Filling the Gap in Cluster Evolution: JWST's Glimpse into a Young, Star-Forming Cluster at Cosmic Noon

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Main Authors: Rinaldi, Pierluigi, Alberts, Stacey, Willmer, Christopher N. A., Carreira, Courtney, Williams, Christina C., Noirot, Gaël, Gilbert, Carys J. E., Bunker, Andrew J., Baker, William M., Barchiesi, Luigi, Ji, Zhiyuan, Lyu, Jianwei, Tacchella, Sandro, Wu, Zihao, Zhu, Yongda
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Rinaldi, Pierluigi
Alberts, Stacey
Willmer, Christopher N. A.
Carreira, Courtney
Williams, Christina C.
Noirot, Gaël
Gilbert, Carys J. E.
Bunker, Andrew J.
Baker, William M.
Barchiesi, Luigi
Ji, Zhiyuan
Lyu, Jianwei
Tacchella, Sandro
Wu, Zihao
Zhu, Yongda
author_facet Rinaldi, Pierluigi
Alberts, Stacey
Willmer, Christopher N. A.
Carreira, Courtney
Williams, Christina C.
Noirot, Gaël
Gilbert, Carys J. E.
Bunker, Andrew J.
Baker, William M.
Barchiesi, Luigi
Ji, Zhiyuan
Lyu, Jianwei
Tacchella, Sandro
Wu, Zihao
Zhu, Yongda
contents We present a detailed study of HUDFJ0332.4-2746.6 (HUDF46), a $z \approx 1.84$ overdensity in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, previously identified with HST as a proto-cluster. JWST/NIRISS spectroscopy expands its confirmed membership from 18 to 37 galaxies, while deep HST/ACS, JWST/NIRCam, and JWST/MIRI imaging provide a comprehensive multiwavelength view from the rest-frame UV to the mid-infrared. This dataset probes the population across three dex in stellar mass ($M_\bigstar \approx 10^{7.5\text{--}10.5}\,M_\odot$), delivering the first direct view of a young cluster down to such low-$M_\bigstar$ at $z\gtrsim1$. Assuming virialization, we derive a velocity dispersion of $σ\approx 670\pm 91\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$ and a halo mass of $M_{200} \approx (1.2\pm0.2) \times 10^{14}\,M_\odot$, in agreement with X-ray constraints from deep {\it Chandra} data. Despite residing in a massive halo likely in the hot-halo regime, the population is overwhelmingly star-forming, with no established red sequence and no extended X-ray emission from a hot intracluster medium. HUDF46 members have stellar and structural properties nearly indistinguishable from coeval field galaxies, and the structure hosts only one AGN candidate, found in its brightest galaxy, which lies at the cluster center. Overall, HUDF46 appears to be in a transitional phase prior to the onset of environmental quenching, making its galaxy population a key benchmark for tracing the processes that will later build a passive population and shape the assembly of massive clusters at later cosmic times.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_24162
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Filling the Gap in Cluster Evolution: JWST's Glimpse into a Young, Star-Forming Cluster at Cosmic Noon
Rinaldi, Pierluigi
Alberts, Stacey
Willmer, Christopher N. A.
Carreira, Courtney
Williams, Christina C.
Noirot, Gaël
Gilbert, Carys J. E.
Bunker, Andrew J.
Baker, William M.
Barchiesi, Luigi
Ji, Zhiyuan
Lyu, Jianwei
Tacchella, Sandro
Wu, Zihao
Zhu, Yongda
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We present a detailed study of HUDFJ0332.4-2746.6 (HUDF46), a $z \approx 1.84$ overdensity in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, previously identified with HST as a proto-cluster. JWST/NIRISS spectroscopy expands its confirmed membership from 18 to 37 galaxies, while deep HST/ACS, JWST/NIRCam, and JWST/MIRI imaging provide a comprehensive multiwavelength view from the rest-frame UV to the mid-infrared. This dataset probes the population across three dex in stellar mass ($M_\bigstar \approx 10^{7.5\text{--}10.5}\,M_\odot$), delivering the first direct view of a young cluster down to such low-$M_\bigstar$ at $z\gtrsim1$. Assuming virialization, we derive a velocity dispersion of $σ\approx 670\pm 91\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$ and a halo mass of $M_{200} \approx (1.2\pm0.2) \times 10^{14}\,M_\odot$, in agreement with X-ray constraints from deep {\it Chandra} data. Despite residing in a massive halo likely in the hot-halo regime, the population is overwhelmingly star-forming, with no established red sequence and no extended X-ray emission from a hot intracluster medium. HUDF46 members have stellar and structural properties nearly indistinguishable from coeval field galaxies, and the structure hosts only one AGN candidate, found in its brightest galaxy, which lies at the cluster center. Overall, HUDF46 appears to be in a transitional phase prior to the onset of environmental quenching, making its galaxy population a key benchmark for tracing the processes that will later build a passive population and shape the assembly of massive clusters at later cosmic times.
title Filling the Gap in Cluster Evolution: JWST's Glimpse into a Young, Star-Forming Cluster at Cosmic Noon
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.24162