The Astrophysical Journal Letters (Jan 2023)
CEERS Key Paper. III. The Diversity of Galaxy Structure and Morphology at z = 3–9 with JWST
- Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe,
- Caitlin Rose,
- Brittany N. Vanderhoof,
- Elizabeth J. McGrath,
- Luca Costantin,
- Isabella G. Cox,
- L. Y. Aaron Yung,
- Dale D. Kocevski,
- Stijn Wuyts,
- Henry C. Ferguson,
- Micaela B. Bagley,
- Steven L. Finkelstein,
- Ricardo O. Amorín,
- Brett H. Andrews,
- Pablo Arrabal Haro,
- Bren E. Backhaus,
- Peter Behroozi,
- Laura Bisigello,
- Antonello Calabrò,
- Caitlin M. Casey,
- Rosemary T. Coogan,
- M. C. Cooper,
- Darren Croton,
- Alexander de la Vega,
- Mark Dickinson,
- Adriano Fontana,
- Maximilien Franco,
- Andrea Grazian,
- Norman A. Grogin,
- Nimish P. Hathi,
- Benne W. Holwerda,
- Marc Huertas-Company,
- Kartheik G. Iyer,
- Shardha Jogee,
- Intae Jung,
- Lisa J. Kewley,
- Allison Kirkpatrick,
- Anton M. Koekemoer,
- James Liu,
- Jennifer M. Lotz,
- Ray A. Lucas,
- Jeffrey A. Newman,
- Camilla Pacifici,
- Viraj Pandya,
- Casey Papovich,
- Laura Pentericci,
- Pablo G. Pérez-González,
- Jayse Petersen,
- Nor Pirzkal,
- Marc Rafelski,
- Swara Ravindranath,
- Raymond C. Simons,
- Gregory F. Snyder,
- Rachel S. Somerville,
- Elizabeth R. Stanway,
- Amber N. Straughn,
- Sandro Tacchella,
- Jonathan R. Trump,
- Jesús Vega-Ferrero,
- Stephen M. Wilkins,
- Guang Yang,
- Jorge A. Zavala
Affiliations
- Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe
- ORCiD
- Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology , 84 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USA ; [email protected]
- Caitlin Rose
- ORCiD
- Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology , 84 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USA ; [email protected]
- Brittany N. Vanderhoof
- ORCiD
- Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology , 84 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USA ; [email protected]
- Elizabeth J. McGrath
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Colby College , Waterville, ME 04901, USA
- Luca Costantin
- ORCiD
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) , CSIC-INTA, Ctra. de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, E-28850, Madrid, Spain
- Isabella G. Cox
- ORCiD
- Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology , 84 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USA ; [email protected]
- L. Y. Aaron Yung
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Dale D. Kocevski
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Colby College , Waterville, ME 04901, USA
- Stijn Wuyts
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Bath , Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
- Henry C. Ferguson
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Micaela B. Bagley
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX, USA
- Steven L. Finkelstein
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX, USA
- Ricardo O. Amorín
- ORCiD
- Instituto de Investigación Multidisciplinar en Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad de La Serena , Raul Bitrán 1305, La Serena 2204000, Chile; Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de La Serena , Av. Juan Cisternas 1200 Norte, La Serena 1720236, Chile
- Brett H. Andrews
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA; Pittsburgh Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology Center (PITT PACC), University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Pablo Arrabal Haro
- ORCiD
- NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Bren E. Backhaus
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Connecticut , 196 Auditorium Road, Unit 3046, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
- Peter Behroozi
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Division of Science, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
- Laura Bisigello
- ORCiD
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “G.Galilei,” Universitá di Padova , Via Marzolo 8, I-35131 Padova, Italy; INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova , Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, I-35122, Padova, Italy
- Antonello Calabrò
- ORCiD
- INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , via di Frascati 33, I-00078 Monte Porzio Catone, Italy
- Caitlin M. Casey
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX, USA
- Rosemary T. Coogan
- ORCiD
- CEA, IRFU, DAp, AIM, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité , Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- M. C. Cooper
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California , Irvine, 4129 Reines Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
- Darren Croton
- ORCiD
- Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology , Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) , Australia
- Alexander de la Vega
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Riverside, CA 92521, USA
- Mark Dickinson
- ORCiD
- NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Adriano Fontana
- ORCiD
- INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , via di Frascati 33, I-00078 Monte Porzio Catone, Italy
- Maximilien Franco
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX, USA
- Andrea Grazian
- ORCiD
- INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova , Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, I-35122, Padova, Italy
- Norman A. Grogin
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Nimish P. Hathi
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Benne W. Holwerda
- ORCiD
- Physics & Astronomy Department, University of Louisville , Louisville, KY 40292, USA
- Marc Huertas-Company
- ORCiD
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias , La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain; Universidad de la Laguna , La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain; Université Paris-Cité , LERMA—Observatoire de Paris, PSL, Paris, France
- Kartheik G. Iyer
- ORCiD
- Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto , Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada
- Shardha Jogee
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX, USA
- Intae Jung
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Lisa J. Kewley
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Allison Kirkpatrick
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas , Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
- Anton M. Koekemoer
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- James Liu
- Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology , 84 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USA ; [email protected]
- Jennifer M. Lotz
- ORCiD
- Gemini Observatory/NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Ray A. Lucas
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Jeffrey A. Newman
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Camilla Pacifici
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Viraj Pandya
- ORCiD
- Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University , 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Casey Papovich
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA
- Laura Pentericci
- ORCiD
- INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , via di Frascati 33, I-00078 Monte Porzio Catone, Italy
- Pablo G. Pérez-González
- ORCiD
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) , CSIC-INTA, Ctra. de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, E-28850, Madrid, Spain
- Jayse Petersen
- Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology , 84 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USA ; [email protected]
- Nor Pirzkal
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Marc Rafelski
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Swara Ravindranath
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Raymond C. Simons
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Gregory F. Snyder
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Rachel S. Somerville
- ORCiD
- Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , 162 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
- Elizabeth R. Stanway
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick , Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
- Amber N. Straughn
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Sandro Tacchella
- ORCiD
- Kavli Institute for Cosmology, University of Cambridge , Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA, UK; Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge , 19 JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UK
- Jonathan R. Trump
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Connecticut , 196 Auditorium Road, Unit 3046, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
- Jesús Vega-Ferrero
- ORCiD
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias , La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
- Stephen M. Wilkins
- ORCiD
- Astronomy Centre, University of Sussex , Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK; Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy, University of Malta , Msida MSD 2080, Malta
- Guang Yang
- ORCiD
- Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen , P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands; SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research , Postbus 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
- Jorge A. Zavala
- ORCiD
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acad01
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 946,
no. 1
p. L15
Abstract
We present a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of the morphological and structural properties of a large sample of galaxies at z = 3–9 using early James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) CEERS NIRCam observations. Our sample consists of 850 galaxies at z > 3 detected in both Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/WFC3 and CEERS JWST/NIRCam images, enabling a comparison of HST and JWST morphologies. We conduct a set of visual classifications, with each galaxy in the sample classified three times. We also measure quantitative morphologies across all NIRCam filters. We find that galaxies at z > 3 have a wide diversity of morphologies. Galaxies with disks make up 60% of galaxies at z = 3, and this fraction drops to ∼30% at z = 6–9, while galaxies with spheroids make up ∼30%–40% across the redshift range, and pure spheroids with no evidence for disks or irregular features make up ∼20%. The fraction of galaxies with irregular features is roughly constant at all redshifts (∼40%–50%), while those that are purely irregular increases from ∼12% to ∼20% at z > 4.5. We note that these are apparent fractions, as many observational effects impact the visibility of morphological features at high redshift. On average, Spheroid-only galaxies have a higher Sérsic index, smaller size, and higher axis ratio than disk or irregular galaxies. Across all redshifts, smaller spheroid and disk galaxies tend to be rounder. Overall, these trends suggest that galaxies with established disks and spheroids exist across the full redshift range of this study, and further work with large samples at higher redshift is needed to quantify when these features first formed.
Keywords
- Galaxy evolution
- Galaxy classification systems
- Galaxies
- Disk galaxies
- Irregular galaxies
- Hubble classification scheme
