The JWST/PASSAGE Survey: Testing Reionization Histories with JWST’s First Unbiased Survey for Lyα Emitters at Redshifts 7.5–9.5
Ly α emission is one of a few observable features of galaxies that can trace the neutral hydrogen content in the Universe during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). To accomplish this, we need an efficient way to survey for Ly α emitters (LAEs) at redshifts beyond 7, requiring unbiased emission-line ob...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Axel Runnholm Matthew J. Hayes Vihang Mehta Matthew A. Malkan Claudia Scarlata Kalina V. Nedkova Marc Rafelski Benedetta Vulcani Mason Huberty E. Christian Herenz Anne Hutter Sean Bruton Ayan Acharyya Hakim Atek Ivano Baronchelli Andrew J. Battisti Maruša Bradač Andrew J. Bunker Y. Sophia Dai Clea Hannahs Farhanul Hasan Keunho J. Kim Nicha Leethochawalit Yu-Heng Lin Michael J. Rutkowski Alberto Saldana-Lopez Zahra Sattari Xin Wang |
| author_facet | Axel Runnholm Matthew J. Hayes Vihang Mehta Matthew A. Malkan Claudia Scarlata Kalina V. Nedkova Marc Rafelski Benedetta Vulcani Mason Huberty E. Christian Herenz Anne Hutter Sean Bruton Ayan Acharyya Hakim Atek Ivano Baronchelli Andrew J. Battisti Maruša Bradač Andrew J. Bunker Y. Sophia Dai Clea Hannahs Farhanul Hasan Keunho J. Kim Nicha Leethochawalit Yu-Heng Lin Michael J. Rutkowski Alberto Saldana-Lopez Zahra Sattari Xin Wang |
| author_sort | Axel Runnholm |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ly α emission is one of a few observable features of galaxies that can trace the neutral hydrogen content in the Universe during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). To accomplish this, we need an efficient way to survey for Ly α emitters (LAEs) at redshifts beyond 7, requiring unbiased emission-line observations that are both sufficiently deep and wide to cover enough volume to detect them. Here we present results from PASSAGE—a pure-parallel JWST/NIRISS slitless spectroscopic survey to detect LAEs deep into the EoR, without the bias of photometric preselection. We identify four LAEs at 7.5 ≤ z ≤ 9.5 in four surveyed pointings and estimate the luminosity function (LF). We find that the LF does show a marked decrease compared to post-reionization measurements, but the change is a factor of ≲10, which is less than expected from theoretical calculations and simulations, as well as observational expectations from the pre-JWST literature. Modeling of the intergalactic medium and expected Ly α profiles implies that these galaxies reside in ionized bubbles of ⪆2 physical Mpc. We also report that in the four fields we detect {3, 1, 0, 0} LAEs, which could indicate strong field-to-field variation in the LAE distribution, consistent with a patchy H i distribution at z ∼ 8. We compare the recovered LAE number counts with expectations from simulations and discuss the potential implications for reionization and its morphology. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-cce50a2936e04fa6ba783945d8bc1d732025-08-20T03:53:38ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198419510.3847/1538-4357/adc008The JWST/PASSAGE Survey: Testing Reionization Histories with JWST’s First Unbiased Survey for Lyα Emitters at Redshifts 7.5–9.5Axel Runnholm0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1025-7569Matthew J. Hayes1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8587-218XVihang Mehta2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7166-6035Matthew A. Malkan3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6919-1237Claudia Scarlata4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9136-8876Kalina V. Nedkova5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5294-8002Marc Rafelski6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9946-4731Benedetta Vulcani7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0980-1499Mason Huberty8https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9932-4461E. Christian Herenz9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8505-4678Anne Hutter10Sean Bruton11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6503-5218Ayan Acharyya12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4804-7142Hakim Atek13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7570-0824Ivano Baronchelli14https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0556-2929Andrew J. Battisti15https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4569-2285Maruša Bradač16https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5984-0395Andrew J. Bunker17https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8651-9879Y. Sophia Dai18https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7928-416XClea Hannahs19https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0868-8165Farhanul Hasan20https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0072-0281Keunho J. Kim21https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6505-0293Nicha Leethochawalit22https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4570-3159Yu-Heng Lin23https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8792-3091Michael J. Rutkowski24https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7016-5220Alberto Saldana-Lopez25https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8419-3062Zahra Sattari26https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0364-1159Xin Wang27https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9373-3865Stockholm University , Department of Astronomy and Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physics, AlbaNova University Centre, SE-10691, Stockholm, Sweden ; matthew.hayes@astro.su.seStockholm University , Department of Astronomy and Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physics, AlbaNova University Centre, SE-10691, Stockholm, Sweden ; matthew.hayes@astro.su.seIPAC, Mail Code 314-6, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USAUniversity of California , Los Angeles, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 430 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USAMinnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAINAF , Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, ItalyMinnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USAInter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) , Pune University Campus, Pune 411 007, IndiaNiels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, DK-2200, Copenhagen N, Denmark; Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) , Copenhagen, DenmarkCalifornia Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USAINAF , Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, ItalyInstitut d’Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, Sorbonne Université , 98bis Boulevard Arago, 75014, Paris, FranceINAF—Istituto di Radioastronomia , Via Gobetti 101 40129 Bologna, ItalyInternational Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), University of Western Australia , M468, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; Australian National University , Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Canberra, ACT 2611, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) , AustraliaUniversity of Ljubljana , Department of Mathematics and Physics, Jadranska ulica 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Davis , 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USADepartment of Physics, University of Oxford , Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UKThe National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 20A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of ChinaUniversity of California , Los Angeles, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 430 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAIPAC, Mail Code 314-6, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USANational Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) , Mae Rim, Chiang Mai, 50180, ThailandIPAC, Mail Code 314-6, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Minnesota State University , Mankato, Trafton North 158, Mankato, MN 56001, USAStockholm University , Department of Astronomy and Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physics, AlbaNova University Centre, SE-10691, Stockholm, Sweden ; matthew.hayes@astro.su.seIPAC, Mail Code 314-6, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USASchool of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) , Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China; National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China; Institute for Frontiers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University , Beijing 102206, People’s Republic of ChinaLy α emission is one of a few observable features of galaxies that can trace the neutral hydrogen content in the Universe during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). To accomplish this, we need an efficient way to survey for Ly α emitters (LAEs) at redshifts beyond 7, requiring unbiased emission-line observations that are both sufficiently deep and wide to cover enough volume to detect them. Here we present results from PASSAGE—a pure-parallel JWST/NIRISS slitless spectroscopic survey to detect LAEs deep into the EoR, without the bias of photometric preselection. We identify four LAEs at 7.5 ≤ z ≤ 9.5 in four surveyed pointings and estimate the luminosity function (LF). We find that the LF does show a marked decrease compared to post-reionization measurements, but the change is a factor of ≲10, which is less than expected from theoretical calculations and simulations, as well as observational expectations from the pre-JWST literature. Modeling of the intergalactic medium and expected Ly α profiles implies that these galaxies reside in ionized bubbles of ⪆2 physical Mpc. We also report that in the four fields we detect {3, 1, 0, 0} LAEs, which could indicate strong field-to-field variation in the LAE distribution, consistent with a patchy H i distribution at z ∼ 8. We compare the recovered LAE number counts with expectations from simulations and discuss the potential implications for reionization and its morphology.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc008ReionizationLyman-alpha galaxiesHigh-redshift galaxies |
| spellingShingle | Axel Runnholm Matthew J. Hayes Vihang Mehta Matthew A. Malkan Claudia Scarlata Kalina V. Nedkova Marc Rafelski Benedetta Vulcani Mason Huberty E. Christian Herenz Anne Hutter Sean Bruton Ayan Acharyya Hakim Atek Ivano Baronchelli Andrew J. Battisti Maruša Bradač Andrew J. Bunker Y. Sophia Dai Clea Hannahs Farhanul Hasan Keunho J. Kim Nicha Leethochawalit Yu-Heng Lin Michael J. Rutkowski Alberto Saldana-Lopez Zahra Sattari Xin Wang The JWST/PASSAGE Survey: Testing Reionization Histories with JWST’s First Unbiased Survey for Lyα Emitters at Redshifts 7.5–9.5 The Astrophysical Journal Reionization Lyman-alpha galaxies High-redshift galaxies |
| title | The JWST/PASSAGE Survey: Testing Reionization Histories with JWST’s First Unbiased Survey for Lyα Emitters at Redshifts 7.5–9.5 |
| title_full | The JWST/PASSAGE Survey: Testing Reionization Histories with JWST’s First Unbiased Survey for Lyα Emitters at Redshifts 7.5–9.5 |
| title_fullStr | The JWST/PASSAGE Survey: Testing Reionization Histories with JWST’s First Unbiased Survey for Lyα Emitters at Redshifts 7.5–9.5 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The JWST/PASSAGE Survey: Testing Reionization Histories with JWST’s First Unbiased Survey for Lyα Emitters at Redshifts 7.5–9.5 |
| title_short | The JWST/PASSAGE Survey: Testing Reionization Histories with JWST’s First Unbiased Survey for Lyα Emitters at Redshifts 7.5–9.5 |
| title_sort | jwst passage survey testing reionization histories with jwst s first unbiased survey for lyα emitters at redshifts 7 5 9 5 |
| topic | Reionization Lyman-alpha galaxies High-redshift galaxies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc008 |
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