Dissecting the Massive Pristine, Neutral Gas Reservoir of a Remarkably Bright Galaxy at z = 14.179
At cosmic dawn, the first stars and galaxies are believed to form from and be deeply embedded in clouds of dense, pristine gas. Here we present a study of the James Webb Space Telescope/NIRSpec data of the most distant, spectroscopically confirmed galaxy observed to date, JADES-GS-z14-0 (GS-z14 for...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Kasper E. Heintz Clara L. Pollock Joris Witstok Stefano Carniani Kevin N. Hainline Francesco D’Eugenio Chamilla Terp Aayush Saxena Darach Watson |
| author_facet | Kasper E. Heintz Clara L. Pollock Joris Witstok Stefano Carniani Kevin N. Hainline Francesco D’Eugenio Chamilla Terp Aayush Saxena Darach Watson |
| author_sort | Kasper E. Heintz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | At cosmic dawn, the first stars and galaxies are believed to form from and be deeply embedded in clouds of dense, pristine gas. Here we present a study of the James Webb Space Telescope/NIRSpec data of the most distant, spectroscopically confirmed galaxy observed to date, JADES-GS-z14-0 (GS-z14 for short), at z = 14.179, combined with recently reported far-infrared measurements of the [O iii ]-88 μ m and [C ii ]-158 μ m line transitions and underlying dust-continuum emission. Based on the observed prominent damped Ly α (DLA) absorption profile, we determine a substantial neutral atomic hydrogen (H i ) column density, $\mathrm{log}({N}_{{\rm{HI}}}/{{\rm{cm}}}^{-2})=22.2{7}_{-0.09}^{+0.08}$ , consistent with previous estimates though seemingly at odds with the dynamical and gas mass of the galaxy. Using various independent but complementary approaches, considering the implied neutral gas mass from the DLA measurement, the star formation rate surface density, and the metal abundance, we demonstrate that the total gas mass of GS-z14 is of the order M _gas = 10 ^9.5 –10 ^9.8 M _⊙ . This implies a substantial gas mass fraction, f _gas ≈ 0.7–0.9 and that the bulk of the interstellar medium (ISM) is in the form of H i , with mass ratios ${M}_{{\rm{HI}}}/{M}_{{{\rm{H}}}_{2}}\approx 3$ . We show that the derived gas mass is fully consistent with the nondetection of [C ii ]-158 μ m, assuming an appropriate scaling to the neutral gas. The low dust-to-gas ratio, A _V / N _HI = (1.3 ± 0.6) × 10 ^−23 mag cm ^2 , derived in the line of sight through the DLA further indicates that the absorbing gas is more pristine than the central, star-forming regions probed by the [O iii ]-88 μ m emission. These results highlight the implications for far-infrared line-detection searchers attainable with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and demonstrate that the bright, relatively massive galaxy GS-z14 at z = 14.179 is deeply embedded in a substantial, pristine H i gas reservoir dominating its baryonic matter content. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | DOAJ |
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| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-d4475862ea7341ebb413a4b6ad1401202025-08-20T03:16:15ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052025-01-019871L210.3847/2041-8213/ade393Dissecting the Massive Pristine, Neutral Gas Reservoir of a Remarkably Bright Galaxy at z = 14.179Kasper E. Heintz0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9389-7413Clara L. Pollock1https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2808-4918Joris Witstok2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7595-121XStefano Carniani3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6719-380XKevin N. Hainline4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4565-8239Francesco D’Eugenio5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2388-8172Chamilla Terp6https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4175-4890Aayush Saxena7Darach Watson8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4465-8264Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) , Denmark; Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark; Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva , Chemin Pegasi 51, 1290 Versoix, SwitzerlandCosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) , Denmark; Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, 2200 Copenhagen N, DenmarkCosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) , Denmark; Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, 2200 Copenhagen N, DenmarkScuola Normale Superiore , Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, I-56126 Pisa, ItalySteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North CherryAvenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, 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, UKNiels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, 2200 Copenhagen N, DenmarkDepartment of Physics, University of Oxford , Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London , Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UKCosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) , Denmark; Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, 2200 Copenhagen N, DenmarkAt cosmic dawn, the first stars and galaxies are believed to form from and be deeply embedded in clouds of dense, pristine gas. Here we present a study of the James Webb Space Telescope/NIRSpec data of the most distant, spectroscopically confirmed galaxy observed to date, JADES-GS-z14-0 (GS-z14 for short), at z = 14.179, combined with recently reported far-infrared measurements of the [O iii ]-88 μ m and [C ii ]-158 μ m line transitions and underlying dust-continuum emission. Based on the observed prominent damped Ly α (DLA) absorption profile, we determine a substantial neutral atomic hydrogen (H i ) column density, $\mathrm{log}({N}_{{\rm{HI}}}/{{\rm{cm}}}^{-2})=22.2{7}_{-0.09}^{+0.08}$ , consistent with previous estimates though seemingly at odds with the dynamical and gas mass of the galaxy. Using various independent but complementary approaches, considering the implied neutral gas mass from the DLA measurement, the star formation rate surface density, and the metal abundance, we demonstrate that the total gas mass of GS-z14 is of the order M _gas = 10 ^9.5 –10 ^9.8 M _⊙ . This implies a substantial gas mass fraction, f _gas ≈ 0.7–0.9 and that the bulk of the interstellar medium (ISM) is in the form of H i , with mass ratios ${M}_{{\rm{HI}}}/{M}_{{{\rm{H}}}_{2}}\approx 3$ . We show that the derived gas mass is fully consistent with the nondetection of [C ii ]-158 μ m, assuming an appropriate scaling to the neutral gas. The low dust-to-gas ratio, A _V / N _HI = (1.3 ± 0.6) × 10 ^−23 mag cm ^2 , derived in the line of sight through the DLA further indicates that the absorbing gas is more pristine than the central, star-forming regions probed by the [O iii ]-88 μ m emission. These results highlight the implications for far-infrared line-detection searchers attainable with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and demonstrate that the bright, relatively massive galaxy GS-z14 at z = 14.179 is deeply embedded in a substantial, pristine H i gas reservoir dominating its baryonic matter content.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ade393High-redshift galaxiesGalaxy formationReionizationPrimordial galaxies |
| spellingShingle | Kasper E. Heintz Clara L. Pollock Joris Witstok Stefano Carniani Kevin N. Hainline Francesco D’Eugenio Chamilla Terp Aayush Saxena Darach Watson Dissecting the Massive Pristine, Neutral Gas Reservoir of a Remarkably Bright Galaxy at z = 14.179 The Astrophysical Journal Letters High-redshift galaxies Galaxy formation Reionization Primordial galaxies |
| title | Dissecting the Massive Pristine, Neutral Gas Reservoir of a Remarkably Bright Galaxy at z = 14.179 |
| title_full | Dissecting the Massive Pristine, Neutral Gas Reservoir of a Remarkably Bright Galaxy at z = 14.179 |
| title_fullStr | Dissecting the Massive Pristine, Neutral Gas Reservoir of a Remarkably Bright Galaxy at z = 14.179 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dissecting the Massive Pristine, Neutral Gas Reservoir of a Remarkably Bright Galaxy at z = 14.179 |
| title_short | Dissecting the Massive Pristine, Neutral Gas Reservoir of a Remarkably Bright Galaxy at z = 14.179 |
| title_sort | dissecting the massive pristine neutral gas reservoir of a remarkably bright galaxy at z 14 179 |
| topic | High-redshift galaxies Galaxy formation Reionization Primordial galaxies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ade393 |
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