Galaxy formation and evolution

Abstract:

Abstract Black hole (BH) superradiance can provide strong constraints on the properties of ultralight bosons (ULBs). While most of the previous work has focused on the theoretical predictions, here we investigate the most suitable statistical framework to constrain ULB masses and self-interactions using BH spin measurements. We argue that a Bayesian approach based on a simple timescales analysis provides a clear statistical interpretation, deals with limitations regarding the reproducibility of existing BH analyses, incorporates the full information from BH data, and allows us to include additional nuisance parameters or to perform hierarchical modelling with BH populations in the future. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach using mass and spin posterior samples for the X-ray binary BH M33 X-7 and, for the first time in this context, the supermassive BH IRAS 09149-6206. We explain the differences to existing ULB constraints in the literature and illustrate the effects of various assumptions about the superradiance process (equilibrium regime vs cloud collapse, higher occupation levels). As a result, our procedure yields the most statistically rigorous ULB constraints available in the literature, with important implications for the QCD axion and axion-like particles. We encourage all groups analysing BH data to publish likelihood functions or posterior samples as supplementary material to facilitate this type of analysis, and for theory developments to compress their findings to effective timescale modifications. https://github.com/sebhoof/bhsr

Abstract:

Using the Dark Energy Survey 5-yr sample, we determine the properties of type Ia supernova (SN Ia) host galaxies across a wide multiwavelength range – from the optical to far-infrared – including data from the Herschel and Spitzer space telescopes. We categorize the SNe Ia into three distinct groups according to the distribution of their host galaxies on the star formation rate (SFR) – stellar mass () plane. Each region comprises host galaxies at distinct stages in their evolutionary pathways: Region 1 – low-mass hosts; Region 2 – high-mass, star-forming hosts and Region 3 – high-mass, passive hosts. We find SNe Ia in host galaxies located in Region 1 have the steepest slope (quantified by ) between their colours and luminosities, with . This differs at the significance level to SNe Ia in Region 3, which have the shallowest colour–luminosity slope with . After correcting SNe Ia in each subsample by their respective , events in Region 3 (high-mass, passive hosts) are mag () brighter, post-standardization. We conclude that future cosmological analyses should apply standardization relations to SNe Ia based upon the region in which the SN host galaxy lies in the SFR– plane. Alternatively, cosmological analyses should restrict the SN Ia sample to events whose host galaxies occupy a single region of this plane.

Abstract:

The large number of star clusters in nearby galaxies permits us to statistically test the predictions of stellar, dust, and gas models. Using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) broadband plus Hα imaging combined with JWST near-infrared imaging, we use a total of 10 filters spanning near-ultraviolet through near-infrared wavelengths to model key physical parameters, including age, mass, and reddening, of 6130 star clusters in 16 nearby spiral galaxies from the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS sample, focusing on their ages, masses, and reddenings. We find that HST/Hα and JWST/NIRCam 2–3.6 μm photometry significantly improves our ability to disentangle the age–reddening degeneracy between young, gas- and dust-rich clusters and older, dustless clusters. The near-infrared data provide strong constraints on hot continuum dust and small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission for populations where gas and dust are present. These hot dust constraints demonstrate that Bruzual & Charlot stellar population models do not align with the observed near-ultraviolet-optical-near-infrared spectral energy distributions of star clusters in the first 10 Myr. We note that for old and low-metallicity globular clusters, the inclusion of narrowband Hα and/or broadband near-infrared data does not improve the determination of age and reddening parameters, due to the lack of stars capable of heating dust in the near-infrared regime.

Abstract:

Supermassive black holes are prevalent at the centers of massive galaxies, and their masses scale with galaxy properties, increasing evidence suggesting that these trends continue to low stellar masses. Seeds are needed for supermassive black holes, especially at the highest redshifts explored by the James Webb Space Telescope. We study the hierarchical merging of galaxies via cosmological merger trees and argue that the seeds of supermassive black holes formed in nuclear star clusters via stellar black hole mergers at early epochs. Observable tracers include intermediate-mass black holes, nuclear star clusters, and early gas accretion in host dwarf galaxies, along with a potentially detectable stochastic gravitational-wave background, ejection of intermediate and supermassive black holes, and consequences of a significant population of early tidal disruption events and extreme mass ratio inspirals.

Abstract:

The first JWST deep surveys have expanded our understanding of the morphological evolution of galaxies across cosmic time. The improved spatial resolution and near-infrared (NIR) coverage have revealed a population of morphologically evolved galaxies at very early epochs. However, all previous works are based on relatively small samples; this has prevented accurate probing of the morphological diversity at cosmic dawn. Leveraging the wide area coverage of the COSMOS-Web survey, we quantified the abundance of different morphological types from z∼7 with unprecedented statistics and established robust constraints on the epoch of emergence of the Hubble sequence. We measured the global morphologies (spheroids, disk-dominated, bulge-dominated, peculiar) and resolved morphologies (stellar bars) for about 400,000 galaxies down to F150W=27 using deep learning; this represents an increase of two orders of magnitude over previous studies. We provide reference stellar mass functions (SMFs) of different morphologies between z∼0.2 and z∼7 as well as best-fit parameters to inform models of galaxy formation. All catalogs and data are made publicly available. At redshift ( z > 4.5 ), the massive galaxy population (łog M_*/M_⊙>10) is dominated by disturbed morphologies (( ∼70% )), even in the optical rest frame, and very compact objects (( ∼30% )) with effective radii smaller than ( ∼500 pc ). This confirms that a significant fraction of the star formation at cosmic dawn occurs in very dense regions, although the stellar mass for these systems could be overestimated. Galaxies with Hubble-type morphologies, including bulge- and disk-dominated galaxies, arose rapidly around ( z ∼ 4 ) and dominate the morphological diversity of massive galaxies as early as ( z ∼ 3 ). Using stellar bars as a proxy, we speculate that stellar disks in massive galaxies might have been common ($>50%$) among the star-forming population since cosmic noon (( z ∼ 2 2.5 )) and formed as early as z∼7. Massive quenched galaxies are predominantly bulge-dominated from ( z ∼ 4 ) onward, suggesting that morphological transformations briefly precede or are simultaneous to quenching mechanisms at the high-mass end. Low-mass (łog M_*/M_⊙<10) quenched galaxies are typically disk-dominated, which points to different quenching routes at the two ends of the stellar mass spectrum from cosmic dawn.