JWST NIRSpec Spectroscopy of the Remarkable Bright Galaxy GHZ2/GLASS-z12 at Redshift 12.34

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Main Authors: Castellano, Marco, Napolitano, Lorenzo, Fontana, Adriano, Roberts-Borsani, Guido, Treu, Tommaso, Vanzella, Eros, Zavala, Jorge A., Haro, Pablo Arrabal, Calabrò, Antonello, Llerena, Mario, Mascia, Sara, Merlin, Emiliano, Paris, Diego, Pentericci, Laura, Santini, Paola, Bakx, Tom J. L. C., Bergamini, Pietro, Cupani, Guido, Dickinson, Mark, Filippenko, Alexei V., Glazebrook, Karl, Grillo, Claudio, Kelly, Patrick L., Malkan, Matthew A., Mason, Charlotte A., Morishita, Takahiro, Nanayakkara, Themiya, Rosati, Piero, Sani, Eleonora, Wang, Xin, Yoon, Ilsang
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Published: 2024
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author Castellano, Marco
Napolitano, Lorenzo
Fontana, Adriano
Roberts-Borsani, Guido
Treu, Tommaso
Vanzella, Eros
Zavala, Jorge A.
Haro, Pablo Arrabal
Calabrò, Antonello
Llerena, Mario
Mascia, Sara
Merlin, Emiliano
Paris, Diego
Pentericci, Laura
Santini, Paola
Bakx, Tom J. L. C.
Bergamini, Pietro
Cupani, Guido
Dickinson, Mark
Filippenko, Alexei V.
Glazebrook, Karl
Grillo, Claudio
Kelly, Patrick L.
Malkan, Matthew A.
Mason, Charlotte A.
Morishita, Takahiro
Nanayakkara, Themiya
Rosati, Piero
Sani, Eleonora
Wang, Xin
Yoon, Ilsang
author_facet Castellano, Marco
Napolitano, Lorenzo
Fontana, Adriano
Roberts-Borsani, Guido
Treu, Tommaso
Vanzella, Eros
Zavala, Jorge A.
Haro, Pablo Arrabal
Calabrò, Antonello
Llerena, Mario
Mascia, Sara
Merlin, Emiliano
Paris, Diego
Pentericci, Laura
Santini, Paola
Bakx, Tom J. L. C.
Bergamini, Pietro
Cupani, Guido
Dickinson, Mark
Filippenko, Alexei V.
Glazebrook, Karl
Grillo, Claudio
Kelly, Patrick L.
Malkan, Matthew A.
Mason, Charlotte A.
Morishita, Takahiro
Nanayakkara, Themiya
Rosati, Piero
Sani, Eleonora
Wang, Xin
Yoon, Ilsang
contents We spectroscopically confirm the $M_{\rm UV} = -20.5$ mag galaxy GHZ2/GLASS-z12 to be at redshift $z=12.34$. The source was selected via NIRCam photometry in GLASS-JWST ERS data, providing the first evidence of a surprising abundance of bright galaxies at $z \gtrsim 10$. The NIRSpec PRISM spectrum shows detections of N IV, C IV, He II, O III, C III, O II, and Ne III lines, and the first detection at high-redshift of the O III Bowen fluorescence line at 3133 Å rest-frame. The prominent C IV line with rest-frame equivalent width (EW) $\approx 46$ Å puts GHZ2 in the category of extreme C IV emitters. GHZ2 displays UV lines with EWs that are only found in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or composite objects at low/intermediate redshifts. The UV line-intensity ratios are compatible both with AGNs and star formation in a low-metallicity environment, with the low limit on the [Ne IV]/[N IV] ratio favoring a stellar origin of the ionizing photons. We discuss a possible scenario in which the high ionizing output is due to low metallicity stars forming in a dense environment. We estimate a metallicity $\lesssim 0.1 Z/{\rm Z}_{\odot}$, a high ionization parameter logU $> -2$, a N/O abundance 4--5 times the solar value, and a subsolar C/O ratio similar to the recently discovered class of nitrogen-enhanced objects. Considering its abundance patterns and the high stellar mass density ($10^4$~M$_{\odot}$~pc$^{-2}$), GHZ2 is an ideal formation site for the progenitors of today's globular clusters. The remarkable brightness of GHZ2 makes it a ``Rosetta stone'' for understanding the physics of galaxy formation within just 360 Myr after the Big Bang.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_10238
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle JWST NIRSpec Spectroscopy of the Remarkable Bright Galaxy GHZ2/GLASS-z12 at Redshift 12.34
Castellano, Marco
Napolitano, Lorenzo
Fontana, Adriano
Roberts-Borsani, Guido
Treu, Tommaso
Vanzella, Eros
Zavala, Jorge A.
Haro, Pablo Arrabal
Calabrò, Antonello
Llerena, Mario
Mascia, Sara
Merlin, Emiliano
Paris, Diego
Pentericci, Laura
Santini, Paola
Bakx, Tom J. L. C.
Bergamini, Pietro
Cupani, Guido
Dickinson, Mark
Filippenko, Alexei V.
Glazebrook, Karl
Grillo, Claudio
Kelly, Patrick L.
Malkan, Matthew A.
Mason, Charlotte A.
Morishita, Takahiro
Nanayakkara, Themiya
Rosati, Piero
Sani, Eleonora
Wang, Xin
Yoon, Ilsang
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We spectroscopically confirm the $M_{\rm UV} = -20.5$ mag galaxy GHZ2/GLASS-z12 to be at redshift $z=12.34$. The source was selected via NIRCam photometry in GLASS-JWST ERS data, providing the first evidence of a surprising abundance of bright galaxies at $z \gtrsim 10$. The NIRSpec PRISM spectrum shows detections of N IV, C IV, He II, O III, C III, O II, and Ne III lines, and the first detection at high-redshift of the O III Bowen fluorescence line at 3133 Å rest-frame. The prominent C IV line with rest-frame equivalent width (EW) $\approx 46$ Å puts GHZ2 in the category of extreme C IV emitters. GHZ2 displays UV lines with EWs that are only found in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or composite objects at low/intermediate redshifts. The UV line-intensity ratios are compatible both with AGNs and star formation in a low-metallicity environment, with the low limit on the [Ne IV]/[N IV] ratio favoring a stellar origin of the ionizing photons. We discuss a possible scenario in which the high ionizing output is due to low metallicity stars forming in a dense environment. We estimate a metallicity $\lesssim 0.1 Z/{\rm Z}_{\odot}$, a high ionization parameter logU $> -2$, a N/O abundance 4--5 times the solar value, and a subsolar C/O ratio similar to the recently discovered class of nitrogen-enhanced objects. Considering its abundance patterns and the high stellar mass density ($10^4$~M$_{\odot}$~pc$^{-2}$), GHZ2 is an ideal formation site for the progenitors of today's globular clusters. The remarkable brightness of GHZ2 makes it a ``Rosetta stone'' for understanding the physics of galaxy formation within just 360 Myr after the Big Bang.
title JWST NIRSpec Spectroscopy of the Remarkable Bright Galaxy GHZ2/GLASS-z12 at Redshift 12.34
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.10238