Emission-Line Ratios and Ionization Conditions of CEERS Star-Forming Galaxies with JWST/NIRSpec

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Main Authors: Gupta, Ansh R., Kirkpatrick, Allison, Fernandez, Vital, Haro, Pablo Arrabal, Backhaus, Bren E., Cleri, Nikko J., Grogin, Norman A., Koekemoer, Anton M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Gupta, Ansh R.
Kirkpatrick, Allison
Fernandez, Vital
Haro, Pablo Arrabal
Backhaus, Bren E.
Cleri, Nikko J.
Grogin, Norman A.
Koekemoer, Anton M.
author_facet Gupta, Ansh R.
Kirkpatrick, Allison
Fernandez, Vital
Haro, Pablo Arrabal
Backhaus, Bren E.
Cleri, Nikko J.
Grogin, Norman A.
Koekemoer, Anton M.
contents Galaxy emission-line fluxes can be analyzed to determine star formation rates (SFR) and ISM ionization. Here, we investigate rest-frame optical emission lines of 71 star-forming galaxies at redshift 0.7 < z < 7 from the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey using JWST/NIRSpec. We use H$α$ line fluxes to measure SFRs. We combine these with HST CANDELS stellar mass estimates to determine the redshift evolution of specific SFR (sSFR) and compare our sample with the star-forming galaxy main sequence. We create [O III]$λ$5008/H$β$ versus [Ne III]$λ$3870/[O II]$λ$3728 line ratio diagrams and correlate these ratios with sSFR and the distance of each galaxy from the main sequence (excess sSFR). We find a modest correlation between the line ratios and sSFR, which is consistent with previous work analyzing similar samples. However, we find a weak correlation between the line ratios and excess sSFR. Taken together, our results suggest that sSFR is the parameter that governs ionization conditions rather than SFR or a galaxy's distance from the main sequence. These measurements reveal a rich diversity of ISM conditions and physical galaxy properties throughout cosmic time.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_03784
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Emission-Line Ratios and Ionization Conditions of CEERS Star-Forming Galaxies with JWST/NIRSpec
Gupta, Ansh R.
Kirkpatrick, Allison
Fernandez, Vital
Haro, Pablo Arrabal
Backhaus, Bren E.
Cleri, Nikko J.
Grogin, Norman A.
Koekemoer, Anton M.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Galaxy emission-line fluxes can be analyzed to determine star formation rates (SFR) and ISM ionization. Here, we investigate rest-frame optical emission lines of 71 star-forming galaxies at redshift 0.7 < z < 7 from the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey using JWST/NIRSpec. We use H$α$ line fluxes to measure SFRs. We combine these with HST CANDELS stellar mass estimates to determine the redshift evolution of specific SFR (sSFR) and compare our sample with the star-forming galaxy main sequence. We create [O III]$λ$5008/H$β$ versus [Ne III]$λ$3870/[O II]$λ$3728 line ratio diagrams and correlate these ratios with sSFR and the distance of each galaxy from the main sequence (excess sSFR). We find a modest correlation between the line ratios and sSFR, which is consistent with previous work analyzing similar samples. However, we find a weak correlation between the line ratios and excess sSFR. Taken together, our results suggest that sSFR is the parameter that governs ionization conditions rather than SFR or a galaxy's distance from the main sequence. These measurements reveal a rich diversity of ISM conditions and physical galaxy properties throughout cosmic time.
title Emission-Line Ratios and Ionization Conditions of CEERS Star-Forming Galaxies with JWST/NIRSpec
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.03784