Evidence for a Shallow Evolution in the Volume Densities of Massive Galaxies at z = 4–8 from CEERS
Abstract We analyze the evolution of massive (log 10 [ M ⋆ / M ⊙ ] > 10) galaxies at z ∼ 1–4 selected from JWST Cosmic Evolution Early Release Survey (CEERS). We infer the physical properties of all galaxies in the CEERS NIRCam imaging through spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting with dense basis to select a sample of high-redshift massive galaxies. Where available we include constraints from additional CEERS observing modes, including 18 sources with MIRI photometric coverage, and 28 sources with spectroscopic confirmations from NIRSpec or NIRCam WFSS. We sample the recovered posteriors in stellar mass from SED fitting to infer the volume densities of massive galaxies across cosmic time, taking into consideration the potential for sample contamination by active galactic nuclei. We find that the evolving abundance of massive galaxies tracks expectations based on a constant baryon conversion efficiency in dark matter halos for z ∼ 1–4. At higher redshifts, we observe an excess abundance of massive galaxies relative to this simple model, resulting in a shallower decline of observed volume densities of massive galaxies. These higher abundances can be explained by modest changes to star formation physics and/or the efficiencies with which star formation occurs in massive dark matter halos, and are not in tension with modern cosmology.
Authors
- G. Rodighiero
- Seiji Fujimoto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7201-5066)
- Bren E. Backhaus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8534-7502)
- Ray A. Lucas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1581-7825)
- Stephen M. Wilkins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3903-6935)
- Avishai Dekel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4174-0374)
- Alexander de la Vega (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6219-5558)
- Elizabeth J. McGrath (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8688-2443)
- Jorge A. Zavala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7051-1100)
- Brittany N. Vanderhoof (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8163-0172)
- Luca Costantin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6820-0015)
- Rebecca L. Larson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2366-8858)
- Justin W. Cole (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6348-1900)
- Michael C. Cooper (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1371-6019)
- Rachel S. Somerville (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6748-6821)
- Christopher C. Hayward (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4073-3236)
- Pablo Arrabal Haro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7959-8783)
- Casey Papovich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7503-8482)
- Katherine Chworowsky (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4922-0613)
- Michael Boylan-Kolchin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9604-343X)
- Anton M. Koekemoer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6610-2048)
- Rachana Bhatawdekar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0883-2226)
- Anthony J. Taylor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1282-7454)
- L. Y. Aaron Yung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3466-035X)
- Benne W. Holwerda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4884-6756)
- Kartheik G. Iyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9298-3523)
- Guang Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8835-7722)
- Nor Pirzkal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3382-5941)
- Nikko J. Cleri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7151-009X)
- Maximilien Franco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3560-8599)
- Steven L. Finkelstein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8519-1130)
- Mark Dickinson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5414-5131)
- Micaela B. Bagley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9921-9218)
- Arianna S. Long (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7530-8857)
- Zhaozhou Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7890-4964)
- Taylor A. Hutchison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6251-4988)
- Michaela Hirschmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3301-3321)
- Y. Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8551-071X)
Institutions
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Space Telescope Science Institute (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- University of Padua (IT)
- University of Connecticut (US)
- University of Louisville (US)
- Rochester Institute of Technology (US)
- Universidad de La Laguna (ES)
- University of Sussex (GB)
- University of Groningen (NL)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)
- University of Malta (MT)
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (US)
- Colby College (US)
- Observatoire de Paris (FR)
- Mitchell Institute (US)
- European Space Astronomy Centre (ES)
- Laboratoire d’Etudes du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique et Atmosphères (FR)
- Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CA)
- Centro de Astrobiología (ES)
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (ES)
- NSF NOIRLab (US)
- Flatiron Health (United States) (US)
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova (IT)
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (JP)
- Flatiron Institute (US)
- Deleted Institution
- Space Research Organisation Netherlands (NL)
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- Texas A&M University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Astronomical Journal
- Published
- 2024-08-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad57c1
- Citations
- 30
- Primary Topic
- Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.95
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Space Telescope Science Institute
- Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
- Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
- Science and Technology Facilities Council