The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2024)
Galaxies Going Bananas: Inferring the 3D Geometry of High-redshift Galaxies with JWST-CEERS
- Viraj Pandya,
- Haowen Zhang,
- Marc Huertas-Company,
- Kartheik G. Iyer,
- Elizabeth McGrath,
- Guillermo Barro,
- Steven L. Finkelstein,
- Martin Kümmel,
- William G. Hartley,
- Henry C. Ferguson,
- Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe,
- Joel Primack,
- Avishai Dekel,
- Sandra M. Faber,
- David C. Koo,
- Greg L. Bryan,
- Rachel S. Somerville,
- Ricardo O. Amorín,
- Pablo Arrabal Haro,
- Micaela B. Bagley,
- Eric F. Bell,
- Emmanuel Bertin,
- Luca Costantin,
- Romeel Davé,
- Mark Dickinson,
- Robert Feldmann,
- Adriano Fontana,
- Raphael Gavazzi,
- Mauro Giavalisco,
- Andrea Grazian,
- Norman A. Grogin,
- Yuchen Guo,
- ChangHoon Hahn,
- Benne W. Holwerda,
- Lisa J. Kewley,
- Allison Kirkpatrick,
- Dale D. Kocevski,
- Anton M. Koekemoer,
- Jennifer M. Lotz,
- Ray A. Lucas,
- Casey Papovich,
- Laura Pentericci,
- Pablo G. Pérez-González,
- Nor Pirzkal,
- Swara Ravindranath,
- Caitlin Rose,
- Marc Schefer,
- Raymond C. Simons,
- Amber N. Straughn,
- Sandro Tacchella,
- Jonathan R. Trump,
- Alexander de la Vega,
- Stephen M. Wilkins,
- Stijn Wuyts,
- Guang Yang,
- L. Y. Aaron Yung
Affiliations
- Viraj Pandya
- ORCiD
- Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University , 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA ; [email protected]; Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , New York, NY 10010, USA
- Haowen Zhang
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Marc Huertas-Company
- ORCiD
- Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , New York, NY 10010, USA; Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) , La Laguna, E-38205, Spain; Observatoire de Paris, LERMA, PSL University , 61 avenue de l’Observatoire, F-75014 Paris, France; Université Paris-Cité , 5 Rue Thomas Mann, F-75014 Paris, France; Universidad de La Laguna , Avda. Astrofísico Fco. Sanchez, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
- Kartheik G. Iyer
- ORCiD
- Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University , 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA ; [email protected]; Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , New York, NY 10010, USA
- Elizabeth McGrath
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Colby College , Waterville, ME 04901, USA
- Guillermo Barro
- ORCiD
- University of the Pacific , Stockton, CA 90340, USA
- Steven L. Finkelstein
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX 78712, USA
- Martin Kümmel
- ORCiD
- LMU Faculty of Physics , Scheinerstr. 1, D-81679 München, Germany
- William G. Hartley
- Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva , ch. d’Ecogia 16, CH-1290 Versoix, Switzerland
- Henry C. Ferguson
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- 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
- Joel Primack
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of California at Santa Cruz , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- Avishai Dekel
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University , Jerusalem 91904, Israel
- Sandra M. Faber
- UCO/Lick Observatory, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- David C. Koo
- ORCiD
- UCO/Lick Observatory, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- Greg L. Bryan
- ORCiD
- Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University , 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA ; [email protected]; Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , New York, NY 10010, USA
- Rachel S. Somerville
- ORCiD
- Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , New York, NY 10010, 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
- Pablo Arrabal Haro
- ORCiD
- NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Micaela B. Bagley
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX 78712, USA
- Eric F. Bell
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan , 1085 S. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107, USA
- Emmanuel Bertin
- ORCiD
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UMR 7095, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris , 98 bis bd Arago, F-75014 Paris, France; CFHT , Kamuela, HI 96743, USA
- Luca Costantin
- ORCiD
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) , CSIC-INTA, Ctra de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, E-28850, Madrid, Spain
- Romeel Davé
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Blackford Hill, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of the Western Cape , Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville, Cape Town 7535, South Africa
- Mark Dickinson
- ORCiD
- NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Robert Feldmann
- ORCiD
- Institute for Computational Science, University of Zurich , Zurich, CH-8057, Switzerland
- Adriano Fontana
- ORCiD
- INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , via Frascati 33, I-00078 Monte Porzio Catone, Italy
- Raphael Gavazzi
- ORCiD
- Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, Aix-Marseille Université , CNRS, CNES, Marseille, France; Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris , UMR 7095, CNRS, and Sorbonne Université, 98 bis boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris, France
- Mauro Giavalisco
- ORCiD
- University of Massachusetts Amherst , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003-9305, 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
- Yuchen Guo
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX 78712, USA
- ChangHoon Hahn
- ORCiD
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- Benne W. Holwerda
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Louisville , Louisville, KY 40292, 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
- Dale D. Kocevski
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Colby College , Waterville, ME 04901, USA
- Anton M. Koekemoer
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Jennifer M. Lotz
- ORCiD
- Gemini Observatory/NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Ray A. Lucas
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, 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 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
- Nor Pirzkal
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Swara Ravindranath
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Caitlin Rose
- ORCiD
- Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology , 84 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USA
- Marc Schefer
- Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva , Chemin d’Ecogia 16, CH-1290, Versoix, Switzerland
- Raymond C. Simons
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Connecticut , 196 Auditorium Road, Unit 3046, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
- 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
- Alexander de la Vega
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
- 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
- Stijn Wuyts
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Bath , Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
- 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
- L. Y. Aaron Yung
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad1a13
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 963,
no. 1
p. 54
Abstract
The 3D geometries of high-redshift galaxies remain poorly understood. We build a differentiable Bayesian model and use Hamiltonian Monte Carlo to efficiently and robustly infer the 3D shapes of star-forming galaxies in James Webb Space Telescope Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science observations with $\mathrm{log}{M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot }=9.0\mbox{--}10.5$ at z = 0.5–8.0. We reproduce previous results from the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey in a fraction of the computing time and constrain the mean ellipticity, triaxiality, size, and covariances with samples as small as ∼50 galaxies. We find high 3D ellipticities for all mass–redshift bins, suggesting oblate (disky) or prolate (elongated) geometries. We break that degeneracy by constraining the mean triaxiality to be ∼1 for $\mathrm{log}{M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot }=9.0\mbox{--}9.5$ dwarfs at z > 1 (favoring the prolate scenario), with significantly lower triaxialities for higher masses and lower redshifts indicating the emergence of disks. The prolate population traces out a “banana” in the projected $b/a\mbox{--}\mathrm{log}a$ diagram with an excess of low- b / a , large- $\mathrm{log}a$ galaxies. The dwarf prolate fraction rises from ∼25% at z = 0.5–1.0 to ∼50%–80% at z = 3–8. Our results imply a second kind of disk settling from oval (triaxial) to more circular (axisymmetric) shapes with time. We simultaneously constrain the 3D size–mass relation and its dependence on 3D geometry. High-probability prolate and oblate candidates show remarkably similar Sérsic indices ( n ∼ 1), nonparametric morphological properties, and specific star formation rates. Both tend to be visually classified as disks or irregular, but edge-on oblate candidates show more dust attenuation. We discuss selection effects, follow-up prospects, and theoretical implications.
Keywords
- High-redshift galaxies
- Galaxy classification systems
- Dwarf galaxies
- Galaxy structure
- James Webb Space Telescope
- Galaxy disks
