The FENIKS Survey: Spectroscopic Confirmation of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ∼ 3–5
The measured ages of massive, quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 3–4 imply that massive galaxies quench as early as z ∼ 6. While the number of spectroscopic confirmations of quiescent galaxies at z < 3 has increased over the years, there are only a handful at z > 3.5. We report spectroscopic redshifts...
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2024-01-01
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| author | Jacqueline Antwi-Danso Casey Papovich James Esdaile Themiya Nanayakkara Karl Glazebrook Taylor A. Hutchison Katherine E. Whitaker Z. Cemile Marsan Ruben J. Diaz Danilo Marchesini Adam Muzzin Kim-Vy H. Tran David J. Setton Yasha Kaushal Joshua S. Speagle Justin Cole |
| author_facet | Jacqueline Antwi-Danso Casey Papovich James Esdaile Themiya Nanayakkara Karl Glazebrook Taylor A. Hutchison Katherine E. Whitaker Z. Cemile Marsan Ruben J. Diaz Danilo Marchesini Adam Muzzin Kim-Vy H. Tran David J. Setton Yasha Kaushal Joshua S. Speagle Justin Cole |
| author_sort | Jacqueline Antwi-Danso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The measured ages of massive, quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 3–4 imply that massive galaxies quench as early as z ∼ 6. While the number of spectroscopic confirmations of quiescent galaxies at z < 3 has increased over the years, there are only a handful at z > 3.5. We report spectroscopic redshifts of one secure ( z = 3.757) and two tentative ( z = 3.336 and z = 4.673) massive ( $\mathrm{log}({M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot })\gt 10.3$ ) quiescent galaxies with 11 hr of Keck/MOSFIRE K -band observations. Our candidates were selected from the FLAMINGOS-2 Extragalactic Near-Infrared K -band Split (FENIKS) survey, which uses deep Gemini/Flamingos-2 K _b K _r imaging optimized for increased sensitivity to the characteristic red colors of galaxies at z > 3 with a strong Balmer/4000 Å break. The rest-frame UVJ and ( ugi ) _s colors of three out of four quiescent candidates are consistent with 1–2 Gyr old stellar populations. This places these galaxies as the oldest objects at these redshifts, and challenges the notion that quiescent galaxies at z > 3 are all recently quenched, post-starburst galaxies. Our spectroscopy shows that the other quiescent-galaxy candidate is a broad-line active galactic nucleus ( z = 3.594) with strong, redshifted H β + [O III ] emission with a velocity offset > 1000 km s ^−1 , indicative of a powerful outflow. The star formation history of our highest redshift candidate suggests that its progenitor was already in place by z ∼ 7–11, reaching ∼10 ^11 M _⊙ by z ≃ 8. These observations reveal the limit of what is possible with deep near-infrared photometry and targeted spectroscopy from the ground and demonstrate that secure spectroscopic confirmation of quiescent galaxies at z > 4 is feasible only with JWST. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d9794fe90e8441a9bea55fafa10f7379 |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-d9794fe90e8441a9bea55fafa10f73792024-12-26T12:53:58ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-0197819010.3847/1538-4357/ad8b30The FENIKS Survey: Spectroscopic Confirmation of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ∼ 3–5Jacqueline Antwi-Danso0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0243-6575Casey Papovich1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7503-8482James Esdaile2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6941-7662Themiya Nanayakkara3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2804-0648Karl Glazebrook4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3254-9044Taylor A. Hutchison5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6251-4988Katherine E. Whitaker6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7160-3632Z. Cemile Marsan7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7248-1566Ruben J. Diaz8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9716-5335Danilo Marchesini9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9002-3502Adam Muzzin10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9330-9108Kim-Vy H. Tran11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9208-2143David J. Setton12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4075-7393Yasha Kaushal13https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4382-4467Joshua S. Speagle14https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2573-9832Justin Cole15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6348-1900George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 78743, USA ; jadanso@tamu.edu; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , 4242 TAMU, College Station, TX 78743, USA; Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts , Amherst, MA 01003, USA; David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, CanadaGeorge P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 78743, USA ; jadanso@tamu.edu; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , 4242 TAMU, College Station, TX 78743, USACentre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology , P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, AustraliaCentre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology , P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, AustraliaCentre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology , P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, AustraliaAstrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts , Amherst, MA 01003, USA; Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, København N, DK-2200, DenmarkDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, York University , Toronto, Ontario, CanadaGemini Observatory , NSF’s NOIRLab, 950 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, USA; Universidad Nacional de Córdoba , Laprida 854, Córdoba, CPA: X5000BGR, ArgentinaDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University , Medford, MA, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, York University , Toronto, Ontario, CanadaSchool of Physics, University of New South Wales , Kensington, Australia; ARC Centre for Excellence in All-Sky Astrophysics in 3D , AustraliaDepartment of Physics and Astronomy and PITT PACC, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USAUniversity of Pittsburgh , Department of Physics and Astronomy, 100 Allen Hall, 3941 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh PA 15260, USADavid A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Toronto , 9th Floor, Ontario Power Building, 700 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 1Z5, Canada; Data Sciences Institute, University of Toronto , 17th Floor, Ontario Power Building, 700 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 1Z5, CanadaGeorge P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 78743, USA ; jadanso@tamu.edu; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , 4242 TAMU, College Station, TX 78743, USAThe measured ages of massive, quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 3–4 imply that massive galaxies quench as early as z ∼ 6. While the number of spectroscopic confirmations of quiescent galaxies at z < 3 has increased over the years, there are only a handful at z > 3.5. We report spectroscopic redshifts of one secure ( z = 3.757) and two tentative ( z = 3.336 and z = 4.673) massive ( $\mathrm{log}({M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot })\gt 10.3$ ) quiescent galaxies with 11 hr of Keck/MOSFIRE K -band observations. Our candidates were selected from the FLAMINGOS-2 Extragalactic Near-Infrared K -band Split (FENIKS) survey, which uses deep Gemini/Flamingos-2 K _b K _r imaging optimized for increased sensitivity to the characteristic red colors of galaxies at z > 3 with a strong Balmer/4000 Å break. The rest-frame UVJ and ( ugi ) _s colors of three out of four quiescent candidates are consistent with 1–2 Gyr old stellar populations. This places these galaxies as the oldest objects at these redshifts, and challenges the notion that quiescent galaxies at z > 3 are all recently quenched, post-starburst galaxies. Our spectroscopy shows that the other quiescent-galaxy candidate is a broad-line active galactic nucleus ( z = 3.594) with strong, redshifted H β + [O III ] emission with a velocity offset > 1000 km s ^−1 , indicative of a powerful outflow. The star formation history of our highest redshift candidate suggests that its progenitor was already in place by z ∼ 7–11, reaching ∼10 ^11 M _⊙ by z ≃ 8. These observations reveal the limit of what is possible with deep near-infrared photometry and targeted spectroscopy from the ground and demonstrate that secure spectroscopic confirmation of quiescent galaxies at z > 4 is feasible only with JWST.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8b30High-redshift galaxiesGalaxy evolutionNear infrared astronomyPost-starburst galaxiesQuenched galaxiesAGN host galaxies |
| spellingShingle | Jacqueline Antwi-Danso Casey Papovich James Esdaile Themiya Nanayakkara Karl Glazebrook Taylor A. Hutchison Katherine E. Whitaker Z. Cemile Marsan Ruben J. Diaz Danilo Marchesini Adam Muzzin Kim-Vy H. Tran David J. Setton Yasha Kaushal Joshua S. Speagle Justin Cole The FENIKS Survey: Spectroscopic Confirmation of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ∼ 3–5 The Astrophysical Journal High-redshift galaxies Galaxy evolution Near infrared astronomy Post-starburst galaxies Quenched galaxies AGN host galaxies |
| title | The FENIKS Survey: Spectroscopic Confirmation of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ∼ 3–5 |
| title_full | The FENIKS Survey: Spectroscopic Confirmation of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ∼ 3–5 |
| title_fullStr | The FENIKS Survey: Spectroscopic Confirmation of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ∼ 3–5 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The FENIKS Survey: Spectroscopic Confirmation of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ∼ 3–5 |
| title_short | The FENIKS Survey: Spectroscopic Confirmation of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ∼ 3–5 |
| title_sort | feniks survey spectroscopic confirmation of massive quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 3 5 |
| topic | High-redshift galaxies Galaxy evolution Near infrared astronomy Post-starburst galaxies Quenched galaxies AGN host galaxies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8b30 |
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