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JWST Reveals a Possible z ∼ 11 Galaxy Merger in Triply Lensed MACS0647–JD

Hsiao, Tiger Yu-Yang; Coe, Dan; Abdurro’uf; Whitler, Lily; Jung, Intae; Khullar, Gourav; Meena, Ashish Kumar; Dayal, Pratika; Barrow, Kirk S. S.; Santos-Olmsted, Lillian; Casselman, Adam; Vanzella, Eros; Nonino, Mario; Jiménez-Teja, Yolanda; Oguri, Masamune; Stark, Daniel P.; Furtak, Lukas J.; Zitrin, Adi; Adamo, Angela; Brammer, Gabriel; Bradley, Larry; Diego, Jose M.; Zackrisson, Erik; Finkelstein, Steven L.; Windhorst, Rogier A.; Bhatawdekar, Rachana; Hutchison, Taylor A.; Broadhurst, Tom; Dimauro, Paola; Andrade-Santos, Felipe; Eldridge, Jan J.; Acebron, Ana; Avila, Roberto J.; Bayliss, Matthew B.; Benítez, Alex; Binggeli, Christian; Bolan, Patricia; Bradač, Maruša; Carnall, Adam C.; Conselice, Christopher J.; Donahue, Megan; Frye, Brenda; Fujimoto, Seiji; Henry, Alaina; James, Bethan L.; Kassin, Susan A.; Kewley, Lisa; Larson, Rebecca L.; Lauer, Tod; Law, David; Mahler, Guillaume; Mainali, Ramesh; McCandliss, Stephan; Nicholls, David; Pirzkal, Norbert; Postman, Marc; Rigby, Jane R...

JWST Reveals a Possible z ∼ 11 Galaxy Merger in Triply Lensed MACS0647–JD Thumbnail


Authors

Tiger Yu-Yang Hsiao

Dan Coe

Abdurro’uf

Lily Whitler

Intae Jung

Gourav Khullar

Ashish Kumar Meena

Pratika Dayal

Kirk S. S. Barrow

Lillian Santos-Olmsted

Adam Casselman

Eros Vanzella

Mario Nonino

Yolanda Jiménez-Teja

Masamune Oguri

Daniel P. Stark

Lukas J. Furtak

Adi Zitrin

Angela Adamo

Gabriel Brammer

Larry Bradley

Jose M. Diego

Erik Zackrisson

Steven L. Finkelstein

Rogier A. Windhorst

Rachana Bhatawdekar

Taylor A. Hutchison

Tom Broadhurst

Paola Dimauro

Felipe Andrade-Santos

Jan J. Eldridge

Ana Acebron

Roberto J. Avila

Matthew B. Bayliss

Alex Benítez

Christian Binggeli

Patricia Bolan

Maruša Bradač

Adam C. Carnall

Christopher J. Conselice

Megan Donahue

Brenda Frye

Seiji Fujimoto

Alaina Henry

Bethan L. James

Susan A. Kassin

Lisa Kewley

Rebecca L. Larson

Tod Lauer

David Law

Ramesh Mainali

Stephan McCandliss

David Nicholls

Norbert Pirzkal

Marc Postman

Jane R. Rigby

Russell Ryan

Peter Senchyna

Keren Sharon

Ikko Shimizu

Victoria Strait

Mengtao Tang

Michele Trenti

Anton Vikaeus

Brian Welch



Abstract

MACS0647–JD is a triply lensed z ∼ 11 galaxy originally discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope. The three lensed images are magnified by factors of ∼8, 5, and 2 to AB mag 25.1, 25.6, and 26.6 at 3.5 μm. The brightest is over a magnitude brighter than other galaxies recently discovered at similar redshifts z > 10 with JWST. Here, we report new JWST imaging that clearly resolves MACS0647–JD as having two components that are either merging galaxies or stellar complexes within a single galaxy. The brighter larger component "A" is intrinsically very blue (β ∼ −2.6 ± 0.1), likely due to very recent star formation and no dust, and is spatially extended with an effective radius ∼70 ± 24 pc. The smaller component "B" (r ∼ 20${}_{-5}^{+8}\,$pc) appears redder (β ∼ −2 ± 0.2), likely because it is older (100–200 Myr) with mild dust extinction (AV ∼ 0.1 mag). With an estimated stellar mass ratio of roughly 2:1 and physical projected separation ∼400 pc, we may be witnessing a galaxy merger 430 million years after the Big Bang. We identify galaxies with similar colors in a high-redshift simulation, finding their star formation histories to be dissimilar, which is also suggested by the spectral energy distribution fitting, suggesting they formed further apart. We also identify a candidate companion galaxy "C" ∼3 kpc away, likely destined to merge with A and B. Upcoming JWST Near Infrared Spectrograph observations planned for 2023 January will deliver spectroscopic redshifts and more physical properties for these tiny magnified distant galaxies observed in the early universe.

Citation

Hsiao, T. Y., Coe, D., Abdurro’uf, Whitler, L., Jung, I., Khullar, G., …Welch, B. (2023). JWST Reveals a Possible z ∼ 11 Galaxy Merger in Triply Lensed MACS0647–JD. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 949(2), Article L34. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acc94b

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 27, 2023
Online Publication Date Jun 2, 2023
Publication Date Jun 1, 2023
Deposit Date Nov 7, 2023
Publicly Available Date Nov 7, 2023
Journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Print ISSN 2041-8205
Electronic ISSN 2041-8213
Publisher American Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 949
Issue 2
Article Number L34
DOI https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acc94b
Keywords Space and Planetary Science; Astronomy and Astrophysics
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1899960

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Publisher Licence URL
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Copyright Statement
© 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.





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