Halfway to the Peak: Kinematic Signatures of Stable Rotating Disks in Luminous Infrared Galaxies at z=0.5-0.6

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Hauptverfasser: Eleazer, Miriam, Pope, Alexandra, Sajina, Anna, Yan, Lin, Young, Jason, Alberts, Stacey, Armus, Lee, Coppin, Kristen, Dale, Daniel, Farrah, Duncan, Gonçalves, Thiago, McKinney, Jed, Nesvadba, Nicole, Ogle, Patrick, Popescu, Roxana, Veilleux, Sylvain
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Eleazer, Miriam
Pope, Alexandra
Sajina, Anna
Yan, Lin
Young, Jason
Alberts, Stacey
Armus, Lee
Coppin, Kristen
Dale, Daniel
Farrah, Duncan
Gonçalves, Thiago
McKinney, Jed
Nesvadba, Nicole
Ogle, Patrick
Popescu, Roxana
Veilleux, Sylvain
author_facet Eleazer, Miriam
Pope, Alexandra
Sajina, Anna
Yan, Lin
Young, Jason
Alberts, Stacey
Armus, Lee
Coppin, Kristen
Dale, Daniel
Farrah, Duncan
Gonçalves, Thiago
McKinney, Jed
Nesvadba, Nicole
Ogle, Patrick
Popescu, Roxana
Veilleux, Sylvain
contents We present a kinematic study of six infrared-luminous galaxies observed with the Mid-InfraRed Instrument Medium-Resolution Spectrometer (MIRI/MRS) onboard JWST. These galaxies lie at $z = 0.5$--$0.6$, midway between the present day and the peak of cosmic star formation. Our sample spans a range of star formation (SF) and active galactic nucleus (AGN) contributions to the mid-infrared emission. We characterize the dynamical state of these IR-luminous galaxies and assess how AGN activity influences the kinematics of the interstellar medium. Using mid-IR atomic lines, we map galaxy kinematics beyond the local Universe for the first time. The spatial resolution of MIRI/MRS (3.0 kpc for 0.46$\arcsec$ at z $\sim$ 0.55) allows us to resolve the internal kinematics of our targets. We compute kinematic maps in three different emission lines ([Ar II]6.99$μ$m, [Ne II]12.81$μ$m, and H$_2$ 0-0 S(5)6.91$μ$m). Using the [Ar II]6.99$μ$m kinematic maps, we derive rotation curves for these sources. All galaxies exhibit ordered rotation, with \(V/σ\geq 2\), consistent with stable disks. Although some show minor disturbances, we find no strong evidence for recent major mergers or galaxy-wide ionized outflows. We find no correlation between \(V/σ\) and AGN fraction, suggesting AGN activity does not significantly disrupt global kinematics or that disk disruption is not required to trigger AGN. However, galaxies with higher AGN fractions show elevated central dispersions, indicating localized turbulence, possibly due to AGN feedback, stellar feedback, accretion or bulge structure. These IR-luminous galaxies likely represent mature, rotationally supported disks, with AGN activation occurring after disk assembly.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_24711
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Halfway to the Peak: Kinematic Signatures of Stable Rotating Disks in Luminous Infrared Galaxies at z=0.5-0.6
Eleazer, Miriam
Pope, Alexandra
Sajina, Anna
Yan, Lin
Young, Jason
Alberts, Stacey
Armus, Lee
Coppin, Kristen
Dale, Daniel
Farrah, Duncan
Gonçalves, Thiago
McKinney, Jed
Nesvadba, Nicole
Ogle, Patrick
Popescu, Roxana
Veilleux, Sylvain
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We present a kinematic study of six infrared-luminous galaxies observed with the Mid-InfraRed Instrument Medium-Resolution Spectrometer (MIRI/MRS) onboard JWST. These galaxies lie at $z = 0.5$--$0.6$, midway between the present day and the peak of cosmic star formation. Our sample spans a range of star formation (SF) and active galactic nucleus (AGN) contributions to the mid-infrared emission. We characterize the dynamical state of these IR-luminous galaxies and assess how AGN activity influences the kinematics of the interstellar medium. Using mid-IR atomic lines, we map galaxy kinematics beyond the local Universe for the first time. The spatial resolution of MIRI/MRS (3.0 kpc for 0.46$\arcsec$ at z $\sim$ 0.55) allows us to resolve the internal kinematics of our targets. We compute kinematic maps in three different emission lines ([Ar II]6.99$μ$m, [Ne II]12.81$μ$m, and H$_2$ 0-0 S(5)6.91$μ$m). Using the [Ar II]6.99$μ$m kinematic maps, we derive rotation curves for these sources. All galaxies exhibit ordered rotation, with \(V/σ\geq 2\), consistent with stable disks. Although some show minor disturbances, we find no strong evidence for recent major mergers or galaxy-wide ionized outflows. We find no correlation between \(V/σ\) and AGN fraction, suggesting AGN activity does not significantly disrupt global kinematics or that disk disruption is not required to trigger AGN. However, galaxies with higher AGN fractions show elevated central dispersions, indicating localized turbulence, possibly due to AGN feedback, stellar feedback, accretion or bulge structure. These IR-luminous galaxies likely represent mature, rotationally supported disks, with AGN activation occurring after disk assembly.
title Halfway to the Peak: Kinematic Signatures of Stable Rotating Disks in Luminous Infrared Galaxies at z=0.5-0.6
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.24711