CEERS Key Paper IV: Galaxies at $4<z<9$ are Bluer than They Appear -- Characterizing Galaxy Stellar Populations from Rest-Frame $\sim 1$ micron Imaging

Abstract

We present results from the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Survey (CEERS) on the stellar-population parameters for 28 galaxies with redshifts $4<z<9$ using imaging data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) combined with data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The JWST/MIRI 5.6 and 7.7 $\mu$m data extend the coverage of the rest-frame spectral-energy distribution (SED) to nearly 1 micron for galaxies in this redshift range. By modeling the galaxies' SEDs the MIRI data show that the galaxies have, on average, rest-frame UV (1600 Å) $-$ $I$-band colors 0.4 mag bluer than derived when using photometry that lacks MIRI. Therefore, the galaxies have lower (stellar)-mass-to-light ratios. The MIRI data reduce the stellar masses by $⟨\Delta \log M_{\ast }⟩=0.25$ dex at $4<z<6$ (a factor of 1.8) and 0.37 dex at $6<z<9$ (a factor of 2.3). This also reduces the star-formation rates (SFRs) by $⟨\Delta \log \mathrm{SFR}⟩=0.14$ dex at $4<z<6$ and 0.27 dex at $6<z<9$. The MIRI data also improve constraints on the allowable stellar mass formed in early star-formation. We model this using a star-formation history that includes both a "burst' at $z_f=100$ and a slowly varying ("delayed-$\tau$") model. The MIRI data reduce the allowable stellar mass by 0.6 dex at $4<z<6$ and by $\approx$1 dex at $6<z<9$. Applying these results globally, this reduces the cosmic stellar-mass density by an order of magnitude in the early universe ($z\approx 9$). Therefore, observations of rest-frame $\gtrsim$1 $\mu$m are paramount for constraining the stellar-mass build-up in galaxies at very high-redshifts.

Updated with accepted ApJ version. Part of the CEERS Focus Issue. 27 pages, many figures (4 Figure Sets, available upon reasonable request)

References in corpus (58)

• The NumPy array: a structure for efficient numerical computation
• Cosmic Star Formation History
• An ultra-deep near-infrared spectrum of a compact quiescent galaxy at z=2.2
• 3D-HST WFC3-selected Photometric Catalogs in the Five CANDELS/3D-HST Fields: Photometry, Photometric Redshifts and Stellar Masses
• The stellar mass assembly of galaxies from z=0 to z=4. Analysis of a sample selected in the rest-frame near-infrared with Spitzer
• A population of red candidate massive galaxies ~600 Myr after the Big Bang
• A Comprehensive Study on Galaxies at z~9-16 Found in the Early JWST Data: UV Luminosity Functions and Cosmic Star-Formation History at the Pre-Reionization Epoch
• Two Remarkably Luminous Galaxy Candidates at $z\approx 10-12$ Revealed by JWST
• The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning
• The evolution of the galaxy UV luminosity function at redshifts z ~ 8-15 from deep JWST and ground-based near-infrared imaging
• The VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey: ~10,000 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts to study galaxy assembly at early epochs 2<z<~6
• A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: A Candidate z ~ 12 Galaxy in Early JWST CEERS Imaging
• Stress Testing $\Lambda$CDM with High-redshift Galaxy Candidates
• 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 stellar mass function at 3.5<z<7.5 in the CANDELS/UDS, GOODS-South, and HUDF fields
• The chemical enrichment in the early Universe as probed by JWST via direct metallicity measurements at z~8
• Identification and properties of intense star-forming galaxies at redshifts z>10
• CEERS Epoch 1 NIRCam Imaging: Reduction Methods and Simulations Enabling Early JWST Science Results
• A Spectroscopic Redshift Measurement for a Luminous Lyman Break Galaxy at z=7.730 using Keck/MOSFIRE
• Spectroscopic detections of CIII]1909 at z~6-7: A new probe of early star forming galaxies and cosmic reionisation
• First look with JWST spectroscopy: $z\sim 8$ galaxies resemble local analogues
• High-precision Photometric Redshifts from Spitzer/IRAC: Extreme [3.6]-[4.5] Colors Identify Galaxies in the Redshift Range z~6.6-6.9
• Galaxy Stellar Mass Functions from z~10 to z~6 using the Deepest Spitzer/IRAC Data: No Significant Evolution in the Stellar-to-Halo Mass Ratio of Galaxies in the First Gyr of Cosmic Time
• The [OIII]$+$H$\beta$ Equivalent Width Distribution at z$\simeq$7: Implications for the Contribution of Galaxies to Reionization
• CEERS Key Paper III: The Diversity of Galaxy Structure and Morphology at z=3-9 with JWST
• Non-parametric Star Formation History Reconstruction with Gaussian Processes I: Counting Major Episodes of Star Formation
• ZFOURGE/CANDELS: On the Evolution of M* Galaxy Progenitors from z=3 to 0.5
• UV Luminosity Density Results at z>8 from the First JWST/NIRCam Fields: Limitations of Early Data Sets and the Need for Spectroscopy
• CEERS Key Paper V: A triality on the nature of HST-dark galaxies
• The GREATS H$\beta$+[OIII] Luminosity Function and Galaxy Properties at $\mathbf{z}\sim 8$: Walking the Way of JWST
• A First Look at the Abundance Pattern -- O/H, C/O, and Ne/O -- in $z>7$ Galaxies with JWST/NIRSpec
• The Physical Conditions of Emission-Line Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn from JWST/NIRSpec Spectroscopy in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations
• A Census of the Bright z=8.5-11 Universe with the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes in the CANDELS Fields
• A spectroscopic search for AGN activity in the reionization era
• Searching for Extremely Blue UV Continuum Slopes at $z=7-11$ in JWST/NIRCam Imaging: Implications for Stellar Metallicity and Ionizing Photon Escape in Early Galaxies
• Convolution kernels for multi-wavelength imaging
• T-PHOT version 2.0: improved algorithms for background subtraction, local convolution, kernel registration, and new options
• On the ages of bright galaxies $\sim 500$ Myr after the Big Bang: insights into star formation activity at $z\gtrsim 15$ with JWST
• Spatially Resolved Properties of High Redshift Galaxies in the SMACS0723 JWST ERO Field
• First Insights into the ISM at $z>8$ with JWST: Possible Physical Implications of a High [O III]$\lambda 4363$/[O III]$\lambda 5007$
• Early results from GLASS-JWST. XI: Stellar masses and mass-to-light ratio of z>7 galaxies
• Cold dust and stellar emissions in dust-rich galaxies observed with ALMA: a challenge for SED-fitting techniques
• Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Galaxies During Reionization: Measuring CIII] in a Galaxy at $\mathbf{z}=7.5$
• Interpreting the Spitzer/IRAC Colours of 7<z<9 Galaxies: Distinguishing Between Line Emission and Starlight Using ALMA
• UV Spectral-Slopes at $z=6-9$ in the Hubble Frontier Fields: Lack of Evidence for Unusual or Pop III Stellar Populations
• CLEAR: Emission Line Ratios at Cosmic High Noon
• The gas and stellar content of a metal-poor galaxy at $z=8.496$ as revealed by JWST and ALMA
• High Equivalent Width of Hα+[N II] Emission in z~8 Lyman-break Galaxies from IRAC 5.8μm Observations: Evidence for Efficient Lyman-continuum Photon production in the Epoch of Re-ionization
• Early results from GLASS-JWST XVI: Discovering a bluer z~4-7 Universe through UV slopes
• Characterizing Extreme Emission Line Galaxies II: A Self-Consistent Model of Their Ionizing Spectrum
• Beyond UVJ: Color Selection of Galaxies in the JWST Era
• Early results from GLASS-JWST. VI: Extreme rest-optical equivalent widths detected in NIRISS Wide Field Slitless Spectroscopy
• The Stellar Mass Function in CANDELS and Frontier Fields: the build-up of low mass passive galaxies since z~3
• MOSEL: Strong [OIII]5007 Å Emitting Galaxies at (3<z<4) from the ZFOURGE Survey
• Recovering the properties of high redshift galaxies with different JWST broad-band filters
• Early results from GLASS-JWST XV: properties of the faintest red sources in the NIRCAM deep fields
• Probing the earliest phases in the formation of massive galaxies with simulated HST+JWST imaging data from Illustris
• Identification of Large Equivalent Width Dusty Galaxies at 4 $<$ z $<$ 6 from Sub-mm Colours

Cited by in corpus (29)

• A CEERS Discovery of an Accreting Supermassive Black Hole 570 Myr after the Big Bang: Identifying a Progenitor of Massive z > 6 Quasars
• The CosmoVerse White Paper: Addressing observational tensions in cosmology with systematics and fundamental physics
• Spectroscopic Confirmation of CEERS NIRCam-selected Galaxies at $\mathbf{z}\simeq 8-10$
• JADES Imaging of GN-z11: Revealing the Morphology and Environment of a Luminous Galaxy 430 Myr After the Big Bang
• Most of the photons that reionized the Universe came from dwarf galaxies
• Galaxy Build-up in the first 1.5 Gyr of Cosmic History: Insights from the Stellar Mass Function at $z\sim 4-9$ from JWST NIRCam Observations
• CEERS Key Paper VI: JWST/MIRI Uncovers a Large Population of Obscured AGN at High Redshifts
• Feedback-Free Starbursts at Cosmic Dawn: Observable Predictions for JWST
• GA-NIFS: The core of an extremely massive proto-cluster at the Epoch of Reionization probed with JWST/NIRSpec
• EPOCHS IV: SED Modelling Assumptions and their impact on the Stellar Mass Function at 6.5 < z < 13.5 using PEARLS and public JWST observations
• A double take on early and interacting dark energy from JWST
• Alleviating the need for exponential evolution of JWST galaxies in 10${}^{10}{M}_{\odot }$ haloes at $z>10$ by a modified $\Lambda$CDM power spectrum
• Measuring the reionization optical depth without large-scale CMB polarization
• SPICE: the connection between cosmic reionisation and stellar feedback in the first galaxies
• The dawn of disks: unveiling the turbulent ionised gas kinematics of the galaxy population at $z\sim 4-6$ with JWST/NIRCam grism spectroscopy
• MIRI Deep Imaging Survey (MIDIS) of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field
• JWST/MIRI reveals the true number density of massive galaxies in the early Universe
• Not-so-little Red Dots: Two massive and dusty starbursts at z~5-7 pushing the limits of star formation discovered by JWST in the COSMOS-Web survey
• Tracing the galaxy-halo connection with galaxy clustering in COSMOS-Web from z = 0.1 to z ~ 12
• FORECAST: a flexible software to forward model cosmological hydrodynamical simulations mimicking real observations
• Behind the Spotlight: A systematic assessment of outshining using NIRCam medium-bands in the JADES Origins Field
• Halfway to the Peak: The JWST MIRI 5.6 micron number counts and source population
• RUBIES spectroscopically confirms the high number density of quiescent galaxies from $2<\mathbf{z}<5$
• Beyond the stars: Linking H$\alpha$ sizes, kinematics, and star formation in galaxies at $z\approx 4-6$ with JWST grism surveys and $\text{geko}$
• A census of quiescent galaxies across $0.5<z<8$ with JWST/MIRI: Mass-dependent number density evolution of quiescent galaxies in the early Universe
• Extended Enriched Gas in a Multi-Galaxy Merger at Redshift 6.7
• ULTIMATE-deblending I. A 50-band Ultraviolet to Mid-infrared Photometric Catalog Combining Space- and Ground-based Data in the JWST/PRIMER survey
• A physically-motivated template set for high-z galaxy SED fitting
• Extreme equivalent width-selected low-mass starbursts at $z=4-9$: insights into their role in cosmic reionization