CEERS Key Paper. V. Galaxies at 4 < z < 9 Are Bluer than They Appear-Characterizing Galaxy Stellar Populations from Rest-frame ∼1 μm Imaging

Authors

• Casey Papovich, Texas A&M University
• Justin W. Cole, Texas A&M University
• Guang Yang, Kapteyn Instituut
• Steven L. Finkelstein, The University of Texas at Austin
• Guillermo Barro, University of the PacificFollow
• Véronique Buat, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
• Denis Burgarella, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
• Pablo G. Pérez-González, CSIC-INTA - Centro de Astrobiología (CAB)
• Paola Santini, Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
• Lise-Marie Seillé, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
• Lu Shen, Texas A&M University
• Pablo Arrabal Haro, NOIRLab
• Micaela B. Bagley, The University of Texas at Austin
• Eric F. Bell, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Laura Bisigello, Università degli Studi di Padova
• Antonello Calabrò, Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
• Caitlin M. Casey, The University of Texas at Austin
• Marco Castellano, Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
• Katherine Chworowsky, The University of Texas at Austin
• Nikko J. Cleri, Texas A&M University
• Luca Costantin, CSIC-INTA - Centro de Astrobiología (CAB)
• M. C. Cooper, University of California, Irvine

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Astrophysical Journal Letters

Department

Physics

ISSN

20418213

Volume

949

Issue

2

DOI

10.3847/2041-8213/acc948

First Page

1

Last Page

23

Publication Date

5-25-2023

Abstract

We present results from the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Survey on the stellar population parameters for 28 galaxies with redshifts 4 < z < 9 using imaging data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) combined with data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The JWST/MIRI 5.6 and 7.7 μm data extend the coverage of the rest-frame spectral energy distribution to nearly 1 μm for galaxies in this redshift range. By modeling the galaxies’ SEDs the MIRI data show that the galaxies have, on average, rest-frame UV (1600 Å)—I-band colors 0.4 mag bluer than derived when using photometry that lacks MIRI. Therefore, the galaxies have lower ratios of stellar mass to light. The MIRI data reduce the stellar masses by 〈 Δ log M * 〉 = 0.25 dex at 4 < z < 6 and 0.37 dex at 6 < z < 9. This also reduces the star formation rates (SFRs) by 〈ΔlogSFR〉 = 0.14 dex at 4 < z < 6 and 0.27 dex at 6 < z < 9. The MIRI data also improve constraints on the allowable stellar mass formed in early star formation. We model this using a star formation history that includes both a “burst” at z f = 100 and a slowly varying (“delayed-τ”) model. The MIRI data reduce the allowable stellar mass by 0.6 dex at 4 < z < 6 and by ≈1 dex at 6 < z < 9. Applying these results globally, this reduces the cosmic stellar-mass density by an order of magnitude in the early Universe (z ≈ 9). Therefore, observations of rest-frame ≳1 μm are paramount for constraining the stellar-mass buildup in galaxies at very high redshifts.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Papovich, Casey; Cole, Justin W.; Yang, Guang; Finkelstein, Steven L.; Barro, Guillermo; Buat, Véronique; Burgarella, Denis; Pérez-González, Pablo G.; Santini, Paola; Seillé, Lise-Marie; Shen, Lu; Arrabal Haro, Pablo; Bagley, Micaela B.; Bell, Eric F.; Bisigello, Laura; Calabrò, Antonello; Casey, Caitlin M.; Castellano, Marco; Chworowsky, Katherine; Cleri, Nikko J.; Costantin, Luca; and Cooper, M. C., "CEERS Key Paper. V. Galaxies at 4 < z < 9 Are Bluer than They Appear-Characterizing Galaxy Stellar Populations from Rest-frame ∼1 μm Imaging" (2023). Pacific Faculty Work. 143.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/all-faculty/143