Galaxy formation and evolution

Abstract:

We present emission line ratios from a sample of 26 Lyman break galaxies from $z\sim5.5-9.5$ with $-17.05.5$ spectra. We find that the emission line ratios exhibited by these $z\sim5.5-9.5$ galaxies occupy clearly distinct regions of line-ratio space compared to typical z~0-3 galaxies, instead being more consistent with extreme populations of lower-redshift galaxies. This is best illustrated by the [OIII]/[OII] ratio, tracing interstellar medium (ISM) ionisation, in which we observe more than half of our sample to have [OIII]/[OII]>10. Our high signal-to-noise spectra reveal more than an order of magnitude of scatter in line ratios such as [OII]/H$\beta$ and [OIII]/[OII], indicating significant diversity in the ISM conditions within the sample. We find no convincing detections of [NII] in our sample, either in individual galaxies, or a stack of all G395M/F290LP spectra. The emission line ratios observed in our sample are generally consistent with galaxies with extremely high ionisation parameters (log $U\sim-1.5$), and a range of metallicities spanning from $\sim0.1\times Z_\odot$ to higher than $\sim0.3\times Z_\odot$, suggesting we are probing low-metallicity systems undergoing periods of rapid star-formation, driving strong radiation fields. These results highlight the value of deep observations in constraining the properties of individual galaxies, and hence probing diversity within galaxy population.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysics, updated values in table

Abstract:

We analyse the integral field spectroscopy data for the ≈10 000 galaxies in final data release of the MaNGA survey. We identify 188 galaxies for which the emission lines cannot be described by single Gaussian components. These galaxies can be classified into (1) 38 galaxies with broad HαH and [O III] λ5007 lines, (2) 101 galaxies with broad HαH lines but no broad [O III] λ5007 lines, and (3) 49 galaxies with double-peaked narrow emission lines. Most of the broad-line galaxies are classified as active galactic nuclei (AGNs) from their line ratios. The catalogue helps us further understand the AGN-galaxy coevolution through the stellar population of broad-line region host galaxies and the relation between broad lines’ properties and the host galaxies’ dynamical properties. The stellar population properties (including mass, age, and metallicity) of broad-line host galaxies suggest there is no significant difference between narrow-line Seyfert-2 galaxies and Type-1 AGNs with broad HαH lines. We use the broad-HαH line width and luminosity to estimate masses of black hole in these galaxies, and test the MBH–σe relation in Type-1 AGN host galaxies. Furthermore, we find three dual AGN candidates supported by radio images from the VLA FIRST survey. This sample may be useful for further studies on AGN activities and feedback processes.

Abstract:

Recent JWST/NIRCam imaging taken for the ultra-deep UNCOVER program reveals a very red dropout object at z phot ≃ 7.6, triply imaged by the galaxy cluster A2744 (z d = 0.308). All three images are very compact, i.e., unresolved, with a delensed size upper limit of r e ≲ 35 pc. The images have apparent magnitudes of m F444W ∼ 25−26 AB, and the magnification-corrected absolute UV magnitude of the source is M UV,1450 = −16.81 ± 0.09. From the sum of observed fluxes and from a spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis, we obtain estimates of the bolometric luminosities of the source of L bol ≳ 1043 erg s−1 and L bol ∼ 1044–1046 erg s−1, respectively. Based on its compact, point-like appearance, its position in color–color space, and the SED analysis, we tentatively conclude that this object is a UV-faint dust-obscured quasar-like object, i.e., an active galactic nucleus at high redshift. We also discuss other alternative origins for the object’s emission features, including a massive star cluster, Population III, supermassive, or dark stars, or a direct-collapse black hole. Although populations of red galaxies at similar photometric redshifts have been detected with JWST, this object is unique in that its high-redshift nature is corroborated geometrically by lensing, that it is unresolved despite being magnified—and thus intrinsically even more compact—and that it occupies notably distinct regions in both size–luminosity and color–color space. Planned UNCOVER JWST/NIRSpec observations, scheduled in Cycle 1, will enable a more detailed analysis of this object