Kewley, Samantha W. Brunker, John J. Salzer, Stephen M. Wilkins, Omar Almaini, Micaela B. Bagley, Danielle A. Berg, Rachana Bhatawdekar, Laura Bisigello, Véronique Buat, Denis BurgarellaAntonello Calabrò, Caitlin M. Casey, Laure Ciesla, Nikko J. Cleri, Justin W. Cole, M. C. Cooper, Asantha R. Cooray, Luca Costantin, Darren Croton, Henry C. Ferguson, Steven L. Finkelstein, Seiji Fujimoto, Jonathan P. Gardner, Eric Gawiser, Mauro Giavalisco, Andrea Grazian, Norman A. Grogin, Nimish P. Hathi, Michaela Hirschmann, Benne W. Holwerda, Marc Huertas-Company, Taylor A. Hutchison, Shardha Jogee, Stéphanie Juneau, Intae Jung, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Allison Kirkpatrick, Dale D. Kocevski, Anton M. Koekemoer, Jennifer M. Lotz, Ray A. Lucas, Benjamin Magnelli, Jasleen Matharu, Pablo G. Pérez-González, Nor Pirzkal, Marc Rafelski, Caitlin Rose, Lise Marie Seillé, Rachel S. Somerville, Amber N. Straughn, Sandro Tacchella, Brittany N. Vanderhoof, Benjamin J. Weiner, Stijn Wuyts, L. Y. Aaron Yung, Jorge A. Zavala

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

60 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present rest-frame optical emission-line flux ratio measurements for five z > 5 galaxies observed by the James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations. We add several quality-control and post-processing steps to the NIRSpec pipeline reduction products in order to ensure reliable relative flux calibration of emission lines that are closely separated in wavelength, despite the uncertain absolute spectrophotometry of the current version of the reductions. Compared to z ∼ 3 galaxies in the literature, the z > 5 galaxies have similar [O iii]λ5008/Hβ ratios, similar [O iii]λ4364/Hγ ratios, and higher (∼0.5 dex) [Ne III]λ3870/[O II]λ3728 ratios. We compare the observations to MAPPINGS V photoionization models and find that the measured [Ne III]λ3870/[O II]λ3728, [O iii]λ4364/Hγ, and [O iii]λ5008/Hβ emission-line ratios are consistent with an interstellar medium (ISM) that has very high ionization ( log ( Q ) ≃ 8 − 9 , units of cm s⁻¹), low metallicity (Z/Z _⊙ ≲ 0.2), and very high pressure ( log ( P / k ) ≃ 8 − 9 , units of cm⁻³). The combination of [O iii]λ4364/Hγ and [O iii]λ(4960 + 5008)/Hβ line ratios indicate very high electron temperatures of 4.1 < log ( T e / K ) < 4.4 , further implying metallicities of Z/Z _⊙ ≲ 0.2 with the application of low-redshift calibrations for “T _e-based” metallicities. These observations represent a tantalizing new view of the physical conditions of the ISM in galaxies at cosmic dawn.

Original language	English
Article number	35
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	945
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acba8a
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2023

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Trump, J. R., Haro, P. A., Simons, R. C., Backhaus, B. E., Amorín, R. O., Dickinson, M., Fernández, V., Papovich, C., Nicholls, D. C., Kewley, L. J., Brunker, S. W., Salzer, J. J., Wilkins, S. M., Almaini, O., Bagley, M. B., Berg, D. A., Bhatawdekar, R., Bisigello, L., Buat, V., ... Zavala, J. A. (2023). The Physical Conditions of Emission-line Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn from JWST/NIRSpec Spectroscopy in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations. Astrophysical Journal, 945(1), Article 35. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acba8a

@article{8c1a53ca938c4be287d3bd2f91d375d5,

title = "The Physical Conditions of Emission-line Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn from JWST/NIRSpec Spectroscopy in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations",

abstract = "We present rest-frame optical emission-line flux ratio measurements for five z > 5 galaxies observed by the James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations. We add several quality-control and post-processing steps to the NIRSpec pipeline reduction products in order to ensure reliable relative flux calibration of emission lines that are closely separated in wavelength, despite the uncertain absolute spectrophotometry of the current version of the reductions. Compared to z ∼ 3 galaxies in the literature, the z > 5 galaxies have similar [O iii]λ5008/Hβ ratios, similar [O iii]λ4364/Hγ ratios, and higher (∼0.5 dex) [Ne III]λ3870/[O II]λ3728 ratios. We compare the observations to MAPPINGS V photoionization models and find that the measured [Ne III]λ3870/[O II]λ3728, [O iii]λ4364/Hγ, and [O iii]λ5008/Hβ emission-line ratios are consistent with an interstellar medium (ISM) that has very high ionization ( log ( Q ) ≃ 8 − 9 , units of cm s−1), low metallicity (Z/Z ⊙ ≲ 0.2), and very high pressure ( log ( P / k ) ≃ 8 − 9 , units of cm−3). The combination of [O iii]λ4364/Hγ and [O iii]λ(4960 + 5008)/Hβ line ratios indicate very high electron temperatures of 4.1 < log ( T e / K ) < 4.4 , further implying metallicities of Z/Z ⊙ ≲ 0.2 with the application of low-redshift calibrations for “T e -based” metallicities. These observations represent a tantalizing new view of the physical conditions of the ISM in galaxies at cosmic dawn.",

author = "Trump, {Jonathan R.} and Haro, {Pablo Arrabal} and Simons, {Raymond C.} and Backhaus, {Bren E.} and Amor{\'i}n, {Ricardo O.} and Mark Dickinson and Vital Fern{\'a}ndez and Casey Papovich and Nicholls, {David C.} and Kewley, {Lisa J.} and Brunker, {Samantha W.} and Salzer, {John J.} and Wilkins, {Stephen M.} and Omar Almaini and Bagley, {Micaela B.} and Berg, {Danielle A.} and Rachana Bhatawdekar and Laura Bisigello and V{\'e}ronique Buat and Denis Burgarella and Antonello Calabr{\`o} and Casey, {Caitlin M.} and Laure Ciesla and Cleri, {Nikko J.} and Cole, {Justin W.} and Cooper, {M. C.} and Cooray, {Asantha R.} and Luca Costantin and Darren Croton and Ferguson, {Henry C.} and Finkelstein, {Steven L.} and Seiji Fujimoto and Gardner, {Jonathan P.} and Eric Gawiser and Mauro Giavalisco and Andrea Grazian and Grogin, {Norman A.} and Hathi, {Nimish P.} and Michaela Hirschmann and Holwerda, {Benne W.} and Marc Huertas-Company and Hutchison, {Taylor A.} and Shardha Jogee and St{\'e}phanie Juneau and Intae Jung and Kartaltepe, {Jeyhan S.} and Allison Kirkpatrick and Kocevski, {Dale D.} and Koekemoer, {Anton M.} and Lotz, {Jennifer M.} and Lucas, {Ray A.} and Benjamin Magnelli and Jasleen Matharu and P{\'e}rez-Gonz{\'a}lez, {Pablo G.} and Nor Pirzkal and Marc Rafelski and Caitlin Rose and Seill{\'e}, {Lise Marie} and Somerville, {Rachel S.} and Straughn, {Amber N.} and Sandro Tacchella and Vanderhoof, {Brittany N.} and Weiner, {Benjamin J.} and Stijn Wuyts and {Aaron Yung}, {L. Y.} and Zavala, {Jorge A.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.",

year = "2023",

month = mar,

day = "1",

doi = "10.3847/1538-4357/acba8a",

language = "English",

volume = "945",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal",

issn = "0004-637X",

publisher = "American Astronomical Society",

number = "1",

}

Trump, JR, Haro, PA, Simons, RC, Backhaus, BE, Amorín, RO, Dickinson, M, Fernández, V, Papovich, C, Nicholls, DC , Kewley, LJ, Brunker, SW, Salzer, JJ, Wilkins, SM, Almaini, O, Bagley, MB, Berg, DA, Bhatawdekar, R, Bisigello, L, Buat, V, Burgarella, D, Calabrò, A, Casey, CM, Ciesla, L, Cleri, NJ, Cole, JW, Cooper, MC, Cooray, AR, Costantin, L, Croton, D, Ferguson, HC, Finkelstein, SL, Fujimoto, S, Gardner, JP, Gawiser, E, Giavalisco, M, Grazian, A, Grogin, NA, Hathi, NP, Hirschmann, M, Holwerda, BW, Huertas-Company, M, Hutchison, TA, Jogee, S, Juneau, S, Jung, I, Kartaltepe, JS, Kirkpatrick, A, Kocevski, DD, Koekemoer, AM, Lotz, JM, Lucas, RA, Magnelli, B, Matharu, J, Pérez-González, PG, Pirzkal, N, Rafelski, M, Rose, C, Seillé, LM, Somerville, RS, Straughn, AN, Tacchella, S, Vanderhoof, BN, Weiner, BJ, Wuyts, S, Aaron Yung, LY & Zavala, JA 2023, 'The Physical Conditions of Emission-line Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn from JWST/NIRSpec Spectroscopy in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 945, no. 1, 35. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acba8a

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Physical Conditions of Emission-line Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn from JWST/NIRSpec Spectroscopy in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations

AU - Trump, Jonathan R.

AU - Haro, Pablo Arrabal

AU - Simons, Raymond C.

AU - Backhaus, Bren E.

AU - Amorín, Ricardo O.

AU - Dickinson, Mark

AU - Fernández, Vital

AU - Papovich, Casey

AU - Nicholls, David C.

AU - Kewley, Lisa J.

AU - Brunker, Samantha W.

AU - Salzer, John J.

AU - Wilkins, Stephen M.

AU - Almaini, Omar

AU - Bagley, Micaela B.

AU - Berg, Danielle A.

AU - Bhatawdekar, Rachana

AU - Bisigello, Laura

AU - Buat, Véronique

AU - Burgarella, Denis

AU - Calabrò, Antonello

AU - Casey, Caitlin M.

AU - Ciesla, Laure

AU - Cleri, Nikko J.

AU - Cole, Justin W.

AU - Cooper, M. C.

AU - Cooray, Asantha R.

AU - Costantin, Luca

AU - Croton, Darren

AU - Ferguson, Henry C.

AU - Finkelstein, Steven L.

AU - Fujimoto, Seiji

AU - Gardner, Jonathan P.

AU - Gawiser, Eric

AU - Giavalisco, Mauro

AU - Grazian, Andrea

AU - Grogin, Norman A.

AU - Hathi, Nimish P.

AU - Hirschmann, Michaela

AU - Holwerda, Benne W.

AU - Huertas-Company, Marc

AU - Hutchison, Taylor A.

AU - Jogee, Shardha

AU - Juneau, Stéphanie

AU - Jung, Intae

AU - Kartaltepe, Jeyhan S.

AU - Kirkpatrick, Allison

AU - Kocevski, Dale D.

AU - Koekemoer, Anton M.

AU - Lotz, Jennifer M.

AU - Lucas, Ray A.

AU - Magnelli, Benjamin

AU - Matharu, Jasleen

AU - Pérez-González, Pablo G.

AU - Pirzkal, Nor

AU - Rafelski, Marc

AU - Rose, Caitlin

AU - Seillé, Lise Marie

AU - Somerville, Rachel S.

AU - Straughn, Amber N.

AU - Tacchella, Sandro

AU - Vanderhoof, Brittany N.

AU - Weiner, Benjamin J.

AU - Wuyts, Stijn

AU - Aaron Yung, L. Y.

AU - Zavala, Jorge A.

PY - 2023/3/1

Y1 - 2023/3/1

N2 - We present rest-frame optical emission-line flux ratio measurements for five z > 5 galaxies observed by the James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations. We add several quality-control and post-processing steps to the NIRSpec pipeline reduction products in order to ensure reliable relative flux calibration of emission lines that are closely separated in wavelength, despite the uncertain absolute spectrophotometry of the current version of the reductions. Compared to z ∼ 3 galaxies in the literature, the z > 5 galaxies have similar [O iii]λ5008/Hβ ratios, similar [O iii]λ4364/Hγ ratios, and higher (∼0.5 dex) [Ne III]λ3870/[O II]λ3728 ratios. We compare the observations to MAPPINGS V photoionization models and find that the measured [Ne III]λ3870/[O II]λ3728, [O iii]λ4364/Hγ, and [O iii]λ5008/Hβ emission-line ratios are consistent with an interstellar medium (ISM) that has very high ionization ( log ( Q ) ≃ 8 − 9 , units of cm s−1), low metallicity (Z/Z ⊙ ≲ 0.2), and very high pressure ( log ( P / k ) ≃ 8 − 9 , units of cm−3). The combination of [O iii]λ4364/Hγ and [O iii]λ(4960 + 5008)/Hβ line ratios indicate very high electron temperatures of 4.1 < log ( T e / K ) < 4.4 , further implying metallicities of Z/Z ⊙ ≲ 0.2 with the application of low-redshift calibrations for “T e -based” metallicities. These observations represent a tantalizing new view of the physical conditions of the ISM in galaxies at cosmic dawn.

AB - We present rest-frame optical emission-line flux ratio measurements for five z > 5 galaxies observed by the James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations. We add several quality-control and post-processing steps to the NIRSpec pipeline reduction products in order to ensure reliable relative flux calibration of emission lines that are closely separated in wavelength, despite the uncertain absolute spectrophotometry of the current version of the reductions. Compared to z ∼ 3 galaxies in the literature, the z > 5 galaxies have similar [O iii]λ5008/Hβ ratios, similar [O iii]λ4364/Hγ ratios, and higher (∼0.5 dex) [Ne III]λ3870/[O II]λ3728 ratios. We compare the observations to MAPPINGS V photoionization models and find that the measured [Ne III]λ3870/[O II]λ3728, [O iii]λ4364/Hγ, and [O iii]λ5008/Hβ emission-line ratios are consistent with an interstellar medium (ISM) that has very high ionization ( log ( Q ) ≃ 8 − 9 , units of cm s−1), low metallicity (Z/Z ⊙ ≲ 0.2), and very high pressure ( log ( P / k ) ≃ 8 − 9 , units of cm−3). The combination of [O iii]λ4364/Hγ and [O iii]λ(4960 + 5008)/Hβ line ratios indicate very high electron temperatures of 4.1 < log ( T e / K ) < 4.4 , further implying metallicities of Z/Z ⊙ ≲ 0.2 with the application of low-redshift calibrations for “T e -based” metallicities. These observations represent a tantalizing new view of the physical conditions of the ISM in galaxies at cosmic dawn.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149729541&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/acba8a

DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/acba8a

M3 - Article

SN - 0004-637X

VL - 945

JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

IS - 1

M1 - 35

ER -

The Physical Conditions of Emission-line Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn from JWST/NIRSpec Spectroscopy in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations

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