The Spiderweb galaxy: a forming massive cluster galaxy at z~2

Abstract

We present a deep image of the radio galaxy MRC 1138-262 taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at a redshift of z = 2.2. The galaxy is known to have properties of a cD galaxy progenitor and be surrounded by a 3 Mpc-sized structure, identified with a protocluster. The morphology shown on the new deep HST/ACS image is reminiscent of a spider's web. More than 10 individual clumpy features are observed, apparently star-forming satellite galaxies in the process of merging with the progenitor of a dominant cluster galaxy 11 Gyr ago. There is an extended emission component, implying that star formation was occurring over a 50 times 40 kpc region at a rate of more than 100 M_sun/yr. A striking feature of the newly named ``Spiderweb galaxy'' is the presence of several faint linear galaxies within the merging structure. The dense environments and fast galaxy motions at the centres of protoclusters may stimulate the formation of these structures, which dominate the faint resolved galaxy populations in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The new image provides a unique testbed for simulations of forming dominant cluster galaxies.

5 pages, 2 figures (reduced to grayscale); ApJ Letters

References in corpus (21)

• Simulating the joint evolution of quasars, galaxies and their large-scale distribution
• The many lives of active galactic nuclei: cooling flows, black holes and the luminosities and colours of galaxies
• Energy input from quasars regulates the growth and activity of black holes and their host galaxies
• Modeling feedback from stars and black holes in galaxy mergers
• The Star Formation History of Field Galaxies
• The Size Evolution of High Redshift Galaxies
• The Origin of the Brightest Cluster Galaxies
• Galaxy Size Evolution at High Redshift and Surface Brightness Selection Effects: Constraints from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field
• The most distant structure of galaxies known: a protocluster at z=4.1
• Triggered Star Formation in a Massive Galaxy at z=3.8: 4C41.17
• Galaxy Morphologies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field: Dominance of Linear Structures at the Detection Limit
• Jet-Induced Emission-Line Nebulosity and Star Formation in the High-Redshift Radio Galaxy 4C41.17
• Properties of Ly-alpha emitters around the radio galaxy MRC 0316-257
• Radio Continuum Imaging of High Redshift Radio Galaxies
• A search for clusters at high redshift - III. Candidate H-alpha emitters and EROs in the PKS 1138-262 proto-cluster at z=2.16
• A search for clusters at high redshift - IV. Spectroscopy of H-alpha emitters in a proto-cluster at z=2.16
• Early Formation and Late Merging of the Giant Galaxies
• Tracing Galaxy Assembly: Tadpole Galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field
• Feedback and Brightest Cluster Galaxy Formation: ACS Observations of the Radio Galaxy TN J1338--1942 at z=4.1
• VIMOS-VLT and Spitzer observations of a radio galaxy at z=2.5
• A New interpretation of chain galaxies at high redshift

Cited by in corpus (114)

• EMU: Evolutionary Map of the Universe
• Distant Radio Galaxies and their Environments
• Evidence for powerful AGN winds at high redshift: Dynamics of galactic outflows in radio galaxies during the "Quasar Era"
• The realm of the galaxy protoclusters
• Driving Outflows with Relativistic Jets and the Dependence of AGN Feedback Efficiency on ISM Inhomogeneity
• The Massive Hosts of Radio Galaxies Across Cosmic Time
• A mature cluster with X-ray emission at z=2.07
• An excess of dusty starbursts related to the Spiderweb galaxy
• SHARDS: an optical spectro-photometric survey of distant galaxies
• Lyman break galaxies, Lya emitters and a radio galaxy in a protocluster at z=4.1
• Massive starburst galaxies in a z=2.16 proto-cluster unveiled by panoramic H-alpha mapping
• H-alpha emitters in z~2 proto-clusters: evidence for faster evolution in dense environments
• Inspiraling Halo Accretion Mapped in Lyman-$\alpha$ Emission around a $z\sim 3$ Quasar
• Rapidly growing black holes and host galaxies in the distant Universe from the Herschel Radio Galaxy Evolution Project
• Molecular Gas in the Halo Fuels the Growth of a Massive Cluster Galaxy at High Redshift
• Clustering of Radio Galaxies and Quasars
• Panoramic Survey of Lyman α Emitters at z=3.1
• The implications of the surprising existence of a large, massive CO disk in a distant protocluster
• CO(1-0) survey of high-z radio galaxies: alignment of molecular halo gas with distant radio sources
• MAHALO Deep Cluster Survey II. Characterizing massive forming galaxies in the Spiderweb protocluster at z=2.2
• The Nascent Red Sequence at z~2
• Giant galaxy growing from recycled gas: ALMA maps the circumgalactic molecular medium of the Spiderweb in [CI]
• Rapid Coeval Black Hole and Host Galaxy Growth in MRC 1138-262: The Hungry Spider
• A proto-cluster at z=2.45
• Molecular gas on large circumgalactic scales at z=3.47
• The DIANOGA simulations of galaxy clusters: characterizing star formation in proto-clusters
• Characterising and Identifying Galaxy Protoclusters
• A SINFONI view of flies in the Spiderweb: a galaxy cluster in the making
• First results from the JWST Early Release Science Program Q3D: Turbulent times in the life of a $z\sim 3$ extremely red quasar revealed by NIRSpec IFU
• Forming intracluster gas in a galaxy protocluster at a redshift of 2.16
• Proto-groups at 1.8<z<3 in the zCOSMOS-deep sample
• On the formation time scale of massive cluster ellipticals based on deep near-IR spectroscopy at z~2
• Evolution of BCGs structural parameters in the last $\sim$6 Gyr: feedback processes versus merger events
• Resolving the optical emission lines of Lya blob 'B1' at z=2.38: another hidden quasar
• Diffuse UV light associated with the Spiderweb Galaxy: evidence for in-situ star formation outside galaxies
• The growth and assembly of a massive galaxy at z ~ 2
• CO(1-0) detection of molecular gas in the massive Spiderweb Galaxy (z=2)
• Star formation in the cluster CLG0218.3-0510 at z=1.62 and its large-scale environment: the infrared perspective
• Massive galaxies on the road to quenching: ALMA observations of powerful high redshift radio galaxies
• Star-forming blue ETGs in two newly discovered galaxy overdensities in the HUDF at z=1.84 and 1.9: unveiling the progenitors of passive ETGs in cluster cores
• The 700 ks Chandra Spiderweb Field I: evidence for widespread nuclear activity in the Protocluster
• COALAS: I. ATCA CO(1-0) survey and luminosity function in the Spiderweb protocluster at z=2.16
• The Environmental Dependence of Galaxy Properties at z=2
• Ionised gas structure of 100 kpc in an over-dense region of the galaxy group COSMOS-Gr30 at z ~ 0.7
• Galaxy clusters at high redshift and evolution of brightest cluster galaxies
• Signs of environmental effects on star-forming galaxies in the Spiderweb protocluster at z=2.16
• The discovery of a typical radio galaxy at z = 4.88
• ALMA Finds Dew Drops in the Dusty Spider's Web
• An Extremely Massive Dry Galaxy Merger in a Moderate Redshift Cluster
• Probing the Radio Loud/Quiet AGN dichotomy with quasar clustering
• Assembly of Massive Galaxies in a High-z Protocluster
• Coincident, 100 kpc-scale damped Lyman alpha absorption towards a binary QSO: how large are galaxies at z ~ 3?
• Semi-Analytic Model Predictions of the Galaxy Population in Proto-clusters
• Structure of Protocluster Galaxies: Accelerated Structural Evolution in Overdense Environments?
• Ultraluminous Star-Forming Galaxies and Extremely Luminous Warm Molecular Hydrogen Emission at z=2.16 in the PKS 1138-26 Radio Galaxy Protocluster
• A Successful Broad-band Survey for Giant Lya Nebulae II: Spectroscopic Confirmation
• The dynamics of z~1 clusters of galaxies from the GCLASS survey
• The 700 ks Chandra Spiderweb Field II: Evidence for inverse-Compton and thermal diffuse emission in the Spiderweb galaxy
• Lyman-Alpha Emitter Galaxies at z ~ 2.8 in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South: I. Tracing the Large-Scale Structure via Lyman-Alpha Imaging
• Ultra-Red Galaxies Signpost Candidate Proto-Clusters at High Redshift
• Imaging and Spectroscopy of Ultra Steep Spectrum Radio Sources
• Radio selection of the most distant galaxy clusters
• Simulating the formation of a proto-cluster at z~2
• A search for faint high-redshift radio galaxy candidates at 150 MHz
• The nature of faint radio galaxies at high redshifts
• A giant Ly$\alpha$ nebula in the core of an X-ray cluster at $z=1.99$: implications for early energy injection
• Disentangling star formation and AGN activity in powerful infrared luminous radio galaxies at 1<z<4
• Galaxy protocluster candidates at 1.6<z<2
• A census of galaxy constituents in a Coma Progenitor observed at z>3
• Radiogalaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: spectral index-environment correlations
• The cold circumgalactic environment of MAMMOTH-I: dynamically cold gas in the core of an Enormous Ly-alpha Nebula
• The Kinematic Evolution of Strong MgII Absorbers
• [OIII] emitters in the field of the MRC 0316-257 protocluster
• Feeding the spider with carbon -- [CII] emission from the circum galactic medium and active galactic nucleus
• The Environment of z >1 3CR Radio Galaxies and QSOs: From Proto-Clusters to Clusters of Galaxies?
• Serendipitous detection of an overdensity of Herschel-SPIRE 250 micron sources south of MRC1138-26
• The Spiderweb proto-cluster is being magnetized by its central radio jet
• Noema formIng Cluster survEy (NICE): Discovery of a starbursting galaxy group with a radio-luminous core at z=3.95
• The effect of gas-dynamics on semi-analytic modeling of cluster galaxies
• Feeding and feedback processes in the Spiderweb proto-intracluster medium
• Host galaxy properties and environment of obscured and unobscured X-ray selected Active Galactic Nuclei in the COSMOS survey
• Discovering Large-Scale Structure at $2<z<5$ in the C3VO Survey
• Discovery of a giant and luminous Lya+CIV+HeII nebula at z=3.326 with extreme emission line ratios
• Defying jet-gas alignment in two radio galaxies at z~2 with extended light profiles: Similarities to brightest cluster galaxies
• Molecular gas in distant brightest cluster galaxies
• Discovery of a protocluster core associated with an enormous Ly$\alpha$ Nebula at $z=2.3$
• Environmental impacts on the rest-frame UV size and morphology ofstar-forming galaxies at $z\sim 2$
• X-ray Emission and Radio Emission from the Jets and Lobes of the Spiderweb Radio Galaxy
• Revealing the quiescent galaxy population in the Spiderweb protocluster at z=2.16 with deep HST/WFC3 slitless spectroscopy
• ASW${}^2$DF: Census of the obscured star formation in a galaxy cluster in formation at $z=2.2$
• The SUPERCOLD-CGM survey: \\ I. Probing the extended CO(4-3) Emission of the Circumglactic medium in a sample of 10 Enormous Ly$\alpha$ Nebulae at $z\sim 2$
• A search for dust and molecular gas in enormous Ly$\alpha$ nebulae at $z\approx 2$
• COALAS III: The ATCA CO(1-0) look at the growth and death of H$\alpha$ emitters in the Spiderweb protocluster at z=2.16
• The Environments of Luminous Radio - WISE Selected Infrared Galaxies
• JWST/NIRCam Narrowband Survey of Pa$\beta$ Emitters in the Spiderweb Protocluster at z=2.16
• Powerful Radio Sources in the Southern Sky. I. Optical Identifications
• Accelerated structural evolution of galaxies in a starbursting cluster at z=2.51
• CO survey of high-z radio galaxies, revisited with ALMA: Jet-cloud Alignments and Synchrotron Brightening by Molecular Gas in the Circumgalactic Environment
• Environment of $1\le z\le 2$ obscured and unobscured AGNs in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South
• A galaxy populations study of a radio-selected protocluster at z~3.1
• A Candidate Brightest Proto-Cluster Galaxy at z = 3.03
• Detection of large scale Ly$\alpha$ absorbers at large angles to the radio axis of high-redshift radio galaxies using SOAR
• The miniJPAS Survey: Detection of double-core Lyα morphology of two high-redshift (z>3) QSOs
• The Co-Evolution of Galaxies and Black Holes: Current Status and Future Prospects
• The Environments of Low and High Luminosity Radio Galaxies at Moderate Redshifts
• Feedback Factory: Multiple faint radio-jets detected in a cluster at z=2
• JWST reveals extended stellar disks for ALMA-bright dusty star-forming galaxies in the Spiderweb protocluster
• Mass assembly and AGN activity at $z\gtrsim 1.5$ in the dense environment of XDCPJ0044.0-2033
• Witnessing the formation of a brightest cluster galaxy at z>2
• Gas-Poor Hosts and Gas-Rich Companions of $z\approx$3.5 Radio Active Galactic Nuclei: ALMA Insights into Jet Triggering and Feedback
• Probing the influence of the protocluster environment on galaxy morphology at z = 2.23
• Spider-Webb: enhanced star formation in low-mass galaxies within the Spiderweb protocluster revealed by JWST Pa$\beta$ narrow-band imaging
• Euclid: A blue galaxy population and a brightest cluster galaxy in the making in a $z\sim 1.74$ MaDCoWS2 galaxy cluster candidate
• Ram-pressure stripping caught in action in a young cluster at $z=2.51$