The Astrophysical Journal Letters (Jan 2023)
A SPectroscopic Survey of Biased Halos in the Reionization Era (ASPIRE): JWST Discovers an Overdensity around a Metal Absorption-selected Galaxy at z ∼ 5.5
- Yunjing Wu,
- Feige Wang,
- Zheng Cai,
- Xiaohui Fan,
- Kristian Finlator,
- Jinyi Yang,
- Joseph F. Hennawi,
- Fengwu Sun,
- Jaclyn B. Champagne,
- Xiaojing Lin,
- Zihao Li,
- Zuyi Chen,
- Eduardo Bañados,
- George D. Becker,
- Sarah E. I. Bosman,
- Gustavo Bruzual,
- Stephane Charlot,
- Hsiao-Wen Chen,
- Jacopo Chevallard,
- Anna-Christina Eilers,
- Emanuele Paolo Farina,
- Xiangyu Jin,
- Hyunsung D. Jun,
- Koki Kakiichi,
- Mingyu Li,
- Weizhe Liu,
- Maria A. Pudoka,
- Wei Leong Tee,
- Zhang-Liang Xie,
- Siwei Zou
Affiliations
- Yunjing Wu
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China ; [email protected]; Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Feige Wang
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Zheng Cai
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China ; [email protected]
- Xiaohui Fan
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Kristian Finlator
- ORCiD
- New Mexico State University , Las Cruces, 88003 NM, USA; Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen / DTU-Space, Technical University of Denmark , Denmark
- Jinyi Yang
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Joseph F. Hennawi
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Broida Hall, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530, USA; Leiden Observatory, Leiden University , P.O. Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
- Fengwu Sun
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Jaclyn B. Champagne
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Xiaojing Lin
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China ; [email protected]
- Zihao Li
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China ; [email protected]
- Zuyi Chen
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Eduardo Bañados
- ORCiD
- Max Planck Institut für Astronomie , Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg, Germany; The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science , 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
- George D. Becker
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California , Riverside, CA 92521, USA
- Sarah E. I. Bosman
- ORCiD
- Max Planck Institut für Astronomie , Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg, Germany; Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Heidelberg , Philosophenweg 16, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Gustavo Bruzual
- ORCiD
- Institute of Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics, National Autonomous University of Mexico , San José de la Huerta 58089 Morelia, Michoacán, México
- Stephane Charlot
- ORCiD
- Sorbonne Université , CNRS, UMR7095, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, F-75014, Paris, France
- Hsiao-Wen Chen
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, The University of Chicago , 5640 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Jacopo Chevallard
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford , Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK
- Anna-Christina Eilers
- ORCiD
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Emanuele Paolo Farina
- ORCiD
- Gemini Observatory , NSF’s NOIRLab, 670 N A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
- Xiangyu Jin
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Hyunsung D. Jun
- ORCiD
- SNU Astronomy Research Center, Seoul National University , 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
- Koki Kakiichi
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Broida Hall, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530, USA; Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, København N, DK-2200, Denmark
- Mingyu Li
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China ; [email protected]
- Weizhe Liu
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Maria A. Pudoka
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Wei Leong Tee
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Zhang-Liang Xie
- ORCiD
- Max Planck Institut für Astronomie , Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg, Germany
- Siwei Zou
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China ; [email protected]
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acfee3
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 956,
no. 2
p. L40
Abstract
The launch of JWST opens a new window for studying the connection between metal-line absorbers and galaxies at the end of the Epoch of Reionization. Previous studies have detected absorber–galaxy pairs in limited quantities through ground-based observations. To enhance our understanding of the relationship between absorbers and their host galaxies at z > 5, we utilized the NIRCam wide-field slitless spectroscopy to search for absorber-associated galaxies by detecting their rest-frame optical emission lines (e.g., [O III ] + H β ). We report the discovery of a Mg ii -associated galaxy at z = 5.428 using data from the JWST ASPIRE program. The Mg ii absorber is detected on the spectrum of quasar J0305–3150 with a rest-frame equivalent width of 0.74 Å. The associated galaxy has an [O III ] luminosity of 10 ^42.5 erg s ^−1 with an impact parameter of 24.9 pkpc. The joint Hubble Space Telescope–JWST spectral energy distribution (SED) implies a stellar mass and star formation rate of M _* ≈ 10 ^8.8 M _⊙ , star-formation rate ≈ 10 M _⊙ yr ^−1 . Its [O III ] equivalent width and stellar mass are typical of [O III ] emitters at this redshift. Furthermore, connecting the outflow starting time to the SED-derived stellar age, the outflow velocity of this galaxy is ∼300 km s ^−1 , consistent with theoretical expectations. We identified six additional [O III ] emitters with impact parameters of up to ∼300 pkpc at similar redshifts (∣ dv ∣ < 1000 km s ^−1 ). The observed number is consistent with that in cosmological simulations. This pilot study suggests that systematically investigating the absorber–galaxy connection within the ASPIRE program will provide insights into the metal-enrichment history in the early Universe.
Keywords
