Photometric detection at 7.7 μm of a galaxy beyond redshift 14 with JWST/MIRI
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has spectroscopically confirmed numerous galaxies at <i>z</i> > 10. While weak rest-frame ultraviolet emission lines have only been seen in a handful of sources, the stronger rest-frame optical emission lines are highly diagnostic and accessible at mid-infrared wavelengths with the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) of JWST. We report the photometric detection of the distant spectroscopically confirmed galaxy JADES-GS-z14-0 at <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>z</mml:mi> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>14.3</mml:mn> <mml:msubsup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow> <mml:mrow><mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.20</mml:mn></mml:mrow> <mml:mrow><mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.08</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> with MIRI at 7.7 μm. The most plausible solution for the stellar-population properties is that this galaxy contains half a billion solar masses in stars with a strong burst of star formation in the most recent few million years. For this model, at least one-third of the flux at 7.7 μm originates from the rest-frame optical emission lines Hβ and/or [O iii]<i>λ</i> <i>λ</i>4959, 5007. The inferred properties of JADES-GS-z14-0 suggest rapid mass assembly and metal enrichment during the earliest phases of galaxy formation. This work demonstrates the unique power of mid-infrared observations in understanding galaxies at the redshift frontier.
Authors
- Eiichi Egami (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1344-9475)
- Francesco D’Eugenio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2388-8172)
- Joris Witstok (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7595-121X)
- Zhiyuan Ji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7673-2257)
- Jakob M. Helton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4337-6211)
- Fengwu Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4622-6617)
- R. Maiolino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4985-3819)
- Benjamin D. Johnson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9280-7594)
- Stefano Carniani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6719-380X)
- Lily Whitler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1432-7744)
- Kevin Hainline (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4565-8239)
- Jacopo Chevallard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7636-0534)
- Sandro Tacchella (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8224-4505)
- Chris J. Willott (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4201-7367)
- Rachana Bhatawdekar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0883-2226)
- Gareth C. Jones (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0267-9024)
- Pablo G. Pérez‐González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4528-5639)
- S. Charlot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3458-2275)
- Jianwei Lyu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6221-1829)
- Christina C. Williams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2919-7495)
- Jan Scholtz
- Yongda Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3307-7525)
- Aayush Saxena (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5333-9970)
- Irene Shivaei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4702-7561)
- Daniel J. Eisenstein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2929-3121)
- Stacey Alberts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8909-8782)
- Christopher N. A. Willmer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9262-9997)
- William Baker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0215-1104)
- Andrew J. Bunker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8651-9879)
- Phillip A. Cargile (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1617-8917)
- Brant E. Robertson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4271-0364)
- Marcia Rieke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7893-6170)
- Zihao Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8876-5248)
- George H. Rieke
Institutions
- Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (CA)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Arizona (US)
- Scuola Normale Superiore (IT)
- University of California, Santa Cruz (US)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (FR)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- European Space Astronomy Centre (ES)
- Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US)
- Centro de Astrobiología (ES)
- NSF NOIRLab (US)
- University College London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Astronomy
- Published
- 2025-03-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02503-z
- Citations
- 24
- Primary Topic
- Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 27.71
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- University of California, Santa Cruz
- UK Research and Innovation
- European Commission
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Science and Technology Facilities Council
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación