The First Photometric Evidence of a Transient/Variable Source at z > 5 with JWST
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) discovered 79 transients out to z ∼ 4.8 through the JADES Transient Survey (JTS), but the JTS did not find any z > 5 transients. We present the first photometric evidence of a z > 5 transient/variable source with JWST. The source, AT 2023adya, resides in a...
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| author | Christa DeCoursey Eiichi Egami Fengwu Sun Arshia Akhtarkavan Rachana Bhatawdekar Andrew J. Bunker David A. Coulter Michael Engesser Ori D. Fox Sebastian Gomez Kohei Inayoshi Benjamin D. Johnson Mitchell Karmen Conor Larison Xiaojing Lin Jianwei Lyu Seppo Mattila Takashi J. Moriya Justin D. R. Pierel Dávid Puskás Armin Rest George H. Rieke Brant Robertson Sepehr Salamat Louis-Gregory Strolger Sandro Tacchella Christian Vassallo Christina C. Williams Yossef Zenati Junyu Zhang |
| author_facet | Christa DeCoursey Eiichi Egami Fengwu Sun Arshia Akhtarkavan Rachana Bhatawdekar Andrew J. Bunker David A. Coulter Michael Engesser Ori D. Fox Sebastian Gomez Kohei Inayoshi Benjamin D. Johnson Mitchell Karmen Conor Larison Xiaojing Lin Jianwei Lyu Seppo Mattila Takashi J. Moriya Justin D. R. Pierel Dávid Puskás Armin Rest George H. Rieke Brant Robertson Sepehr Salamat Louis-Gregory Strolger Sandro Tacchella Christian Vassallo Christina C. Williams Yossef Zenati Junyu Zhang |
| author_sort | Christa DeCoursey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) discovered 79 transients out to z ∼ 4.8 through the JADES Transient Survey (JTS), but the JTS did not find any z > 5 transients. We present the first photometric evidence of a z > 5 transient/variable source with JWST. The source, AT 2023adya, resides in a z _spec = 5.274 galaxy in GOODS-N, which dimmed from m _F356W = 26.05 ± 0.02 mag to 26.24 ± 0.02 mag in the rest-frame optical over approximately 2 rest-frame months, producing a clear residual signal in the difference image ( m _F356W = 28.01 ± 0.17 mag; SN _var = 6.09) at the galaxy center. Shorter-wavelength bands (F090W/F115W) show no rest-frame UV brightness change. Based on its rest-frame V -band absolute magnitude ( M _V = −18.48 mag), AT 2023adya could be any core-collapse supernova (SN) subtype or an SN Ia. However, due to low SN Ia rates at high redshift, the SN Ia scenario is unlikely. Alternatively, AT 2023adya may be a variable active galactic nucleus (AGN). The NIRCam/Grism spectrum shows no broad H α emission line (FWHM = 130 ± 26 km s ^−1 ), but we cannot exclude the existence of a faint broad line and therefore cannot exclude the AGN scenario. AT 2023adya is unlikely to be a tidal disruption event (TDE) because the TDE models matching the observed brightness changes have low event rates. Although it is not possible to determine AT 2023adya’s nature based on the two-epoch single-band photometry alone, this discovery pushes the transient/variable science frontier past z = 5 and toward the Epoch of Reionization. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3f203571fb0c4436aaf68e4373a97948 |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| spelling | doaj-art-3f203571fb0c4436aaf68e4373a979482025-08-22T06:19:33ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0199013110.3847/1538-4357/ade78cThe First Photometric Evidence of a Transient/Variable Source at z > 5 with JWSTChrista DeCoursey0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4781-9078Eiichi Egami1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1344-9475Fengwu Sun2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4622-6617Arshia Akhtarkavan3https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7532-3197Rachana Bhatawdekar4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0883-2226Andrew J. Bunker5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8651-9879David A. Coulter6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4263-2228Michael Engesser7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0209-674XOri D. Fox8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2238-1572Sebastian Gomez9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6395-6702Kohei Inayoshi10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9840-4959Benjamin D. Johnson11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9280-7594Mitchell Karmen12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2495-8670Conor Larison13https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2037-4619Xiaojing Lin14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6052-4234Jianwei Lyu15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6221-1829Seppo Mattila16https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7497-2994Takashi J. Moriya17https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1169-1954Justin D. R. Pierel18https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2361-7201Dávid Puskás19https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8630-2031Armin Rest20https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4410-5387George H. Rieke21https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2303-6519Brant Robertson22https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4271-0364Sepehr Salamat23https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0397-7894Louis-Gregory Strolger24https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7756-4440Sandro Tacchella25https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8224-4505Christian Vassallo26https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5517-6335Christina C. Williams27https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2919-7495Yossef Zenati28https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0632-8897Junyu Zhang29https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1574-2045Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; cndecoursey@arizona.eduSteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; cndecoursey@arizona.eduCenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USASteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; cndecoursey@arizona.eduEuropean Space Agency (ESA) , European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Camino Bajo del Castillo s/n, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Physics, University of Oxford , Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UKSpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USAKavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of ChinaCenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAPhysics and Astronomy Department, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USASteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; cndecoursey@arizona.edu; Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of ChinaSteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; cndecoursey@arizona.eduDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, FI-20014 University of Turku , Finland; School of Sciences, European University Cyprus , Diogenes Street, Engomi, 1516 Nicosia, CyprusNational Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Institutes of Natural Sciences , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan; Graduate Institute for Advanced Studies , SOKENDAI, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan; School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University , Clayton, VIC 3800, AustraliaSpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAKavli Institute for Cosmology, University of Cambridge , Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA, UK; Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge , 19 JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UKSpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Physics and Astronomy Department, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USASteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; cndecoursey@arizona.eduDepartment of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz , 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 96054, USASteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; cndecoursey@arizona.eduSpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAKavli Institute for Cosmology, University of Cambridge , Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA, UK; Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge , 19 JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UKDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, FI-20014 University of Turku , FinlandNSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Physics and Astronomy Department, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Astrophysics Research Center of the Open University (ARCO), The Open University of Israel , Ra’anana 4353701, IsraelSteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; cndecoursey@arizona.eduThe James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) discovered 79 transients out to z ∼ 4.8 through the JADES Transient Survey (JTS), but the JTS did not find any z > 5 transients. We present the first photometric evidence of a z > 5 transient/variable source with JWST. The source, AT 2023adya, resides in a z _spec = 5.274 galaxy in GOODS-N, which dimmed from m _F356W = 26.05 ± 0.02 mag to 26.24 ± 0.02 mag in the rest-frame optical over approximately 2 rest-frame months, producing a clear residual signal in the difference image ( m _F356W = 28.01 ± 0.17 mag; SN _var = 6.09) at the galaxy center. Shorter-wavelength bands (F090W/F115W) show no rest-frame UV brightness change. Based on its rest-frame V -band absolute magnitude ( M _V = −18.48 mag), AT 2023adya could be any core-collapse supernova (SN) subtype or an SN Ia. However, due to low SN Ia rates at high redshift, the SN Ia scenario is unlikely. Alternatively, AT 2023adya may be a variable active galactic nucleus (AGN). The NIRCam/Grism spectrum shows no broad H α emission line (FWHM = 130 ± 26 km s ^−1 ), but we cannot exclude the existence of a faint broad line and therefore cannot exclude the AGN scenario. AT 2023adya is unlikely to be a tidal disruption event (TDE) because the TDE models matching the observed brightness changes have low event rates. Although it is not possible to determine AT 2023adya’s nature based on the two-epoch single-band photometry alone, this discovery pushes the transient/variable science frontier past z = 5 and toward the Epoch of Reionization.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade78cTransient detectionTransient sources |
| spellingShingle | Christa DeCoursey Eiichi Egami Fengwu Sun Arshia Akhtarkavan Rachana Bhatawdekar Andrew J. Bunker David A. Coulter Michael Engesser Ori D. Fox Sebastian Gomez Kohei Inayoshi Benjamin D. Johnson Mitchell Karmen Conor Larison Xiaojing Lin Jianwei Lyu Seppo Mattila Takashi J. Moriya Justin D. R. Pierel Dávid Puskás Armin Rest George H. Rieke Brant Robertson Sepehr Salamat Louis-Gregory Strolger Sandro Tacchella Christian Vassallo Christina C. Williams Yossef Zenati Junyu Zhang The First Photometric Evidence of a Transient/Variable Source at z > 5 with JWST The Astrophysical Journal Transient detection Transient sources |
| title | The First Photometric Evidence of a Transient/Variable Source at z > 5 with JWST |
| title_full | The First Photometric Evidence of a Transient/Variable Source at z > 5 with JWST |
| title_fullStr | The First Photometric Evidence of a Transient/Variable Source at z > 5 with JWST |
| title_full_unstemmed | The First Photometric Evidence of a Transient/Variable Source at z > 5 with JWST |
| title_short | The First Photometric Evidence of a Transient/Variable Source at z > 5 with JWST |
| title_sort | first photometric evidence of a transient variable source at z 5 with jwst |
| topic | Transient detection Transient sources |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade78c |
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