Spectroscopic Confirmation of CEERS NIRCam-selected Galaxies at z≃8-10

Pablo Arrabal Haro; Mark Dickinson; Steven L. Finkelstein; Seiji Fujimoto; Vital Fernández; Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe; Intae Jung; Justin W. Cole; Denis Burgarella; Katherine Chworowsky; Taylor A. Hutchison; Alexa M. Morales; Casey Papovich; Raymond C. Simons; Ricardo O. Amorín; Bren E. Backhaus; Micaela B. Bagley; Laura Bisigello; Antonello Calabrò; Marco Castellano; Nikko J. Cleri; Romeel Davé; Avishai Dekel; Henry C. Ferguson; Adriano Fontana; Eric Gawiser; Mauro Giavalisco; Santosh Harish; Nimish P. Hathi; Michaela Hirschmann; Benne W. Holwerda; Marc Huertas-Company; Anton M. Koekemoer; Rebecca L. Larson; Ray A. Lucas; Bahram Mobasher; Pablo G. Pérez-González; Nor Pirzkal; Caitlin Rose; Paola Santini; Jonathan R. Trump; Alexander de la Vega; Xin Wang; Benjamin J. Weiner; Stephen M. Wilkins; Guang Yang; L. Y.Aaron Yung; Jorge A. Zavala

doi:10.3847/2041-8213/acdd54

Spectroscopic Confirmation of CEERS NIRCam-selected Galaxies at z≃8-10

Pablo Arrabal Haro, Mark Dickinson, Steven L. Finkelstein, Seiji Fujimoto, Vital Fernández, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Intae Jung, Justin W. Cole, Denis Burgarella, Katherine Chworowsky, Taylor A. Hutchison, Alexa M. Morales, Casey Papovich, Raymond C. Simons, Ricardo O. Amorín, Bren E. Backhaus, Micaela B. Bagley, Laura Bisigello, Antonello Calabrò, Marco CastellanoNikko J. Cleri, Romeel Davé, Avishai Dekel, Henry C. Ferguson, Adriano Fontana, Eric Gawiser, Mauro Giavalisco, Santosh Harish, Nimish P. Hathi, Michaela Hirschmann, Benne W. Holwerda, Marc Huertas-Company, Anton M. Koekemoer, Rebecca L. Larson, Ray A. Lucas, Bahram Mobasher, Pablo G. Pérez-González, Nor Pirzkal, Caitlin Rose, Paola Santini, Jonathan R. Trump, Alexander de la Vega, Xin Wang, Benjamin J. Weiner, Stephen M. Wilkins, Guang Yang, L. Y.Aaron Yung, Jorge A. Zavala

Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory

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

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Abstract

We present JWST/NIRSpec prism spectroscopy of seven galaxies selected from Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey NIRCam imaging with photometric redshifts z _phot > 8. We measure emission line redshifts of z = 7.65 and 8.64 for two galaxies. For two other sources without securely detected emission lines we measure z = 9.77 − 0.29 + 0.37 and 10.01 − 0.19 + 0.14 by fitting model spectral templates to the prism data, from which we detect continuum breaks consistent with Lyα opacity from a mostly neutral intergalactic medium. The presence of strong breaks and the absence of strong emission lines give high confidence that these two galaxies have redshifts z > 9.6, but the redshift values derived from the breaks alone have large uncertainties given the low spectral resolution and relatively low S/N of the CEERS NIRSpec prism data. The two z ∼ 10 sources observed are relatively luminous (M _UV < −20), with blue continua (−2.3 ≲ β ≲ −1.9) and low dust attenuation ( A V ≃ 0.15 − 0.1 + 0.3 ); and at least one of them has a high stellar mass for a galaxy at that redshift ( log ( M ⋆ / M ⊙ ) ≃ 9.3 − 0.3 + 0.2 ). Considered together with spectroscopic observations of other CEERS NIRCam-selected high-z galaxy candidates in the literature, we find a high rate of redshift confirmation and low rate of confirmed interlopers (8%). Ten out of 35 z > 8 candidates with CEERS NIRSpec spectroscopy do not have secure redshifts, but the absence of emission lines in their spectra is consistent with redshifts z > 9.6. We find that z > 8 photometric redshifts are generally in agreement (within their uncertainties) with the spectroscopic values, but also that the photometric redshifts tend to be slightly overestimated (〈Δz〉 = 0.45 ± 0.11), suggesting that current templates do not fully describe the spectra of very-high-z sources. Overall, the spectroscopy solidifies photometric redshift evidence for a high spatial density of bright galaxies at z > 8 compared to theoretical model predictions, and further disfavors an accelerated decline in the integrated UV luminosity density at z > 8.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	L22
Journal	Astrophysical Journal Letters
Volume	951
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acdd54
State	Published - Jul 1 2023

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.3847/2041-8213/acdd54

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Arrabal Haro, P., Dickinson, M., Finkelstein, S. L., Fujimoto, S., Fernández, V., Kartaltepe, J. S., Jung, I., Cole, J. W., Burgarella, D., Chworowsky, K., Hutchison, T. A., Morales, A. M., Papovich, C., Simons, R. C., Amorín, R. O., Backhaus, B. E., Bagley, M. B., Bisigello, L., Calabrò, A., ... Zavala, J. A. (2023). Spectroscopic Confirmation of CEERS NIRCam-selected Galaxies at z≃8-10. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 951(1), Article L22. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acdd54

Arrabal Haro, P, Dickinson, M, Finkelstein, SL, Fujimoto, S, Fernández, V, Kartaltepe, JS, Jung, I, Cole, JW, Burgarella, D, Chworowsky, K, Hutchison, TA, Morales, AM, Papovich, C, Simons, RC, Amorín, RO, Backhaus, BE, Bagley, MB, Bisigello, L, Calabrò, A, Castellano, M, Cleri, NJ, Davé, R, Dekel, A, Ferguson, HC, Fontana, A, Gawiser, E, Giavalisco, M, Harish, S, Hathi, NP, Hirschmann, M, Holwerda, BW, Huertas-Company, M, Koekemoer, AM, Larson, RL, Lucas, RA, Mobasher, B, Pérez-González, PG, Pirzkal, N, Rose, C, Santini, P, Trump, JR, de la Vega, A, Wang, X, Weiner, BJ, Wilkins, SM, Yang, G, Yung, LYA & Zavala, JA 2023, 'Spectroscopic Confirmation of CEERS NIRCam-selected Galaxies at z≃8-10', Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 951, no. 1, L22. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acdd54

@article{d7272c2db90548318a6971177dc2e80a,

title = "Spectroscopic Confirmation of CEERS NIRCam-selected Galaxies at z≃8-10",

abstract = "We present JWST/NIRSpec prism spectroscopy of seven galaxies selected from Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey NIRCam imaging with photometric redshifts z phot > 8. We measure emission line redshifts of z = 7.65 and 8.64 for two galaxies. For two other sources without securely detected emission lines we measure z = 9.77 − 0.29 + 0.37 and 10.01 − 0.19 + 0.14 by fitting model spectral templates to the prism data, from which we detect continuum breaks consistent with Lyα opacity from a mostly neutral intergalactic medium. The presence of strong breaks and the absence of strong emission lines give high confidence that these two galaxies have redshifts z > 9.6, but the redshift values derived from the breaks alone have large uncertainties given the low spectral resolution and relatively low S/N of the CEERS NIRSpec prism data. The two z ∼ 10 sources observed are relatively luminous (M UV < −20), with blue continua (−2.3 ≲ β ≲ −1.9) and low dust attenuation ( A V ≃ 0.15 − 0.1 + 0.3 ); and at least one of them has a high stellar mass for a galaxy at that redshift ( log ( M ⋆ / M ⊙ ) ≃ 9.3 − 0.3 + 0.2 ). Considered together with spectroscopic observations of other CEERS NIRCam-selected high-z galaxy candidates in the literature, we find a high rate of redshift confirmation and low rate of confirmed interlopers (8%). Ten out of 35 z > 8 candidates with CEERS NIRSpec spectroscopy do not have secure redshifts, but the absence of emission lines in their spectra is consistent with redshifts z > 9.6. We find that z > 8 photometric redshifts are generally in agreement (within their uncertainties) with the spectroscopic values, but also that the photometric redshifts tend to be slightly overestimated (〈Δz〉 = 0.45 ± 0.11), suggesting that current templates do not fully describe the spectra of very-high-z sources. Overall, the spectroscopy solidifies photometric redshift evidence for a high spatial density of bright galaxies at z > 8 compared to theoretical model predictions, and further disfavors an accelerated decline in the integrated UV luminosity density at z > 8.",

author = "{Arrabal Haro}, Pablo and Mark Dickinson and Finkelstein, {Steven L.} and Seiji Fujimoto and Vital Fern{\'a}ndez and Kartaltepe, {Jeyhan S.} and Intae Jung and Cole, {Justin W.} and Denis Burgarella and Katherine Chworowsky and Hutchison, {Taylor A.} and Morales, {Alexa M.} and Casey Papovich and Simons, {Raymond C.} and Amor{\'i}n, {Ricardo O.} and Backhaus, {Bren E.} and Bagley, {Micaela B.} and Laura Bisigello and Antonello Calabr{\`o} and Marco Castellano and Cleri, {Nikko J.} and Romeel Dav{\'e} and Avishai Dekel and Ferguson, {Henry C.} and Adriano Fontana and Eric Gawiser and Mauro Giavalisco and Santosh Harish and Hathi, {Nimish P.} and Michaela Hirschmann and Holwerda, {Benne W.} and Marc Huertas-Company and Koekemoer, {Anton M.} and Larson, {Rebecca L.} and Lucas, {Ray A.} and Bahram Mobasher and P{\'e}rez-Gonz{\'a}lez, {Pablo G.} and Nor Pirzkal and Caitlin Rose and Paola Santini and Trump, {Jonathan R.} and {de la Vega}, Alexander and Xin Wang and Weiner, {Benjamin J.} and Wilkins, {Stephen M.} and Guang Yang and Yung, {L. Y.Aaron} and Zavala, {Jorge A.}",

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

year = "2023",

month = jul,

day = "1",

doi = "10.3847/2041-8213/acdd54",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "951",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal Letters",

issn = "2041-8205",

publisher = "American Astronomical Society",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Spectroscopic Confirmation of CEERS NIRCam-selected Galaxies at z≃8-10

AU - Arrabal Haro, Pablo

AU - Dickinson, Mark

AU - Finkelstein, Steven L.

AU - Fujimoto, Seiji

AU - Fernández, Vital

AU - Kartaltepe, Jeyhan S.

AU - Jung, Intae

AU - Cole, Justin W.

AU - Burgarella, Denis

AU - Chworowsky, Katherine

AU - Hutchison, Taylor A.

AU - Morales, Alexa M.

AU - Papovich, Casey

AU - Simons, Raymond C.

AU - Amorín, Ricardo O.

AU - Backhaus, Bren E.

AU - Bagley, Micaela B.

AU - Bisigello, Laura

AU - Calabrò, Antonello

AU - Castellano, Marco

AU - Cleri, Nikko J.

AU - Davé, Romeel

AU - Dekel, Avishai

AU - Ferguson, Henry C.

AU - Fontana, Adriano

AU - Gawiser, Eric

AU - Giavalisco, Mauro

AU - Harish, Santosh

AU - Hathi, Nimish P.

AU - Hirschmann, Michaela

AU - Holwerda, Benne W.

AU - Huertas-Company, Marc

AU - Koekemoer, Anton M.

AU - Larson, Rebecca L.

AU - Lucas, Ray A.

AU - Mobasher, Bahram

AU - Pérez-González, Pablo G.

AU - Pirzkal, Nor

AU - Rose, Caitlin

AU - Santini, Paola

AU - Trump, Jonathan R.

AU - de la Vega, Alexander

AU - Wang, Xin

AU - Weiner, Benjamin J.

AU - Wilkins, Stephen M.

AU - Yang, Guang

AU - Yung, L. Y.Aaron

AU - Zavala, Jorge A.

PY - 2023/7/1

Y1 - 2023/7/1

N2 - We present JWST/NIRSpec prism spectroscopy of seven galaxies selected from Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey NIRCam imaging with photometric redshifts z phot > 8. We measure emission line redshifts of z = 7.65 and 8.64 for two galaxies. For two other sources without securely detected emission lines we measure z = 9.77 − 0.29 + 0.37 and 10.01 − 0.19 + 0.14 by fitting model spectral templates to the prism data, from which we detect continuum breaks consistent with Lyα opacity from a mostly neutral intergalactic medium. The presence of strong breaks and the absence of strong emission lines give high confidence that these two galaxies have redshifts z > 9.6, but the redshift values derived from the breaks alone have large uncertainties given the low spectral resolution and relatively low S/N of the CEERS NIRSpec prism data. The two z ∼ 10 sources observed are relatively luminous (M UV < −20), with blue continua (−2.3 ≲ β ≲ −1.9) and low dust attenuation ( A V ≃ 0.15 − 0.1 + 0.3 ); and at least one of them has a high stellar mass for a galaxy at that redshift ( log ( M ⋆ / M ⊙ ) ≃ 9.3 − 0.3 + 0.2 ). Considered together with spectroscopic observations of other CEERS NIRCam-selected high-z galaxy candidates in the literature, we find a high rate of redshift confirmation and low rate of confirmed interlopers (8%). Ten out of 35 z > 8 candidates with CEERS NIRSpec spectroscopy do not have secure redshifts, but the absence of emission lines in their spectra is consistent with redshifts z > 9.6. We find that z > 8 photometric redshifts are generally in agreement (within their uncertainties) with the spectroscopic values, but also that the photometric redshifts tend to be slightly overestimated (〈Δz〉 = 0.45 ± 0.11), suggesting that current templates do not fully describe the spectra of very-high-z sources. Overall, the spectroscopy solidifies photometric redshift evidence for a high spatial density of bright galaxies at z > 8 compared to theoretical model predictions, and further disfavors an accelerated decline in the integrated UV luminosity density at z > 8.

AB - We present JWST/NIRSpec prism spectroscopy of seven galaxies selected from Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey NIRCam imaging with photometric redshifts z phot > 8. We measure emission line redshifts of z = 7.65 and 8.64 for two galaxies. For two other sources without securely detected emission lines we measure z = 9.77 − 0.29 + 0.37 and 10.01 − 0.19 + 0.14 by fitting model spectral templates to the prism data, from which we detect continuum breaks consistent with Lyα opacity from a mostly neutral intergalactic medium. The presence of strong breaks and the absence of strong emission lines give high confidence that these two galaxies have redshifts z > 9.6, but the redshift values derived from the breaks alone have large uncertainties given the low spectral resolution and relatively low S/N of the CEERS NIRSpec prism data. The two z ∼ 10 sources observed are relatively luminous (M UV < −20), with blue continua (−2.3 ≲ β ≲ −1.9) and low dust attenuation ( A V ≃ 0.15 − 0.1 + 0.3 ); and at least one of them has a high stellar mass for a galaxy at that redshift ( log ( M ⋆ / M ⊙ ) ≃ 9.3 − 0.3 + 0.2 ). Considered together with spectroscopic observations of other CEERS NIRCam-selected high-z galaxy candidates in the literature, we find a high rate of redshift confirmation and low rate of confirmed interlopers (8%). Ten out of 35 z > 8 candidates with CEERS NIRSpec spectroscopy do not have secure redshifts, but the absence of emission lines in their spectra is consistent with redshifts z > 9.6. We find that z > 8 photometric redshifts are generally in agreement (within their uncertainties) with the spectroscopic values, but also that the photometric redshifts tend to be slightly overestimated (〈Δz〉 = 0.45 ± 0.11), suggesting that current templates do not fully describe the spectra of very-high-z sources. Overall, the spectroscopy solidifies photometric redshift evidence for a high spatial density of bright galaxies at z > 8 compared to theoretical model predictions, and further disfavors an accelerated decline in the integrated UV luminosity density at z > 8.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85165163642&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85165163642&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3847/2041-8213/acdd54

DO - 10.3847/2041-8213/acdd54

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85165163642

SN - 2041-8205

VL - 951

JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters

JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters

IS - 1

M1 - L22

ER -

Spectroscopic Confirmation of CEERS NIRCam-selected Galaxies at z≃8-10

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