JWST CEERS probes the role of stellar mass and morphology in obscuring galaxies

Abstract

In recent years, observations have uncovered a population of massive galaxies that are invisible or very faint in deep optical/near-infrared (near-IR) surveys but brighter at longer wavelengths. However, the nature of these optically dark or faint galaxies (OFGs; one of several names given to these objects) is highly uncertain. In this work, we investigate the drivers of dust attenuation in the JWST era. In particular, we study the role of stellar mass, size, and orientation in obscuring star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at $3<z<7.5$, focusing on the question of why OFGs and similar galaxies are so faint at optical/near-IR wavelengths. We find that stellar mass is the primary proxy for dust attenuation, among the properties studied. Effective radius and axis ratio do not show a clear link with dust attenuation, with the effect of orientation being close to random. However, there is a subset of highly dust attenuated ($A_V>1$, typically) SFGs, of which OFGs are a specific case. For this subset, we find that the key distinctive feature is their compact size (for massive systems with $\log (M_{\ast }/M_{\odot })>10$); OFGs exhibit a 30% smaller effective radius than the average SFG at the same stellar mass and redshift. On the contrary, OFGs do not exhibit a preference for low axis ratios (i.e., edge-on disks). The results in this work show that stellar mass is the primary proxy for dust attenuation and compact stellar light profiles behind the thick dust columns obscuring typical massive SFGs.

arXiv commentAccepted by A&A. 13 pages, 9 figures

References in corpus (122)

• Array Programming with NumPy
• Astropy: A Community Python Package for Astronomy
• Stellar population synthesis at the resolution of 2003
• Galactic Stellar and Substellar Initial Mass Function
• Measuring Reddening with SDSS Stellar Spectra and Recalibrating SFD
• The Dust Content and Opacity of Actively Star-Forming Galaxies
• The Astropy Project: Sustaining and Growing a Community-oriented Open-source Project and the Latest Major Release (v5.0) of the Core Package
• The Host Galaxies of AGN
• Cosmic Star Formation History
• Binary companions of evolved stars in APOGEE DR14: Search method and catalog of ~5,000 companions
• The Origin of the Mass--Metallicity Relation: Insights from 53,000 Star-Forming Galaxies in the SDSS
• The physical properties of star forming galaxies in the low redshift universe
• Infrared Emission from Interstellar Dust. IV. The Silicate-Graphite-PAH Model in the Post-Spitzer Era
• CANDELS: The Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey - The Hubble Space Telescope Observations, Imaging Data Products and Mosaics
• Star Formation in AEGIS Field Galaxies since z=1.1 : The Dominance of Gradually Declining Star Formation, and the Main Sequence of Star-Forming Galaxies
• EAZY: A Fast, Public Photometric Redshift Code
• The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey: Initial Results From Optical and Near-Infrared Imaging
• The reversal of the star formation-density relation in the distant universe
• Multiwavelength study of massive galaxies at z~2. I. Star formation and galaxy growth
• A Highly Consistent Framework for the Evolution of the Star-Forming "Main Sequence" from z~0-6
• 3D-HST+CANDELS: The Evolution of the Galaxy Size-Mass Distribution since $z=3$
• CIGALE: a python Code Investigating GALaxy Emission
• UV Luminosity Functions at redshifts z~4 to z~10: 10000 Galaxies from HST Legacy Fields
• The size distribution of galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• The propagation of uncertainties in stellar population synthesis modeling III: model calibration, comparison, and evaluation
• A fundamental relation between mass, SFR and metallicity in local and high redshift galaxies
• The Mass-Metallicity Relation at z~2
• An ultra-deep near-infrared spectrum of a compact quiescent galaxy at z=2.2
• Analysis of galaxy SEDs from far-UV to far-IR with CIGALE: Studying a SINGS test sample
• Detection of quiescent galaxies in a bicolor sequence from z=0-2
• The Star-formation Mass Sequence out to z=2.5
• The Herschel view of the dominant mode of galaxy growth from z=4 to the present day
• Dusty Star-Forming Galaxies at High Redshift
• Galaxy Structure and Mode of Star Formation in the SFR-Mass Plane from z ~ 2.5 to z ~ 0.1
• Combined CO & Dust Scaling Relations of Depletion Time and Molecular Gas Fractions with Cosmic Time, Specific Star Formation Rate and Stellar Mass
• A Dust-Obscured Massive Maximum-Starburst Galaxy at a Redshift of 6.34
• Star Formation and Dust Attenuation Properties in Galaxies from a Statistical UV-to-FIR Analysis
• Towards an understanding of the rapid decline of the cosmic star formation rate
• UV-continuum slopes at z~4-7 from the HUDF09+ERS+CANDELS observations: Discovery of a well-defined UV-color magnitude relationship for z>=4 star-forming galaxies
• Andromeda's Dust
• The optical morphologies of galaxies in the IllustrisTNG simulation: a comparison to Pan-STARRS observations
• The MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) Survey: Rest-Frame Optical Spectroscopy for ~1500 H-Selected Galaxies at 1.37 < z < 3.8
• What do we learn from IRAC observations of galaxies at 2 < z < 3.5?
• A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: A Candidate z ~ 12 Galaxy in Early JWST CEERS Imaging
• An ALMA Survey of Submillimeter Galaxies in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South: The Redshift Distribution and Evolution of Submillimeter Galaxies
• Forming Compact Massive Galaxies
• Sub-millimeter galaxies as progenitors of compact quiescent galaxies
• The Intense Starburst HDF850.1 in a Galaxy Overdensity at z=5.2 in the Hubble Deep Field
• Predicting dust extinction from the stellar mass of a galaxy
• The Mass-Metallicity relation explored with CALIFA: I. Is there a dependence on the star formation rate?
• A universal structural and star-forming relation since $z\sim 3$: connecting compact star-forming and quiescent galaxies
• The evolution of the dust temperatures of galaxies in the SFR$-M_{\ast }$ plane up to $z$$\sim$$2$
• CEERS Epoch 1 NIRCam Imaging: Reduction Methods and Simulations Enabling Early JWST Science Results
• A dominant population of optically invisible massive galaxies in the early Universe
• Galaxy growth in a massive halo in the first billion years of cosmic history
• The FourStar Galaxy Evolution Survey (ZFOURGE): ultraviolet to far-infrared catalogs, medium-bandwidth photometric redshifts with improved accuracy, stellar masses, and confirmation of quiescent galaxies to z~3.5
• Empirical determination of the shape of dust attenuation curves in star-forming galaxies
• Dust temperature and mid-to-total infrared color distributions for star-forming galaxies at 0<z<4
• COSMOS-DASH: The Evolution of the Galaxy Size-Mass Relation Since z~3 from new Wide Field WFC3 Imaging Combined with CANDELS/3DHST
• GOODS-HERSCHEL: star formation, dust attenuation and the FIR-radio correlation on the Main Sequence of star-forming galaxies up to z~4
• An Atlas of Color-selected Quiescent Galaxies at $z>3$ in Public $JWST$ Fields
• High-redshift star formation in the ALMA era
• The ALPINE-ALMA [CII] Survey: The nature, luminosity function and star formation history of dusty galaxies up to z~6
• CANDELS Multiwavelength Catalogs: Source Identification and Photometry in the CANDELS Extended Groth Strip
• "Super-deblended" Dust Emission in Galaxies: II. Far-IR to (sub)millimeter photometry and high redshift galaxy candidates in the full COSMOS field
• The CANDELS/SHARDS multi-wavelength catalog in GOODS-N: Photometry, Photometric Redshifts, Stellar Masses, Emission line fluxes and Star Formation Rates
• Semi-analytic forecasts for JWST - I. UV luminosity functions at z = 4 - 10
• "Super-deblended" Dust Emission in Galaxies: I. The GOODS-North Catalog and the Cosmic Star Formation Rate Density out to Redshift 6
• The CFHT Legacy Survey: stacked images and catalogs
• The Difficulty of Getting High Escape Fractions of Ionizing Photons from High-redshift Galaxies: a View from the FIRE Cosmological Simulations
• The ALMA Spectroscopic Survey Large Program: The Infrared Excess of z=1.5-10 UV-selected Galaxies and the Implied High-Redshift Star Formation History
• Half-mass radii for ~7,000 galaxies at 1.0 < z < 2.5: most of the evolution in the mass-size relation is due to color gradients
• Normal, Dust-Obscured Galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization
• Predicting Quiescence: The Dependence of Specific Star Formation Rate on Galaxy Size and Central Density at 0.5<z<2.5
• CEERS Key Paper V: A triality on the nature of HST-dark galaxies
• The Progenitors of the Compact Early-Type Galaxies at High-Redshift
• HerMES: dust attenuation and star formation activity in UV-selected samples from z~4 to z~1.5
• The ALPINE-ALMA [CII] survey: Dust attenuation properties and obscured star formation at z~4.4-5.8
• Discovery of a dark, massive, ALMA-only galaxy at z~5-6 in a tiny 3-millimeter survey
• Unveiling the Nature of Infrared Bright, Optically Dark Galaxies with Early JWST Data
• A first look at the SMACS0723 JWST ERO: spectroscopic redshifts, stellar masses and star-formation histories
• The UVJ Selection of Quiescent and Star Forming Galaxies: Separating Early and Late-Type Galaxies and Isolating Edge-on Spirals
• JWST unveils heavily obscured (active and passive) sources up to z~13
• Infrared color selection of massive galaxies at z > 3
• The Observed Relation between Stellar Mass, Dust Extinction and Star Formation Rate in Local Galaxies
• Convolution kernels for multi-wavelength imaging
• GOODS-ALMA 2.0: Source catalog, number counts, and prevailing compact sizes in 1.1 mm galaxies
• A Massive Galaxy in its Core Formation Phase Three Billion Years After the Big Bang
• JWST reveals a population of ultra-red, flattened disk galaxies at 2<z<6 previously missed by HST
• Starburst to quiescent from HST/ALMA: Stars and dust unveil minor mergers in submillimeter galaxies at $z\sim 4.5$
• Dust properties of Lyman break galaxies at $z\sim 3$
• The ALMaQUEST Survey: III. Scatter in the resolved star forming main sequence is primarily due to variations in star formation efficiency
• Rest-frame near-infrared sizes of galaxies at cosmic noon: objects in JWST's mirror are smaller than they appeared
• The quenching of galaxies, bulges, and disks since cosmic noon: A machine learning approach for identifying causality in astronomical data
• ALMA twenty-six arcmin${}^2$ survey of GOODS-S at one-millimeter (ASAGAO): Near-infrared-dark faint ALMA sources
• An ALMA survey of the S2CLS UDS field: Optically invisible submillimetre galaxies
• Illuminating the dark side of cosmic star formation two billion years after the Big Bang
• ALMA Lensing Cluster Survey: $HST$ and $Spitzer$ Photometry of 33 Lensed Fields Built with CHArGE
• Dissecting the size-mass and ${\Sigma }_1$-mass relations at 1.0 < z < 2.5: galaxy mass profiles and color gradients as a function of spectral shape
• The ALMaQUEST Survey IX: The nature of the resolved star forming main sequence
• Optically-faint massive Balmer Break Galaxies at z>3 in the CANDELS/GOODS fields
• A new estimate of the cosmic star formation density from a radio-selected sample, and the contribution of $H$-dark galaxies at $z\ge 3$
• Characterization of Two 2mm-detected Optically-Obscured Dusty Star-Forming Galaxies
• GOODS-ALMA: The slow downfall of star-formation in $z$ = 2-3 massive galaxies
• COSMOS2020: Exploring the dawn of quenching for massive galaxies at 3 < z < 5 with a new colour selection method
• GOODS-ALMA 2.0: Starbursts in the main sequence reveal compact star formation regulating galaxy evolution prequenching
• Sub-millimetre compactness as a critical dimension to understand the Main Sequence of star-forming galaxies
• Color gradients and half-mass radii of galaxies out to $z=2$ in the CANDELS/3D-HST fields: further evidence for important differences in the evolution of mass-weighted and light-weighted sizes
• The hidden side of cosmic star formation at z > 3: Bridging optically-dark and Lyman break galaxies with GOODS-ALMA
• GOODS-ALMA: Optically dark ALMA galaxies shed light on a cluster in formation at z = 3.5
• Search for Optically Dark Infrared Galaxies without Counterparts of Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam in the AKARI North Ecliptic Pole Wide Survey Field
• $JWST$ Insight Into a Lensed $HST$-dark Galaxy and its Quiescent Companion at $z=2.58$
• ALMA Deep Field in SSA22: A near-infrared-dark submillimeter galaxy at z=4.0
• The ALPINE-ALMA [CII] Survey: On the nature of an extremely obscured serendipitous galaxy
• Delving deep: a population of extremely dusty dwarfs observed by JWST
• Compact Star-Forming Galaxies as Old Starbursts Becoming Quiescent
• A census of optically dark massive galaxies in the early Universe from magnification by lensing galaxy clusters
• UV dust attenuation as a function of stellar mass and its evolution with redshift
• The Occulting Galaxy Pair UGC 3995; Dust properties from HST and CALIFA data
• An Updated Dust-to-Star Geometry: Dust Attenuation Does Not Depend on Inclination in $1.3\le z\le 2.6$ Star-Forming Galaxies from MOSDEF
• Reproducing the UVJ Color Distribution of Star-forming Galaxies at 0.5 < z < 2.5 with a Geometric Model of Dust Attenuation
• The Ultraviolet Attenuation Law in Backlit Spiral Galaxies

Cited by in corpus (19)

• 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
• Unveiling the hidden universe with JWST: The contribution of dust-obscured galaxies to the stellar mass function at $z\sim 3-8$
• No [CII] or dust detection in two Little Red Dots at z${}_{\mathrm{spec}}$ > 7
• JWST/CEERS sheds light on dusty star-forming galaxies: forming bulges, lopsidedness and outside-in quenching at cosmic noon
• The Size-Mass relation at Rest-Frame $1.5\mu$m from JWST/NIRCam in the COSMOS-WEB and PRIMER-COSMOS fields
• CEERS: MIRI deciphers the spatial distribution of dust-obscured star formation in galaxies at $0.1<z<2.5$
• JWST's PEARLS: resolved study of the stellar and dust components in starburst galaxies at cosmic noon
• Clumpy star formation and an obscured nuclear starburst in the luminous dusty z=4 galaxy GN20 seen by MIRI/JWST
• Strong spectral features from asymptotic giant branch stars in distant quiescent galaxies
• JADES Ultra-red Flattened Objects: Morphologies and Spatial Gradients in Color and Stellar Populations
• The ALPINE-CRISTAL-JWST Survey: Revealing Less Massive Black Holes in High-Redshift Galaxies
• JWST/MIRI unveils the stellar component of the GN20 dusty galaxy overdensity at $z$=4.05
• Investigating the Growth of Little Red Dot Descendants at z<4 with the JWST
• Understanding the Universal Dust Attenuation Scaling Relation of Star-Forming Galaxies
• Behind the dust veil: A panchromatic view of an optically dark galaxy at z=4.82
• "Dust Giant": Extended and Clumpy Star-Formation in a Massive Dusty Galaxy at $z=1.38$
• Strength in Numbers: Red Galaxies Bolster the Cosmic Star Formation Rate Density at z > 3
• Compact dust-obscured star-formation and the origin of the galaxy bimodality
• Unveiling the Dark Side of UV/Optical Bright Galaxies: Optically Thick Dust Absorption