Spectroscopy with the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) -- the NIRSpec/NIRCam GTO galaxy evolution project

Abstract

I present an overview of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES), a joint program of the JWST/NIRCam and NIRSpec Guaranteed Time Observations (GTO) teams involving 950 hours of observation. We will target two well-studied fields with excellent supporting data (e.g., from HST-CANDELS): GOODS-North and South, including the Ultra Deep Field. The science goal of JADES is to chart galaxy evolution at z > 2, and potentially out to z > 10, using the rest-frame optical and near-IR though observations from $\approx$ 1 - 5 $\mu$m. Multi-colour NIRCam imaging with 9 filters will enable photometric redshifts and the application of the Lyman break technique out to unprecedented distances. NIRSpec spectroscopy (with spectral resolving powers of R = 100, 1000 & 2700) will measure secure spectroscopic redshifts of the photometrically-selected population, as well as stellar continuum slopes in the UV rest-frame, and hence study the role of dust, stellar population age, and other effects. Measuring emission lines can constrain the dust extinction, star formation rates, metallicity, chemical abundances, ionization and excitation mechanism in high redshift galaxies. Coupling NIRCam and NIRSpec observations will determine stellar populations (age, star formation histories, abundances) of galaxies and provide the information to correct their broad-band spectral energy distribution for likely line contamination. Potentially we can search for signatures of Population III stars such as HeII. We can address the contribution of star-forming galaxies at z > 7 to reionization by determining the faint end slope of the luminosity function and investigating the escape fraction of ionizing photons by comparing the UV stellar continuum with the Balmer-line fluxes.

arXiv commentAppeared in proceedings of conference "Uncovering Early Galaxy Evolution in the ALMA and JWST Era", held in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, June 2019. Presentation on behalf of the NIRSpec Instrument Science Team and the JADES collaboration

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Cited by in corpus (18)

• JADES NIRSpec Initial Data Release for the Hubble Ultra Deep Field: Redshifts and Line Fluxes of Distant Galaxies from the Deepest JWST Cycle 1 NIRSpec Multi-Object Spectroscopy
• EIGER II. first spectroscopic characterisation of the young stars and ionised gas associated with strong H$\beta$ and [OIII] line-emission in galaxies at z=5-7 with JWST
• The physics of gas phase metallicity gradients in galaxies
• Peering into cosmic reionization: the Ly$\alpha$ visibility evolution from galaxies at $z$ = 4.5-8.5 with JWST
• GALLUMI: A Galaxy Luminosity Function Pipeline for Cosmology and Astrophysics
• JADES: comprehensive census of broad-line AGN from Reionization to Cosmic Noon revealed by JWST
• Zapped then Napped? A rapidly quenched remnant leaker candidate with a steep spectroscopic ${\beta }_{UV}$ slope at z=8.5
• No Tension: JWST Galaxies at $z>10$ Consistent with Cosmological Simulations
• The dawn of disks: unveiling the turbulent ionised gas kinematics of the galaxy population at $z\sim 4-6$ with JWST/NIRCam grism spectroscopy
• Photon leaking or very hard ionizing radiation? Unveiling the nature of heII-emitters using the softness diagram
• Hitting the slopes: A spectroscopic view of UV continuum slopes of galaxies reveals a reddening at z > 9.5
• The BlueTides Mock Image Catalogue: Simulated observations of high-redshift galaxies and predictions for JWST imaging surveys
• A panchromatic view of star cluster formation in a simulated dwarf galaxy starburst
• JADES Data Release 4 Paper I: Sample Selection, Observing Strategy and Redshifts of the complete spectroscopic sample
• Importance of modelling the nebular continuum in galaxy spectra
• Beyond the stars: Linking H$\alpha$ sizes, kinematics, and star formation in galaxies at $z\approx 4-6$ with JWST grism surveys and $\text{geko}$
• Cloudy with a chance of starshine: Possible photometric signatures of nebular-dominated emission in $1.5<z<8.5$ JADES galaxies
• Out of oxygen: Extremely metal-poor galaxy candidates identified at $2.5<z<6.5$ with deep JADES medium-band imaging