Accelerated size evolution in the FirstLight simulations from z=14 to z=5

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Hauptverfasser: Ceverino, Daniel, Nakazato, Yurina, Yoshida, Naoki, Klessen, Ralf, Glover, Simon, Costantin, Luca
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Ceverino, Daniel
Nakazato, Yurina
Yoshida, Naoki
Klessen, Ralf
Glover, Simon
Costantin, Luca
author_facet Ceverino, Daniel
Nakazato, Yurina
Yoshida, Naoki
Klessen, Ralf
Glover, Simon
Costantin, Luca
contents Galaxies grow very rapidly during the first Gyr of the Universe, mostly driven by high galaxy efficiencies, particularly relevant at $z>5$. This efficiency is related to high gas densities and/or compact gas distributions within these early galaxies. We want to understand the evolution of the size of galaxies at cosmic dawn, from $z=14$ to $z=5$ and its main drivers. We use the FirstLight database of 430 zoom-in cosmological simulations and radiative transfer calculations to generate synthetic images in seven JWST bands. We add observational effects, inspired by recent JWST deep extragalactic surveys. The size-mass relation is already in place at $z\simeq14$ and it shows a large diversity of galaxy sizes at a fixed mass. Extended (compact) galaxies tend to have higher (lower) specific star-formation rate (sSFR). The mass-dependent slope does not evolve significantly. This is driven by a complex interaction between stellar light and dust. Differential dust attenuation dims galaxy centers and it makes larger sizes, modifying the mass-size slope even in the rest-frame optical. At a fixed mass, galaxy size evolves very fast, as the normalization of the size-mass relation increases by 0.5 dex between $z\simeq14$ and $z\simeq6$, in 600 Myr. The SFR surface density increases with redshift, driven by higher sSFRs and smaller sizes at higher redshifts. Size evolution at a fixed stellar mass accelerates at cosmic dawn, driven by an increasing galaxy efficiency at $z\geq5$.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_05045
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Accelerated size evolution in the FirstLight simulations from z=14 to z=5
Ceverino, Daniel
Nakazato, Yurina
Yoshida, Naoki
Klessen, Ralf
Glover, Simon
Costantin, Luca
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Galaxies grow very rapidly during the first Gyr of the Universe, mostly driven by high galaxy efficiencies, particularly relevant at $z>5$. This efficiency is related to high gas densities and/or compact gas distributions within these early galaxies. We want to understand the evolution of the size of galaxies at cosmic dawn, from $z=14$ to $z=5$ and its main drivers. We use the FirstLight database of 430 zoom-in cosmological simulations and radiative transfer calculations to generate synthetic images in seven JWST bands. We add observational effects, inspired by recent JWST deep extragalactic surveys. The size-mass relation is already in place at $z\simeq14$ and it shows a large diversity of galaxy sizes at a fixed mass. Extended (compact) galaxies tend to have higher (lower) specific star-formation rate (sSFR). The mass-dependent slope does not evolve significantly. This is driven by a complex interaction between stellar light and dust. Differential dust attenuation dims galaxy centers and it makes larger sizes, modifying the mass-size slope even in the rest-frame optical. At a fixed mass, galaxy size evolves very fast, as the normalization of the size-mass relation increases by 0.5 dex between $z\simeq14$ and $z\simeq6$, in 600 Myr. The SFR surface density increases with redshift, driven by higher sSFRs and smaller sizes at higher redshifts. Size evolution at a fixed stellar mass accelerates at cosmic dawn, driven by an increasing galaxy efficiency at $z\geq5$.
title Accelerated size evolution in the FirstLight simulations from z=14 to z=5
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.05045