TY - JOUR
T1 - A SPectroscopic Survey of Biased Halos in the Reionization Era (ASPIRE)
T2 - JWST Discovers an Overdensity around a Metal Absorption-selected Galaxy at z ∼ 5.5
AU - Wu, Yunjing
AU - Wang, Feige
AU - Cai, Zheng
AU - Fan, Xiaohui
AU - Finlator, Kristian
AU - Yang, Jinyi
AU - Hennawi, Joseph F.
AU - Sun, Fengwu
AU - Champagne, Jaclyn B.
AU - Lin, Xiaojing
AU - Li, Zihao
AU - Chen, Zuyi
AU - Bañados, Eduardo
AU - Becker, George D.
AU - Bosman, Sarah E.I.
AU - Bruzual, Gustavo
AU - Charlot, Stephane
AU - Chen, Hsiao Wen
AU - Chevallard, Jacopo
AU - Eilers, Anna Christina
AU - Farina, Emanuele Paolo
AU - Jin, Xiangyu
AU - Jun, Hyunsung D.
AU - Kakiichi, Koki
AU - Li, Mingyu
AU - Liu, Weizhe
AU - Pudoka, Maria A.
AU - Tee, Wei Leong
AU - Xie, Zhang Liang
AU - Zou, Siwei
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
PY - 2023/10/1
Y1 - 2023/10/1
N2 - The launch of JWST opens a new window for studying the connection between metal-line absorbers and galaxies at the end of the Epoch of Reionization. Previous studies have detected absorber-galaxy pairs in limited quantities through ground-based observations. To enhance our understanding of the relationship between absorbers and their host galaxies at z > 5, we utilized the NIRCam wide-field slitless spectroscopy to search for absorber-associated galaxies by detecting their rest-frame optical emission lines (e.g., [O III] + Hβ). We report the discovery of a Mg ii-associated galaxy at z = 5.428 using data from the JWST ASPIRE program. The Mg ii absorber is detected on the spectrum of quasar J0305-3150 with a rest-frame equivalent width of 0.74 Å. The associated galaxy has an [O III] luminosity of 1042.5 erg s−1 with an impact parameter of 24.9 pkpc. The joint Hubble Space Telescope-JWST spectral energy distribution (SED) implies a stellar mass and star formation rate of M * ≈ 108.8 M ⊙, star-formation rate ≈ 10 M ⊙ yr−1. Its [O III] equivalent width and stellar mass are typical of [O III] emitters at this redshift. Furthermore, connecting the outflow starting time to the SED-derived stellar age, the outflow velocity of this galaxy is ∼300 km s−1, consistent with theoretical expectations. We identified six additional [O III] emitters with impact parameters of up to ∼300 pkpc at similar redshifts (∣dv∣ < 1000 km s−1). The observed number is consistent with that in cosmological simulations. This pilot study suggests that systematically investigating the absorber-galaxy connection within the ASPIRE program will provide insights into the metal-enrichment history in the early Universe.
AB - The launch of JWST opens a new window for studying the connection between metal-line absorbers and galaxies at the end of the Epoch of Reionization. Previous studies have detected absorber-galaxy pairs in limited quantities through ground-based observations. To enhance our understanding of the relationship between absorbers and their host galaxies at z > 5, we utilized the NIRCam wide-field slitless spectroscopy to search for absorber-associated galaxies by detecting their rest-frame optical emission lines (e.g., [O III] + Hβ). We report the discovery of a Mg ii-associated galaxy at z = 5.428 using data from the JWST ASPIRE program. The Mg ii absorber is detected on the spectrum of quasar J0305-3150 with a rest-frame equivalent width of 0.74 Å. The associated galaxy has an [O III] luminosity of 1042.5 erg s−1 with an impact parameter of 24.9 pkpc. The joint Hubble Space Telescope-JWST spectral energy distribution (SED) implies a stellar mass and star formation rate of M * ≈ 108.8 M ⊙, star-formation rate ≈ 10 M ⊙ yr−1. Its [O III] equivalent width and stellar mass are typical of [O III] emitters at this redshift. Furthermore, connecting the outflow starting time to the SED-derived stellar age, the outflow velocity of this galaxy is ∼300 km s−1, consistent with theoretical expectations. We identified six additional [O III] emitters with impact parameters of up to ∼300 pkpc at similar redshifts (∣dv∣ < 1000 km s−1). The observed number is consistent with that in cosmological simulations. This pilot study suggests that systematically investigating the absorber-galaxy connection within the ASPIRE program will provide insights into the metal-enrichment history in the early Universe.
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U2 - 10.3847/2041-8213/acfee3
DO - 10.3847/2041-8213/acfee3
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85176237306
SN - 2041-8205
VL - 956
JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters
JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters
IS - 2
M1 - L40
ER -