42 research outputs found
Can Cosmological Simulations Reproduce the Spectroscopically Confirmed Galaxies Seen at ?
Recent photometric detections of extreme redshift galaxies from the
JWST have been shown to be in strong tension with existing simulation models
for galaxy formation, and in the most acute case, in tension with
itself. These results, however, all rest on the confirmation of these distances
by spectroscopy. Recently, the JADES survey has detected the most distant
galaxies with spectroscopically confirmed redshifts, with four galaxies found
with redshifts between and . In this paper, we compare
simulation predictions from four large cosmological volumes and two zoom-in
protoclusters with the JADES observations to determine whether these
spectroscopically confirmed galaxy detections are in tension with existing
models for galaxy formation, or with more broadly. We find that
existing models for cosmological galaxy formation can generally reproduce the
observations for JADES, in terms of galaxy stellar masses, star formation
rates, and the number density of galaxies at .Comment: ApJL submitted, comments welcom
Population statistics of intermediate mass black holes in dwarf galaxies using the NewHorizon simulation
While it is well established that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) co-evolve
with their host galaxy, it is currently less clear how lower mass black holes,
so-called intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs), evolve within their dwarf
galaxy hosts. In this paper, we present results on the evolution of a large
sample of IMBHs from the NewHorizon simulation. We show that occupation
fractions of IMBHs in dwarf galaxies are at least 50 percent for galaxies with
stellar masses down to 1E6 Msun, but BH growth is very limited in dwarf
galaxies. In NewHorizon, IMBH growth is somewhat more efficient at high
redshift z = 3 but in general IMBH do not grow significantly until their host
galaxy leaves the dwarf regime. As a result, NewHorizon under-predicts observed
AGN luminosity function and AGN fractions. We show that the difficulties of
IMBH to remain attached to the centres of their host galaxies plays an
important role in limiting their mass growth, and that this dynamic evolution
away from galactic centres becomes stronger at lower redshift.Comment: 15 pages, submitted to MNRA
Gas Accretion and Giant Lyman-alpha Nebulae
Several decades of observations and discoveries have shown that high-redshift
AGN and massive galaxies are often surrounded by giant Lyman-alpha nebulae
extending in some cases up to 500 kpc in size. In this review, I discuss the
properties of the such nebulae discovered at z>2 and their connection with gas
flows in and around the galaxies and their halos. In particular, I show how
current observations are used to constrain the physical properties and origin
of the emitting gas in terms of the Lyman-alpha photon production processes and
kinematical signatures. These studies suggest that recombination radiation is
the most viable scenario to explain the observed Lyman-alpha luminosities and
Surface Brightness for the large majority of the nebulae and imply that a
significant amount of dense, ionized and cold clumps should be present within
and around the halos of massive galaxies. Spectroscopic studies suggest that,
among the giant Lyman-alpha nebulae, the one associated with radio-loud AGN
should have kinematics dominated by strong, ionized outflows within at least
the inner 30-50 kpc. Radio-quiet nebulae instead present more quiescent
kinematics compatible with stationary situation and, in some cases, suggestive
of rotating structures. However, definitive evidences for accretion onto
galaxies of the gas associated with the giant Lyman-alpha emission are not
unambiguously detected yet. Deep surveys currently ongoing using other bright,
non-resonant lines such as Hydrogen H-alpha and HeII1640 will be crucial to
search for clearer signatures of cosmological gas accretion onto galaxies and
AGN.Comment: Invited review to appear in Gas Accretion onto Galaxies, Astrophysics
and Space Science Library, eds. A. J. Fox & R. Dave', to be published by
Springe
The Low-Redshift Lyman Continuum Survey. Unveiling the ISM properties of low- Lyman continuum emitters
Combining 66 ultraviolet (UV) spectra and ancillary data from the
Low-Redshift Lyman Continuum Survey (LzLCS) and 23 LyC observations by earlier
studies, we form a statistical sample of star-forming galaxies at
to study the role of the cold interstellar medium (ISM) gas in the leakage of
ionizing radiation. We first constrain the massive star content (ages and
metallicities) and UV attenuation, by fitting the stellar continuum with a
combination of simple stellar population models. The models, together with
accurate LyC flux measurements, allow to determine the absolute LyC photon
escape fraction for each galaxy (). We measure the
equivalent widths and residual fluxes of multiple HI and low-ionization state
(LIS) lines, and the geometrical covering fraction adopting the picket-fence
model. The spans a wide range, with a median (0.16,
0.84 quantiles) of 0.04 (0.02, 0.20), and 50 out of the 89 galaxies detected in
the LyC. The HI and LIS line equivalent widths scale with the UV luminosity and
attenuation, and inversely with the residual flux of the lines. The HI and LIS
residual fluxes are correlated, indicating that the neutral gas is spatially
traced by the LIS transitions. We find the observed trends of the absorption
lines and the UV attenuation are primarily driven by the covering fraction. The
non-uniform gas coverage demonstrates that LyC photons escape through
low-column density channels in the ISM. The equivalent widths and residual
fluxes of the UV lines strongly correlate with : strong
LyC leakers show weak absorption lines, low UV attenuation, and large
Ly equivalent widths. We finally show that simultaneous UV absorption
line and dust attenuation measurements can predict, on average, the escape
fraction of galaxies and the method can be applied to galaxies across a wide
redshift range.Comment: 30 pages, 16 figures, 3 tables; accepted for publication in Astronomy
and Astrophysics on December 16, 2021. Tables A1 to A4 are part of the LzLCS
science products and will be publicly available in a dedicated websit
The COSMOS-Web ring: in-depth characterization of an Einstein ring lensing system at z~2
Aims. We provide an in-depth analysis of the COSMOS-Web ring, an Einstein
ring at z=2 that we serendipitously discovered in the COSMOS-Web survey and
possibly the most distant lens discovered to date.
Methods. We extract the visible and NIR photometry from more than 25 bands
and we derive the photometric redshifts and physical properties of both the
lens and the source with three different SED fitting codes. Using JWST/NIRCam
images, we also produce two lens models to (i) recover the total mass of the
lens, (ii) derive the magnification of the system, (iii) reconstruct the
morphology of the lensed source, and (iv) measure the slope of the total mass
density profile of the lens.
Results. The lens is a very massive and quiescent (sSFR < 10^(-13) yr-1)
elliptical galaxy at z = 2.02 \pm 0.02 with a total mass Mtot(<thetaE) = (3.66
\pm 0.36) x 10^11 Msun and a stellar mass M* = (1.37 \pm 0.14) x 10^11 Msun.
Compared to SHMRs from the literature, we find that the total mass is
consistent with the presence of a DM halo of mass Mh = 1.09^(+1.46)_(-0.57) x
10^13 Msun. In addition, the background source is a M* = (1.26 \pm 0.17) x
10^10 Msun star-forming galaxy (SFR=(78 \pm 15) Msun/yr) at z = 5.48 \pm 0.06.
Its reconstructed morphology shows two components with different colors. Dust
attenuation values from SED fitting and nearby detections in the FIR also
suggest it could be partially dust-obscured.
Conclusions. We find the lens at z=2. Its total, stellar, and DM halo masses
are consistent within the Einstein ring, so we do not need any unexpected
changes in our description of the lens (e.g. change its IMF or include a
non-negligible gas contribution). The most likely solution for the lensed
source is at z = 5.5. Its reconstructed morphology is complex and highly
wavelength dependent, possibly because it is a merger or a main sequence galaxy
with a heterogeneous dust distribution.Comment: 16 pages, submitted to A&
Observations of Ly Emitters at High Redshift
In this series of lectures, I review our observational understanding of
high- Ly emitters (LAEs) and relevant scientific topics. Since the
discovery of LAEs in the late 1990s, more than ten (one) thousand(s) of LAEs
have been identified photometrically (spectroscopically) at to . These large samples of LAEs are useful to address two major astrophysical
issues, galaxy formation and cosmic reionization. Statistical studies have
revealed the general picture of LAEs' physical properties: young stellar
populations, remarkable luminosity function evolutions, compact morphologies,
highly ionized inter-stellar media (ISM) with low metal/dust contents, low
masses of dark-matter halos. Typical LAEs represent low-mass high- galaxies,
high- analogs of dwarf galaxies, some of which are thought to be candidates
of population III galaxies. These observational studies have also pinpointed
rare bright Ly sources extended over kpc, dubbed
Ly blobs, whose physical origins are under debate. LAEs are used as
probes of cosmic reionization history through the Ly damping wing
absorption given by the neutral hydrogen of the inter-galactic medium (IGM),
which complement the cosmic microwave background radiation and 21cm
observations. The low-mass and highly-ionized population of LAEs can be major
sources of cosmic reionization. The budget of ionizing photons for cosmic
reionization has been constrained, although there remain large observational
uncertainties in the parameters. Beyond galaxy formation and cosmic
reionization, several new usages of LAEs for science frontiers have been
suggested such as the distribution of {\sc Hi} gas in the circum-galactic
medium and filaments of large-scale structures. On-going programs and future
telescope projects, such as JWST, ELTs, and SKA, will push the horizons of the
science frontiers.Comment: Lecture notes for `Lyman-alpha as an Astrophysical and Cosmological
Tool', Saas-Fee Advanced Course 46. Verhamme, A., North, P., Cantalupo, S., &
Atek, H. (eds.) --- 147 pages, 103 figures. Abstract abridged. Link to the
lecture program including the video recording and ppt files :
https://obswww.unige.ch/Courses/saas-fee-2016/program.cg
Fluctuating feedback-regulated escape fraction of ionizing radiation in low-mass, high-redshift galaxies
Low-mass galaxies are thought to provide the bulk of the ionizing radiation necessary to reionize the Universe. The amount of photons escaping the galaxies is poorly constrained theoretically, and difficult to measure observationally. Yet it is an essential parameter of reionization models.We study in detail how ionizing radiation can leak from high-redshift galaxies. For this purpose, we use a series of high-resolution radiation hydrodynamics simulations, zooming on three dwarf galaxies in a cosmological context. We find that the energy and momentum input from the supernova explosions has a pivotal role in regulating the escape fraction by disrupting dense star-forming clumps, and clearing sightlines in the halo. In the absence of supernovae, photons are absorbed very locally, within the birth clouds of massive stars. We follow the time evolution of the escape fraction and find that it can vary by more than six orders of magnitude. This explains the large scatter in the value of the escape fraction found by previous studies. This fast variability also impacts the observability of the sources of reionization: a survey even as deep as M 1500 = -14 would miss about half of the underlying population of Lyman-continuum emitters
Fluctuating feedback-regulated escape fraction of ionizing radiation in low-mass, high-redshift galaxies
Low-mass galaxies are thought to provide the bulk of the ionizing radiation necessary to reionize the Universe. The amount of photons escaping the galaxies is poorly constrained theoretically, and difficult to measure observationally. Yet it is an essential parameter of reionization models.We study in detail how ionizing radiation can leak from high-redshift galaxies. For this purpose, we use a series of high-resolution radiation hydrodynamics simulations, zooming on three dwarf galaxies in a cosmological context. We find that the energy and momentum input from the supernova explosions has a pivotal role in regulating the escape fraction by disrupting dense star-forming clumps, and clearing sightlines in the halo. In the absence of supernovae, photons are absorbed very locally, within the birth clouds of massive stars. We follow the time evolution of the escape fraction and find that it can vary by more than six orders of magnitude. This explains the large scatter in the value of the escape fraction found by previous studies. This fast variability also impacts the observability of the sources of reionization: a survey even as deep as M 1500 = -14 would miss about half of the underlying population of Lyman-continuum emitters