TY - JOUR
T1 - Halfway to the Peak
T2 - Spatially Resolved Star Formation and Kinematics in a z = 0.54 Dusty Galaxy with JWST/MIRI
AU - Young, Jason
AU - Pope, Alexandra
AU - Sajina, Anna
AU - Yan, Lin
AU - Gonçalves, Thiago S.
AU - Eleazer, Miriam
AU - Alberts, Stacey
AU - Armus, Lee
AU - Bonato, Matteo
AU - Dale, Daniel A.
AU - Farrah, Duncan
AU - Ferkinhoff, Carl
AU - Hayward, Christopher C.
AU - McKinney, Jed
AU - Murphy, Eric J.
AU - Nesvadba, Nicole
AU - Ogle, Patrick
AU - Sajkov, Leonid
AU - Veilleux, Sylvain
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
PY - 2023/11/1
Y1 - 2023/11/1
N2 - We present JWST Mid-InfraRed Instrument/Medium-Resolution Spectrometer (MIRI/MRS) observations of an infrared luminous disk galaxy, FLS1, at z ∼ 0.54. With a lookback time of 5 Gyr, FLS1 is chronologically at the midpoint between the peak epoch of star formation and the present day. The MRS data provide maps of the atomic fine structure lines [Ar ii]6.99, [Ar iii]8.99, [Ne ii]12.81, and [Ne iii]15.55 μm, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features at 3.3, 6.2, and 11.3 μm, and the warm molecular gas indicators H2S(5) and H2S(3); all these emission features are spatially resolved. We find that the PAH emission is more extended along the northern side of the galaxy when compared to the well-studied star formation tracer [Ne ii]. The H2 rotational lines, which are shock indicators, are strongest and most extended on the southern side of the galaxy. [Ar ii] is the second brightest fine structure line detected in FLS1 and we show that it is a useful kinematic probe that can be detected with JWST out to z ∼ 3. Velocity maps of [Ar ii] show a rotating disk with signs of turbulence. Our results provide an example of how spatially resolved mid-infrared spectroscopy can allow us to better understand the star formation and interstellar medium conditions in a galaxy halfway back to the peak epoch of galaxy evolution.
AB - We present JWST Mid-InfraRed Instrument/Medium-Resolution Spectrometer (MIRI/MRS) observations of an infrared luminous disk galaxy, FLS1, at z ∼ 0.54. With a lookback time of 5 Gyr, FLS1 is chronologically at the midpoint between the peak epoch of star formation and the present day. The MRS data provide maps of the atomic fine structure lines [Ar ii]6.99, [Ar iii]8.99, [Ne ii]12.81, and [Ne iii]15.55 μm, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features at 3.3, 6.2, and 11.3 μm, and the warm molecular gas indicators H2S(5) and H2S(3); all these emission features are spatially resolved. We find that the PAH emission is more extended along the northern side of the galaxy when compared to the well-studied star formation tracer [Ne ii]. The H2 rotational lines, which are shock indicators, are strongest and most extended on the southern side of the galaxy. [Ar ii] is the second brightest fine structure line detected in FLS1 and we show that it is a useful kinematic probe that can be detected with JWST out to z ∼ 3. Velocity maps of [Ar ii] show a rotating disk with signs of turbulence. Our results provide an example of how spatially resolved mid-infrared spectroscopy can allow us to better understand the star formation and interstellar medium conditions in a galaxy halfway back to the peak epoch of galaxy evolution.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85184022499
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85184022499#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.3847/2041-8213/ad07e1
DO - 10.3847/2041-8213/ad07e1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85184022499
SN - 2041-8205
VL - 958
JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters
JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters
IS - 1
M1 - L5
ER -