ALMA Detection of [O iii] 88 μm at z = 12.33: Exploring the Nature and Evolution of GHZ2 as a Massive Compact Stellar System
Abstract We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations on the high-redshift galaxy GHZ2 and report a successful detection of the rest-frame 88 μ m atomic transition from doubly ionized oxygen at z = 12.3327 ± 0.0035. Based on these observations, combined with additional constraints on the [O iii ] 52 μ m line luminosity and previous JWST data, we argue that GHZ2 is likely powered by compact and young star formation and show that it follows well-established relationships found for giant H ii regions and metal-poor star-forming dwarf galaxies that are known to host bright super star clusters. Additionally, these observations provide new constraints on the oxygen electron density (100 ≲ n e [cm −3 ] ≲ 4,000) and dynamical mass ( M dyn ≈ 3–8 × 10 8 M ⊙ ). The existence of these massive starburst systems 13.3 Gyr ago might explain the origin of today’s globular clusters, a long-standing question in astronomy. To test this, we present observational probes to investigate whether sources like GHZ2 are linked to the formation of today’s globular clusters or other more massive compact stellar systems.
Authors
- Jed McKinney (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6149-8178)
- R. Terlevich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6774-3499)
- Bunyo Hatsukade (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6469-8725)
- V. Buat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3441-903X)
- Hollis B. Akins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3596-8794)
- David Fernández-Arenas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6874-4570)
- Jorge A. Zavala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7051-1100)
- Anton M. Koekemoer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6610-2048)
- Pablo G. Pérez‐González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4528-5639)
- Ikki Mitsuhashi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7300-9450)
- Caitlin M. Casey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0930-6466)
- Luis C. Ho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6947-5846)
- Antonello Calabrò (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2536-1614)
- S. Serjeant (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0517-7943)
- L. Y. Aaron Yung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3466-035X)
- M. Castellano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9875-8263)
- Maximilien Franco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3560-8599)
- Ryota Ikeda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2634-9169)
- Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9187-3605)
- A. Fontana (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3820-2823)
- Tom J. L. C. Bakx
- P. Santini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9334-8705)
- Lorenzo Napolitano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8951-4408)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters
- Published
- 2024-12-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad8f38
- Citations
- 16
- Primary Topic
- Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.30
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory
- European Commission
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- National Institutes of Natural Sciences
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación