Possible evidence for a pair-instability supernova nature of ultra-early JWST sources
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866909038763048960 |
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| author | Ferrara, Andrea Carniani, Stefano Morishita, Takahiro Stiavelli, Massimo |
| author_facet | Ferrara, Andrea Carniani, Stefano Morishita, Takahiro Stiavelli, Massimo |
| contents | Recent JWST observations have revealed a population of unexpectedly bright sources at ultra-high redshift ($z > 15$), challenging current models of early galaxy formation. One extreme example is 'Capotauro', an F356W-dropout identified in the CEERS survey and initially interpreted as a luminous galaxy at $z\sim30$, but subsequently found to be variable over an $\sim 800$ day baseline. Motivated by this variability, we explore the alternative hypothesis that Capotauro is a pair-instability supernova (PISN) originating from a massive ($250-260\,M_\odot$), metal-free star. Using state-of-the-art PISN light curves, spectral energy distributions, and synthetic spectra, we show that a PISN at $z\simeq 15$ can plausibly reproduce the observed brightness, temporal evolution, photometry, and NIRSpec spectrum. We compare this scenario with alternative interpretations, including a local Y0 brown dwarf, and discuss observational tests to discriminate among them. If confirmed, this event would provide a rare window onto Population III stars, and highlights the importance of transient contamination in ultra-high redshift galaxy samples. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_07374 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Possible evidence for a pair-instability supernova nature of ultra-early JWST sources Ferrara, Andrea Carniani, Stefano Morishita, Takahiro Stiavelli, Massimo Astrophysics of Galaxies Recent JWST observations have revealed a population of unexpectedly bright sources at ultra-high redshift ($z > 15$), challenging current models of early galaxy formation. One extreme example is 'Capotauro', an F356W-dropout identified in the CEERS survey and initially interpreted as a luminous galaxy at $z\sim30$, but subsequently found to be variable over an $\sim 800$ day baseline. Motivated by this variability, we explore the alternative hypothesis that Capotauro is a pair-instability supernova (PISN) originating from a massive ($250-260\,M_\odot$), metal-free star. Using state-of-the-art PISN light curves, spectral energy distributions, and synthetic spectra, we show that a PISN at $z\simeq 15$ can plausibly reproduce the observed brightness, temporal evolution, photometry, and NIRSpec spectrum. We compare this scenario with alternative interpretations, including a local Y0 brown dwarf, and discuss observational tests to discriminate among them. If confirmed, this event would provide a rare window onto Population III stars, and highlights the importance of transient contamination in ultra-high redshift galaxy samples. |
| title | Possible evidence for a pair-instability supernova nature of ultra-early JWST sources |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.07374 |