GA-NIFS: Dissecting The Alchemised: NIRSpec/IFU reveals turbulent gas inflows in a complex system at $z=10.17$

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Main Authors: Pascalau, Robert G., D'Eugenio, Francesco, Maiolino, Roberto, Duan, Qiao, Isobe, Yuki, Arribas, Santiago, Bunker, Andrew J., Charlot, Stéphane, Perna, Michele, Del Pino, Bruno Rodriguez, Ubler, Hannah, Bertola, Elena, Boker, Torsten, Carniani, Stefano, Coe, Dan, Cresci, Giovanni, Curti, Mirko, Hsiao, Tiger Y. Y., Ivey, Lucy R., Jones, Gareth C., Lamperti, Isabella, Parlanti, Eleonora, Scholtz, Jan, Tacchella, Sandro, Ulivi, Lorenzo, Venturi, Giacomo, Witstok, Joris, Zamora, Sandra
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Pascalau, Robert G.
D'Eugenio, Francesco
Maiolino, Roberto
Duan, Qiao
Isobe, Yuki
Arribas, Santiago
Bunker, Andrew J.
Charlot, Stéphane
Perna, Michele
Del Pino, Bruno Rodriguez
Ubler, Hannah
Bertola, Elena
Boker, Torsten
Carniani, Stefano
Coe, Dan
Cresci, Giovanni
Curti, Mirko
Hsiao, Tiger Y. Y.
Ivey, Lucy R.
Jones, Gareth C.
Lamperti, Isabella
Parlanti, Eleonora
Scholtz, Jan
Tacchella, Sandro
Ulivi, Lorenzo
Venturi, Giacomo
Witstok, Joris
Zamora, Sandra
author_facet Pascalau, Robert G.
D'Eugenio, Francesco
Maiolino, Roberto
Duan, Qiao
Isobe, Yuki
Arribas, Santiago
Bunker, Andrew J.
Charlot, Stéphane
Perna, Michele
Del Pino, Bruno Rodriguez
Ubler, Hannah
Bertola, Elena
Boker, Torsten
Carniani, Stefano
Coe, Dan
Cresci, Giovanni
Curti, Mirko
Hsiao, Tiger Y. Y.
Ivey, Lucy R.
Jones, Gareth C.
Lamperti, Isabella
Parlanti, Eleonora
Scholtz, Jan
Tacchella, Sandro
Ulivi, Lorenzo
Venturi, Giacomo
Witstok, Joris
Zamora, Sandra
contents Recent observations revealed that distant galaxies have bursty star formation histories, regulated by stellar or active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback and gas inflows. According to theoretical models, feedback preferentially removes metal-rich gas, while subsequent starbursts are triggered by mergers and newly-accreted gas that is generally less enriched than the galaxy interstellar medium (ISM). Therefore, gas-phase metallicity holds key insights into the baryonic processes shaping early galaxies. We present the first NIRSpec/IFU study of spatially resolved ISM properties in the MACS0647-JD system ($z=10.17$). The system consists of two stellar components detected in NIRSpec/IFU and NIRCam photometry. The main component ($\log (M_{\ast}/M_{\odot}) =7.77 \pm 0.09$; $12+ \log(O/H)=7.89 \pm 0.11$) is more massive and significantly more metal-rich compared to its companion ($\log (M_{\ast}/M_{\odot}) =7.42 \pm 0.07$; $12+ \log(O/H)=7.47 \pm 0.14$), suggesting an older stellar population and a prolonged chemical enrichment history. We find that the H$γ$ line emission centroid is offset by $0.1^{\prime \prime}$ (150 pc in the source plane) from the stellar continuum centroid; the latter coincides with the location of the main stellar component. This offset provides possible evidence of a merger-driven starburst in this system. By comparing the spatial distribution of the metallicity, velocity dispersion, and the burstiness of star formation history, we infer the presence of turbulent, metal-poor gas outside the stellar components. This metal-poor, dynamically unstable gas is likely responsible for the increase in the recent star formation in the north-east region of the system.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_00232
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle GA-NIFS: Dissecting The Alchemised: NIRSpec/IFU reveals turbulent gas inflows in a complex system at $z=10.17$
Pascalau, Robert G.
D'Eugenio, Francesco
Maiolino, Roberto
Duan, Qiao
Isobe, Yuki
Arribas, Santiago
Bunker, Andrew J.
Charlot, Stéphane
Perna, Michele
Del Pino, Bruno Rodriguez
Ubler, Hannah
Bertola, Elena
Boker, Torsten
Carniani, Stefano
Coe, Dan
Cresci, Giovanni
Curti, Mirko
Hsiao, Tiger Y. Y.
Ivey, Lucy R.
Jones, Gareth C.
Lamperti, Isabella
Parlanti, Eleonora
Scholtz, Jan
Tacchella, Sandro
Ulivi, Lorenzo
Venturi, Giacomo
Witstok, Joris
Zamora, Sandra
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Recent observations revealed that distant galaxies have bursty star formation histories, regulated by stellar or active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback and gas inflows. According to theoretical models, feedback preferentially removes metal-rich gas, while subsequent starbursts are triggered by mergers and newly-accreted gas that is generally less enriched than the galaxy interstellar medium (ISM). Therefore, gas-phase metallicity holds key insights into the baryonic processes shaping early galaxies. We present the first NIRSpec/IFU study of spatially resolved ISM properties in the MACS0647-JD system ($z=10.17$). The system consists of two stellar components detected in NIRSpec/IFU and NIRCam photometry. The main component ($\log (M_{\ast}/M_{\odot}) =7.77 \pm 0.09$; $12+ \log(O/H)=7.89 \pm 0.11$) is more massive and significantly more metal-rich compared to its companion ($\log (M_{\ast}/M_{\odot}) =7.42 \pm 0.07$; $12+ \log(O/H)=7.47 \pm 0.14$), suggesting an older stellar population and a prolonged chemical enrichment history. We find that the H$γ$ line emission centroid is offset by $0.1^{\prime \prime}$ (150 pc in the source plane) from the stellar continuum centroid; the latter coincides with the location of the main stellar component. This offset provides possible evidence of a merger-driven starburst in this system. By comparing the spatial distribution of the metallicity, velocity dispersion, and the burstiness of star formation history, we infer the presence of turbulent, metal-poor gas outside the stellar components. This metal-poor, dynamically unstable gas is likely responsible for the increase in the recent star formation in the north-east region of the system.
title GA-NIFS: Dissecting The Alchemised: NIRSpec/IFU reveals turbulent gas inflows in a complex system at $z=10.17$
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.00232