Dark-ages reionization and galaxy-formation simulation - VI. The origins and fate of the highest known redshift galaxy

Abstract

Using Hubble data, including new grism spectra, Oesch et al. recently identified GN-z11, an $M_{\text{UV}}$=-21.1 galaxy at $z$=11.1 (just 400Myr after the big bang). With an estimated stellar mass of $\sim$10${}^9$M${}_{\odot }$, this galaxy is surprisingly bright and massive, raising questions as to how such an extreme object could form so early in the Universe. Using \Meraxes{}, a semi-analytic galaxy-formation model developed as part of the Dark-ages Reionization And Galaxy-formation Observables from Numerical Simulations (DRAGONS) programme, we investigate the potential formation mechanisms and eventual fate of GN-z11. The volume of our simulation is comparable to that of the discovery observations and possesses two analogue galaxies of similar luminosity to this remarkably bright system. Existing in the two most massive subhaloes at $z$=11.1 ($M_{\text{vir}}$=1.4$\times 10^{11}$M${}_{\odot }$ and 6.7$\times 10^{10}$M${}_{\odot }$), our model analogues show excellent agreement with all available observationally derived properties of GN-z11. Although they are relatively rare outliers from the full galaxy population at high-$z$, they are no longer the most massive or brightest systems by $z$=5. Furthermore, we find that both objects possess relatively smooth, but extremely rapid mass growth histories with consistently high star formation rates and UV luminosities at $z>11$, indicating that their brightness is not a transient, merger-driven feature. Our model results suggest that future wide-field surveys with the \textit{James Webb Space Telescope} may be able to detect the progenitors of GN-z11 analogues out to $z\sim$13--14, pushing the frontiers of galaxy-formation observations to the early phases of cosmic reionization and providing a valuable glimpse of the first galaxies to reionize the Universe on large scales.

arXiv commentUpdated to match published version. Minor correction to figure 2, with no resulting changes to findings. 8 pages, 6 figures, published in MNRAS

References in corpus (28)

• The Formation of Galactic Disks
• UV Luminosity Functions at redshifts z~4 to z~10: 10000 Galaxies from HST Legacy Fields
• 21cmFAST: A Fast, Semi-Numerical Simulation of the High-Redshift 21-cm Signal
• The Evolution of the Galaxy Rest-Frame Ultraviolet Luminosity Function Over the First Two Billion Years
• A Remarkably Luminous Galaxy at z=11.1 Measured with Hubble Space Telescope Grism Spectroscopy
• The effect of galaxy mass ratio on merger--driven starbursts
• Efficient Simulations of Early Structure Formation and Reionization
• The Evolution of the Galaxy Stellar Mass Function at z= 4-8: A Steepening Low-mass-end Slope with Increasing Redshift
• Concordance models of reionization: implications for faint galaxies and escape fraction evolution
• The galaxy stellar mass function at 3.5<z<7.5 in the CANDELS/UDS, GOODS-South, and HUDF fields
• The mass evolution of the first galaxies: stellar mass functions and star formation rates at $4<z<7$ in the CANDELS GOODS-South field
• The Galaxy UV Luminosity Function Before the Epoch of Reionization
• Evolution of Galaxy Stellar Mass Functions, Mass Densities, and Mass to Light Ratios from z 7 to z 4
• The Galaxy Luminosity Function during the Reionization Epoch
• Dark-ages reionization and galaxy formation simulation - III. Modelling galaxy formation and the epoch of reionization
• A physical model for the 0 < z < 8 redshift evolution of the galaxy UV luminosity and stellar mass functions
• SCORCH I: The Galaxy-Halo Connection in the First Billion Years
• Dark-ages reionization & galaxy formation simulation IV: UV luminosity functions of high-redshift galaxies
• The formation of Milky Way-mass disk galaxies in the first 500 million years of a cold dark matter universe
• The luminosity and stellar mass functions of GRB host galaxies: Insight into the metallicity bias
• Dark-ages Reionization & Galaxy Formation Simulation I: The dynamical lives of high redshift galaxies
• Beyond the nuclear starburst? Clustered star formation in major mergers
• Forecasts for the WFIRST High Latitude Survey using the BlueTides Simulation
• From Discs to Bulges: effect of mergers on the morphology of galaxies
• Monsters in the Dark: Predictions for Luminous Galaxies in the Early Universe from the BlueTides Simulation
• Dark-ages Reionization & Galaxy Formation Simulation II: Spin and concentration parameters for dark matter haloes during the Epoch of Reionization
• Dark-ages reionization & galaxy formation simulation V: morphology and statistical signatures of reionization
• Where can we really find the First Stars' Remnants today?

Cited by in corpus (14)

• Two Remarkably Luminous Galaxy Candidates at $z\approx 10-12$ Revealed by JWST
• Evidence for GN-z11 as a luminous galaxy at redshift 10.957
• A Minimalist Feedback-Regulated Model for Galaxy Formation During the Epoch of Reionization
• The properties of the first galaxies in the BLUETIDES simulation
• Newly Discovered Bright z~9-10 Galaxies and Improved Constraints on Their Prevalence Using the Full CANDELS Area
• Dark-ages Reionization and Galaxy Formation Simulation XX. The Ly$\alpha$ IGM transmission properties and environment of bright galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization
• Dark-ages reionization and galaxy formation simulation--VII. The sizes of high-redshift galaxies
• The THESAN project: connecting ionized bubble sizes to their local environments during the Epoch of Reionization
• Dark-ages Reionization and Galaxy Formation Simulation - XIII. AGN quenching of high-redshift star formation in ZF-COSMOS-20115
• Dark ages reionization & galaxy formation simulation XII: Bubbles at dawn
• Dark-ages reionization and galaxy formation simulation - IX. Economics of reionizing galaxies
• Dark-ages Reionization and Galaxy Formation Simulation - XV. Stellar evolution and feedback in dwarf galaxies at high redshift
• Dark-ages Reionization and Galaxy Formation Simulation - XIV. Gas accretion, cooling and star formation in dwarf galaxies at high redshift
• The 21-cm signal from the Cosmic Dawn: metallicity dependence of high mass X-ray binaries