Galaxy formation and evolution

Abstract:

We present a sample of 2081 sources selected at a photometric redshift zphot > 8 across the JADES DR5 data release in GOODS-S and GOODS-N over a total area of 469 arcmin2. These sources range from MUV = −22 to MUV = −16, with 19 objects at zphot > 14. We estimate the UV slopes for the full sample from fits to the photometry and find evidence for a steepening of the relationship between the UV continuum slope and MUV to higher redshifts, a result that differs from prior analyses of brighter samples in the literature. We provide evidence that over one-quarter of our sources have evidence for being morphologically extended, with many galaxies showing multiple bright knots or clumps even out to z ∼ 13–14, an indication of how galaxies at cosmic dawn are growing and evolving. We discuss JADES-GN+189.15982+62.28899, a GOODS-N F200W dropout galaxy at zphot ∼ 15–18, which has been observed spectroscopically with JWST/NIRSpec in prism mode, resulting in a very low signal-to-noise spectrum that is consistent with the photometry and rules out a number of low-redshift solutions for the source. Finally, we use a subsample of 123 objects in our sample with spectroscopic redshifts to explore the usage of alternate fitting templates and a prescription for Lyα damping wing absorption, finding that both produce significant improvements to the estimated photometric redshifts.

Abstract:

The Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) is a wide-field, integral-field spectroscopic survey designed to map the large-scale distribution of Lyα-emitting galaxies (LAEs) at 1.88 < z < 3.52 and constrain dark energy at cosmic noon. Using the 10 m Hobby–Eberly Telescope and the Visible Integral-Field Replicable Unit (IFU) Spectrograph, HETDEX obtains >35,000 spectra per exposure over 3500–5500 Å at R ∼ 800 with ∼1.″8 image quality, enabling an untargeted census of emission-line galaxies across 540 deg2. We present HETDEX Public Data Release 1 (PDR1), comprising 431,713 IFU observations covering 86.67 deg2 of noncontiguous sky in the Spring (13h, +51°) and Fall (1 .h 5, 0°) fields, along with legacy regions (Cosmic Evolution Survey, Great Observations Origins Deep Survey North, North Ecliptic Pole, SA22). PDR1 includes the HETDEX Public Source Catalog 2 (HPSC2), an expanded and reprocessed version of E. Mentuch Cooper et al. (2023) incorporating four additional years of data, improved quality control, and new machine learning classifiers. HPSC2 contains 426,654 LAEs, 491,411 [O II] emitters, 19,457 low-z galaxies, 18,303 active galactic nuclei, and 150,608 stars, providing coordinates, redshifts or stellar velocities, and 1D spectra for each source. Because the data cubes use local sky subtraction optimized for faint emission-line detection, they are not suited for absolute surface-brightness measurements or very extended nearby galaxies. Appendix materials include the full detection catalog, the 1.6 million–candidate LAE sample, and raw detection databases. All products are publicly accessible through the HETDEX data portal (https://hetdex.org/data-results/), including access to a public JupyterLab. HPSC2 is also publicly available via Zenodo (doi:10.5281/zenodo.19581262).