REBELS-IFU: Linking damped Lyman-$α$ absorption to [CII] emission and dust content in the EoR
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| author | Rowland, Lucie E. Heintz, Kasper E. Algera, Hiddo Stefanon, Mauro Hodge, Jacqueline Bouwens, Rychard Aravena, Manuel da Cunha, Elisabete Dayal, Pratika Ferrara, Andrea Fisher, Rebecca González, Valentino Inami, Hanae Komarova, Olena de Looze, Ilse Nanayakkara, Themiya Ormerod, Katherine Pallottini, Andrea Pollock, Clara L. Smit, Renske van der Werf, Paul Witstok, Joris |
| author_facet | Rowland, Lucie E. Heintz, Kasper E. Algera, Hiddo Stefanon, Mauro Hodge, Jacqueline Bouwens, Rychard Aravena, Manuel da Cunha, Elisabete Dayal, Pratika Ferrara, Andrea Fisher, Rebecca González, Valentino Inami, Hanae Komarova, Olena de Looze, Ilse Nanayakkara, Themiya Ormerod, Katherine Pallottini, Andrea Pollock, Clara L. Smit, Renske van der Werf, Paul Witstok, Joris |
| contents | Neutral gas in galaxies during the Epoch of Reionisation regulates star formation, dust growth, and the escape of ionising photons, making it a key ingredient in understanding both galaxy assembly and reionisation. Yet, direct constraints on the HI content of galaxies at z>6 have been scarce. With JWST, Ly$α$ damping wings in galaxy spectra can now provide a direct probe of this neutral component. We analyse JWST/NIRSpec prism spectra of 12 UV-luminous galaxies from the REBELS-IFU program at z~6.5-7.7, deriving HI column densities by modelling Ly$α$ damping wings. Significant damped Ly$α$ absorption is detected in eight galaxies, with $N_{\mathrm{HI}}\gtrsim10^{21}$ cm$^{-2}$. We use the column densities and sizes derived for these sources to estimate their HI mass and compare with $L_{\mathrm{[CII]}}$-$M_{\mathrm{HI}}$ calibrations. The resulting HI masses show a tentative correlation with those inferred from [CII], although the [CII]-based estimates are systematically larger, suggesting that the HI reservoirs may extend beyond the [CII]-emitting gas. We also combine the DLA-based measurements with FIR-derived dust-to-gas ratios, dust attenuation, and gas-phase metallicities. No correlation is found between DLA-based and FIR-based dust-to-gas ratios, but combining the REBELS-IFU sample with literature samples at lower metallicities reveals a strong correlation between $A_{\mathrm{V}}/N_{\mathrm{HI}}$ and metallicity. These findings suggest that by $z\sim7$ massive galaxies can already host substantial, enriched reservoirs of neutral gas and dust, consistent with $A_{\mathrm{V}}$/$N_{\mathrm{HI}}$-metallicity trends at lower redshift. At the highest redshifts ($z>8$), however, we see tentative evidence for systematically lower $A_{\mathrm{V}}$/$N_{\mathrm{HI}}$ at fixed metallicity, which may point to pristine gas accretion or more efficient dust destruction/expulsion. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_11351 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | REBELS-IFU: Linking damped Lyman-$α$ absorption to [CII] emission and dust content in the EoR Rowland, Lucie E. Heintz, Kasper E. Algera, Hiddo Stefanon, Mauro Hodge, Jacqueline Bouwens, Rychard Aravena, Manuel da Cunha, Elisabete Dayal, Pratika Ferrara, Andrea Fisher, Rebecca González, Valentino Inami, Hanae Komarova, Olena de Looze, Ilse Nanayakkara, Themiya Ormerod, Katherine Pallottini, Andrea Pollock, Clara L. Smit, Renske van der Werf, Paul Witstok, Joris Astrophysics of Galaxies Neutral gas in galaxies during the Epoch of Reionisation regulates star formation, dust growth, and the escape of ionising photons, making it a key ingredient in understanding both galaxy assembly and reionisation. Yet, direct constraints on the HI content of galaxies at z>6 have been scarce. With JWST, Ly$α$ damping wings in galaxy spectra can now provide a direct probe of this neutral component. We analyse JWST/NIRSpec prism spectra of 12 UV-luminous galaxies from the REBELS-IFU program at z~6.5-7.7, deriving HI column densities by modelling Ly$α$ damping wings. Significant damped Ly$α$ absorption is detected in eight galaxies, with $N_{\mathrm{HI}}\gtrsim10^{21}$ cm$^{-2}$. We use the column densities and sizes derived for these sources to estimate their HI mass and compare with $L_{\mathrm{[CII]}}$-$M_{\mathrm{HI}}$ calibrations. The resulting HI masses show a tentative correlation with those inferred from [CII], although the [CII]-based estimates are systematically larger, suggesting that the HI reservoirs may extend beyond the [CII]-emitting gas. We also combine the DLA-based measurements with FIR-derived dust-to-gas ratios, dust attenuation, and gas-phase metallicities. No correlation is found between DLA-based and FIR-based dust-to-gas ratios, but combining the REBELS-IFU sample with literature samples at lower metallicities reveals a strong correlation between $A_{\mathrm{V}}/N_{\mathrm{HI}}$ and metallicity. These findings suggest that by $z\sim7$ massive galaxies can already host substantial, enriched reservoirs of neutral gas and dust, consistent with $A_{\mathrm{V}}$/$N_{\mathrm{HI}}$-metallicity trends at lower redshift. At the highest redshifts ($z>8$), however, we see tentative evidence for systematically lower $A_{\mathrm{V}}$/$N_{\mathrm{HI}}$ at fixed metallicity, which may point to pristine gas accretion or more efficient dust destruction/expulsion. |
| title | REBELS-IFU: Linking damped Lyman-$α$ absorption to [CII] emission and dust content in the EoR |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.11351 |