UNCOVER NIRSpec/PRISM Spectroscopy Unveils Evidence of Early Core Formation in a Massive, Centrally Dusty Quiescent Galaxy at $z_{spec}=3.97$
Fuente:
arXiv
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2024
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | |
| Etiquetas: |
Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
|
| _version_ | 1866929340085698560 |
|---|---|
| author | Setton, David J. Khullar, Gourav Miller, Tim B. Bezanson, Rachel Greene, Jenny E. Suess, Katherine A. Whitaker, Katherine E. Antwi-Danso, Jacqueline Atek, Hakim Brammer, Gabriel Cutler, Sam E. Dayal, Pratika Feldmann, Robert Furtak, Lukas J. Fujimoto, Seiji Glazebrook, Karl Goulding, Andy D. Kokorev, Vasily Labbe, Ivo Leja, Joel Ma, Yilun Marchesini, Danilo Nanayakkara, Themiya Pan, Richard Price, Sedona H. Siegel, Jared C. Shipley, Heath Weaver, John R. van Dokkum, Pieter Wang, Bingjie Williams, Christina C. |
| author_facet | Setton, David J. Khullar, Gourav Miller, Tim B. Bezanson, Rachel Greene, Jenny E. Suess, Katherine A. Whitaker, Katherine E. Antwi-Danso, Jacqueline Atek, Hakim Brammer, Gabriel Cutler, Sam E. Dayal, Pratika Feldmann, Robert Furtak, Lukas J. Fujimoto, Seiji Glazebrook, Karl Goulding, Andy D. Kokorev, Vasily Labbe, Ivo Leja, Joel Ma, Yilun Marchesini, Danilo Nanayakkara, Themiya Pan, Richard Price, Sedona H. Siegel, Jared C. Shipley, Heath Weaver, John R. van Dokkum, Pieter Wang, Bingjie Williams, Christina C. |
| contents | We report the spectroscopic confirmation of a massive ($\log(M_\star/M_\odot)=10.34 \pm_{0.07}^{0.06}$), HST-dark ($m_\mathrm{F150W} - m_\mathrm{F444W} = 3.6$) quiescent galaxy at $z_{spec}=3.97$ in the UNCOVER survey. NIRSpec/PRISM spectroscopy and a non-detection in deep ALMA imaging surprisingly reveals that the galaxy is consistent with a low ($<$10 $M_\odot \ \mathrm{yr^{-1}}$) star formation rate despite evidence for moderate dust attenuation. The F444W image is well modeled with a two component \sersic fit that favors a compact, $r_e\sim200$ pc, $n\sim2.9$ component and a more extended, $r_e\sim1.6$ kpc, $n\sim1.7$ component. The galaxy exhibits strong color gradients: the inner regions are significantly redder than the outskirts. Spectral energy distribution models that reproduce both the red colors and low star formation rate in the center of UNCOVER 18407 require both significant ($A_v\sim1.4$ mag) dust attenuation and a stellar mass-weighted age of 900 Myr, implying 50\% of the stars in the core already formed by $z=7.5$. Using spatially resolved annular mass-to-light measurements enabled by the galaxy's moderate magnification ($μ=2.12\pm_{0.01}^{0.05}$) to reconstruct a radial mass profile from the best-fitting two-component \sersic model, we infer a total mass-weighted $r_\mathrm{eff} = 0.72 \pm_{0.11}^{0.15}$ kpc and log$(Σ_\mathrm{1 kpc} \ [\mathrm{M_\odot/kpc^2}]) = 9.61 \pm_{0.10}^{0.08}$. The early formation of a dense, low star formation rate, and dusty core embedded in a less attenuated stellar envelope suggests an evolutionary link between the earliest-forming massive galaxies and their elliptical descendants. Furthermore, the disparity between the global, integrated dust properties and the spatially resolved gradients highlights the importance of accounting for radially varying stellar populations when characterizing the early growth of galaxy structure. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_05664 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | UNCOVER NIRSpec/PRISM Spectroscopy Unveils Evidence of Early Core Formation in a Massive, Centrally Dusty Quiescent Galaxy at $z_{spec}=3.97$ Setton, David J. Khullar, Gourav Miller, Tim B. Bezanson, Rachel Greene, Jenny E. Suess, Katherine A. Whitaker, Katherine E. Antwi-Danso, Jacqueline Atek, Hakim Brammer, Gabriel Cutler, Sam E. Dayal, Pratika Feldmann, Robert Furtak, Lukas J. Fujimoto, Seiji Glazebrook, Karl Goulding, Andy D. Kokorev, Vasily Labbe, Ivo Leja, Joel Ma, Yilun Marchesini, Danilo Nanayakkara, Themiya Pan, Richard Price, Sedona H. Siegel, Jared C. Shipley, Heath Weaver, John R. van Dokkum, Pieter Wang, Bingjie Williams, Christina C. Astrophysics of Galaxies We report the spectroscopic confirmation of a massive ($\log(M_\star/M_\odot)=10.34 \pm_{0.07}^{0.06}$), HST-dark ($m_\mathrm{F150W} - m_\mathrm{F444W} = 3.6$) quiescent galaxy at $z_{spec}=3.97$ in the UNCOVER survey. NIRSpec/PRISM spectroscopy and a non-detection in deep ALMA imaging surprisingly reveals that the galaxy is consistent with a low ($<$10 $M_\odot \ \mathrm{yr^{-1}}$) star formation rate despite evidence for moderate dust attenuation. The F444W image is well modeled with a two component \sersic fit that favors a compact, $r_e\sim200$ pc, $n\sim2.9$ component and a more extended, $r_e\sim1.6$ kpc, $n\sim1.7$ component. The galaxy exhibits strong color gradients: the inner regions are significantly redder than the outskirts. Spectral energy distribution models that reproduce both the red colors and low star formation rate in the center of UNCOVER 18407 require both significant ($A_v\sim1.4$ mag) dust attenuation and a stellar mass-weighted age of 900 Myr, implying 50\% of the stars in the core already formed by $z=7.5$. Using spatially resolved annular mass-to-light measurements enabled by the galaxy's moderate magnification ($μ=2.12\pm_{0.01}^{0.05}$) to reconstruct a radial mass profile from the best-fitting two-component \sersic model, we infer a total mass-weighted $r_\mathrm{eff} = 0.72 \pm_{0.11}^{0.15}$ kpc and log$(Σ_\mathrm{1 kpc} \ [\mathrm{M_\odot/kpc^2}]) = 9.61 \pm_{0.10}^{0.08}$. The early formation of a dense, low star formation rate, and dusty core embedded in a less attenuated stellar envelope suggests an evolutionary link between the earliest-forming massive galaxies and their elliptical descendants. Furthermore, the disparity between the global, integrated dust properties and the spatially resolved gradients highlights the importance of accounting for radially varying stellar populations when characterizing the early growth of galaxy structure. |
| title | UNCOVER NIRSpec/PRISM Spectroscopy Unveils Evidence of Early Core Formation in a Massive, Centrally Dusty Quiescent Galaxy at $z_{spec}=3.97$ |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.05664 |