Early Results from GLASS-JWST. XXI: Rapid assembly of a galaxy at z=6.23 revealed by its C/O abundance

Abstract

The abundance of carbon relative to oxygen (C/O) is a promising probe of star formation history in the early universe, as the ratio changes with time due to production of these elements by different nucleosynthesis pathways. We present a measurement of $\log (C/O)=-1.01\pm 0.12$ (stat) $\pm 0.15$ (sys) in a $z=6.23$ galaxy observed as part of the GLASS-JWST Early Release Science Program. Notably, we achieve good precision thanks to the detection of the rest-frame ultraviolet O III], C III], and C IV emission lines delivered by JWST/NIRSpec. The C/O abundance is $\sim$0.8 dex lower than the solar value and is consistent with the expected yield from core-collapse supernovae, indicating that longer-lived intermediate mass stars have not fully contributed to carbon enrichment. This in turn implies rapid buildup of a young stellar population with age $\lesssim 100$ Myr in a galaxy seen $\sim$900 million years after the Big Bang. Our chemical abundance analysis is consistent with spectral energy distribution modeling of JWST/NIRCam photometric data, which indicates a current stellar mass $\log {\mathrm{M}}_{\ast }/{\mathrm{M}}_{\mathrm{sun}}=8.4_{-0.2}^{+0.4}$ and specific star formation rate sSFR $\simeq 20$ Gyr${}^{-1}$. These results showcase the value of chemical abundances and C/O in particular to study the earliest stages of galaxy assembly.

16 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJL