Uncovering the stellar structure of the dusty star-forming galaxy GN20 at z?=?4.055 with MIRI/JWST
- Author(s)
- L. Colina, A. Crespo Gómez, J. Álvarez-Márquez, A. Bik, F. Walter, L. Boogaard, A. Labiano, F. Peissker, P. Pérez-González, G. Östlin, T. R. Greve, H. U. Nørgaard-Nielsen, G. Wright, A. Alonso-Herrero, R. Azollini, K. I. Caputi, D. Dicken, M. García-Marín, J. Hjorth, O. Ilbert, S. Kendrew, J. P. Pye, T. Tikkanen, P. Van Der Werf, L. Costantin, E. Iani, S. Gillman, I. Jermann, D. Langeroodi, T. Moutard, P. Rinaldi, M. Topinka, E. F. Van Dishoeck, M. Güdel, Th Henning, P. O. Lagage, T. Ray, B. Vandenbussche
- Abstract
Luminous infrared galaxies at high redshifts (z?>?4) include extreme starbursts that build their stellar mass over short periods of time, that is, of 100 Myr or less. These galaxies are considered to be the progenitors of massive quiescent galaxies at intermediate redshifts (z2) but their stellar structure and buildup is unknown. Here, we present the first spatially resolved near-infrared (rest-frame 1.1 ?m) imaging of GN20, one of the most luminous dusty star-forming galaxies known to date, observed at an epoch when the Universe was only 1.5 Gyr old. The 5.6 ?m image taken with the JWST Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI/JWST) shows that GN20 is a very luminous galaxy (M1.1m,AB?=25.01, uncorrected for internal extinction), with a stellar structure composed of a conspicuous central source and an extended envelope. The central source is an unresolved nucleus that carries 9% of the total flux. The nucleus is co-aligned with the peak of the cold dust emission, and offset by 3.9 kpc from the ultraviolet stellar emission. The diffuse stellar envelope is similar in size (3.6 kpc effective radius) to the clumpy CO molecular gas distribution. The centroid of the stellar envelope is offset by 1 kpc from the unresolved nucleus, suggesting GN20 is involved in an interaction or merger event supported by its location as the brightest galaxy in a proto-cluster. Additional faint stellar clumps appear to be associated with some of the UV- and CO-clumps. The stellar size of GN20 is larger by a factor of about 3 to 5 than known spheroids, disks, and irregulars at z4, while its size and low Sérsic index are similar to those measured in dusty, infrared luminous galaxies at redshift 2 of the same mass (?1011?M?). GN20 has all the ingredients necessary for evolving into a massive spheroidal quiescent galaxy at intermediate redshift: it is a large, luminous galaxy at z?=?4.05 involved in a short and massive starburst centred in the stellar nucleus and extended over the entire galaxy, out to radii of 4 kpc, and likely induced by the interaction or merger with a member of the proto-cluster.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Astrophysics
- External organisation(s)
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Oskar Klein Centre, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, European Space Astronomy Centre (ESA), Universität zu Köln, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), University of Copenhagen, University College London, The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Groningen, Aix-Marseille Université, University of Leicester, Leiden University, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Université Paris Saclay, Durham University, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
- Journal
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Volume
- 673
- No. of pages
- 7
- ISSN
- 0004-6361
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202346535
- Publication date
- 05-2023
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103003 Astronomy, 103004 Astrophysics
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/db4d20df-42cf-4936-ab98-e09aa7c5eb6f