Life beyond 30

Author(s): Pablo G. Pérez-González, Luca Costantin, Danial Langeroodi, Pierluigi Rinaldi, Marianna Annunziatella, Olivier Ilbert, Luis Colina, Hans Ulrik Nørgaard-Nielsen, Thomas R. Greve, Göran Östlin, Gillian Wright, Almudena Alonso-Herrero, Javier Álvarez-Márquez, Karina I. Caputi, Andreas Eckart, Olivier Le Fèvre, Álvaro Labiano, Macarena García-Marín, Jens Hjorth, Sarah Kendrew, John P. Pye, Tuomo Tikkanen, Paul van der Werf, Fabian Walter, Martin Ward, Arjan Bik, Leindert Boogaard, Sarah E.I. Bosman, Alejandro Crespo Gómez, Steven Gillman, Edoardo Iani, Iris Jermann, Jens Melinder, Romain A. Meyer, Thibaud Moutard, Ewine van Dishoek, Thomas Henning, Pierre Olivier Lagage, Manuel Guedel, Florian Peissker, Tom Ray, Bart Vandenbussche, Ángela García-Argumánez, Rosa María Mérida
Abstract: We present the ultraviolet luminosity function and an estimate of the cosmic star formation rate density at 8 < z < 13 derived from deep NIRCam observations taken in parallel with the MIRI Deep Survey of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), NIRCam covering the parallel field 2. Our deep (40 hr) NIRCam observations reach an F277W magnitude of 30.8 (5σ), more than 2 mag deeper than JWST public data sets already analyzed to find high-redshift galaxies. We select a sample of 44 z > 8 galaxy candidates based on their dropout nature in the F115W and/or F150W filters, a high probability for their photometric redshifts, estimated with three different codes, being at z > 8, good fits based on χ ² calculations, and predominant solutions compared to z < 8 alternatives. We find mild evolution in the luminosity function from z ∼ 13 to z ∼ 8, i.e., only a small increase in the average number density of ∼0.2 dex, while the faint-end slope and absolute magnitude of the knee remain approximately constant, with values α = − 2.2 ± 0.1, and M ^* = − 20.8 ± 0.2 mag. Comparing our results with the predictions of state-of-the-art galaxy evolution models, we find two main results: (1) a slower increase with time in the cosmic star formation rate density compared to a steeper rise predicted by models; (2) nearly a factor of 10 higher star formation activity concentrated in scales around 2 kpc in galaxies with stellar masses ∼10⁸ M _⊙ during the first 350 Myr of the universe, z ∼ 12, with models matching better the luminosity density observational estimations ∼150 Myr later, by z ∼ 9.
Organisation(s): Department of Astrophysics
External organisation(s): European Space Astronomy Centre (ESA), University of Copenhagen, University of Groningen, Aix-Marseille Université, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), University College London, Oskar Klein Centre, The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, Universität zu Köln, University of Leicester, Leiden University, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Durham University, Université Paris Saclay, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Journal: Astrophysical Journal Letters
Volume: 951
No. of pages: 14
ISSN: 2041-8205
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acd9d0
Publication date: 07-2023
Peer reviewed: Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012: 103003 Astronomy, 103004 Astrophysics
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science
Portal url: https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/c2d6cd94-ddb5-439b-b886-392d2499f4de

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