The Hubble sequence in JWST CEERS from unbiased galaxy morphologies
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866910118200737792 |
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| author | Sazonova, Elizaveta Morgan, Cameron R. Balogh, Michael |
| author_facet | Sazonova, Elizaveta Morgan, Cameron R. Balogh, Michael |
| contents | Whether the "Hubble sequence" of galaxy morphologies exists up to z~4 is still disputed, and one of the challenges is characterizing galaxy structure consistently across a wide range of redshifts. To enable a fair comparison across cosmic time, we constructed "absolute" images of galaxies spanning 0.15<z<4.5 and 8<log $M_{\star}$<11 from HST CANDELS and JWST CEERS surveys, by matching the effective resolution and surface brightness limit of galaxies, accounting for cosmological dimming and evolution in size and mass-to-light ratio. We measured the structural parameters of 2825 galaxies and used the UMAP technique to study the evolution of the morphological phase space.
We find a continuous sequence spanning late-type to early-type galaxies, with no redshift gradient - indicating that a Hubble-like sequence is established by z~4. We show that our approach recovers a cleaner separation between early- and late-type galaxies than visual classifications. By tracing progenitors using empirical mass assembly histories, we find that progenitors of low-mass galaxies are predominantly star-forming disks at all epochs. Progenitors of massive galaxies follow two distinct paths: a stable star-forming disk population with little structural evolution, and an early-type population that builds up rapidly from irregular progenitors and quenches within a few Gyr, consistent with a compaction-driven quenching scenario. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_08682 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | The Hubble sequence in JWST CEERS from unbiased galaxy morphologies Sazonova, Elizaveta Morgan, Cameron R. Balogh, Michael Astrophysics of Galaxies Whether the "Hubble sequence" of galaxy morphologies exists up to z~4 is still disputed, and one of the challenges is characterizing galaxy structure consistently across a wide range of redshifts. To enable a fair comparison across cosmic time, we constructed "absolute" images of galaxies spanning 0.15<z<4.5 and 8<log $M_{\star}$<11 from HST CANDELS and JWST CEERS surveys, by matching the effective resolution and surface brightness limit of galaxies, accounting for cosmological dimming and evolution in size and mass-to-light ratio. We measured the structural parameters of 2825 galaxies and used the UMAP technique to study the evolution of the morphological phase space. We find a continuous sequence spanning late-type to early-type galaxies, with no redshift gradient - indicating that a Hubble-like sequence is established by z~4. We show that our approach recovers a cleaner separation between early- and late-type galaxies than visual classifications. By tracing progenitors using empirical mass assembly histories, we find that progenitors of low-mass galaxies are predominantly star-forming disks at all epochs. Progenitors of massive galaxies follow two distinct paths: a stable star-forming disk population with little structural evolution, and an early-type population that builds up rapidly from irregular progenitors and quenches within a few Gyr, consistent with a compaction-driven quenching scenario. |
| title | The Hubble sequence in JWST CEERS from unbiased galaxy morphologies |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.08682 |