Kartaltepe_2023_ApJL_946_L15.pdf (7.81 MB)
CEERS key paper. III. The diversity of galaxy structure and morphology at z = 3–9 with JWST
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posted on 2023-06-10, 06:50 authored by Jeyhan S Kartaltepe, Caitlin Rose, Brittany N Vanderhoof, Elizabeth J McGrath, Luca Costantin, Isabella G Cox, L Y Aaron Yung, Dale D Kocevski, Stijn Wuyts, Henry C Ferguson, Micaela B Bagley, Steven L Finkelstein, Ricardo O Amorín, Stephen WilkinsStephen Wilkins, othersWe present a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of the morphological and structural properties of a large sample of galaxies at z = 3-9 using early James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) CEERS NIRCam observations. Our sample consists of 850 galaxies at z > 3 detected in both Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/WFC3 and CEERS JWST/NIRCam images, enabling a comparison of HST and JWST morphologies. We conduct a set of visual classifications, with each galaxy in the sample classified three times. We also measure quantitative morphologies across all NIRCam filters. We find that galaxies at z > 3 have a wide diversity of morphologies. Galaxies with disks make up 60% of galaxies at z = 3, and this fraction drops to ~30% at z = 6-9, while galaxies with spheroids make up ~30%-40% across the redshift range, and pure spheroids with no evidence for disks or irregular features make up ~20%. The fraction of galaxies with irregular features is roughly constant at all redshifts (~40%-50%), while those that are purely irregular increases from ~12% to ~20% at z > 4.5. We note that these are apparent fractions, as many observational effects impact the visibility of morphological features at high redshift. On average, Spheroid-only galaxies have a higher Sérsic index, smaller size, and higher axis ratio than disk or irregular galaxies. Across all redshifts, smaller spheroid and disk galaxies tend to be rounder. Overall, these trends suggest that galaxies with established disks and spheroids exist across the full redshift range of this study, and further work with large samples at higher redshift is needed to quantify when these features first formed.
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- Published
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- Published version
Journal
Astrophysical Journal LettersISSN
2041-8205Publisher
American Astronomical SocietyExternal DOI
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946Page range
L15 1-17Department affiliated with
- Physics and Astronomy Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2023-04-24First Open Access (FOA) Date
2023-04-24First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2023-04-21Usage metrics
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