GA-NIFS: ISM properties and metal enrichment in a merger-driven starburst during the epoch of reionization probed with <i>JWST</i> and ALMA

ABSTRACT We present deep JWST/NIRSpec integral-field spectroscopy (IFS) and ALMA [C ii]$\lambda $158$\mu$m observations of COS-3018, a star-forming galaxy at z $\sim$ 6.85, as part of the GA-NIFS programme. Both G395H (R $\sim$ 2700) and PRISM (R $\sim$ 100) NIRSpec observations revealed that COS-3018 is comprised of three separate components detected in [O iii]$\lambda $5007, which we dub as Main, North, and East, with stellar masses of 10$^{9.4 \pm 0.1}$, 10$^{9.2 \pm 0.07}$, 10$^{7.7 \pm 0.15}$ $\mathrm{M}_\odot$. We detect [O iii]$\lambda $$\lambda $5007,4959, [O ii]$\lambda $$\lambda $3727,3729, and multiple Balmer lines in all three components together with [O iii]$\lambda $4363 in the Main and North components. This allows us to measure an interstellar medium temperature of $T_\text{e}$ = 1.27$\pm 0.07\times 10^4$ and $T_\text{e}$ = 1.6$\pm 0.14\times 10^4$ K with densities of $n_{e}$ = 1250$\pm$250 and $n_{e}$ = 700$\pm$200 cm$^{-3}$, respectively. These deep observations allow us to measure an average metallicity of 12 + log(O/H) = 7.9–8.2 for the three components with the T$_{e}$-method. We do not find any significant evidence of metallicity gradients between the components. Furthermore, we also detect [N ii]$\lambda $6585, one of the highest redshift detections of this emission line. We find that in a small, metal-poor clump 0.2 arcsec west of the North component, N/O is elevated compared to other regions, indicating that nitrogen enrichment originates from smaller substructures, possibly proto-globular clusters. [O iii]$\lambda $5007 kinematics show that this system is merging, which is probably driving the ongoing, luminous starburst.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Published
2025-03-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf518
Citations
13
Primary Topic
Nuclear Physics and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
24.48
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

GA-NIFS: ISM properties and metal enrichment in a merger-driven starburst during the epoch of reionization probed with JWST and ALMA

G. Cresci, Francesco D’Eugenio, Joris Witstok, Santiago Arribas et al.
13 citations
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nuclear Physics and Applications
24.48
article

GA-NIFS: ISM properties and metal enrichment in a merger-driven starburst during the epoch of reionization probed with JWST and ALMA

G. Cresci, Francesco D’Eugenio, Joris Witstok, Santiago Arribas, Bruno Rodríguez Del Pino, Michele Perna, R. Maiolino, Stefano Carniani, Pablo G. Pérez‐González, S. Charlot, Mirko Curti, Hannah Übler, Isabella Lamperti, Jan Scholtz, Andrew J. Bunker, C. Marconcini, Renske Smit, Giacomo Venturi, Eleonora Parlanti, Torsten Böker
article en
13 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT We present deep JWST/NIRSpec integral-field spectroscopy (IFS) and ALMA [C ii]$\lambda $158$\mu$m observations of COS-3018, a star-forming galaxy at z $\sim$ 6.85, as part of the GA-NIFS programme. Both G395H (R $\sim$ 2700) and PRISM (R $\sim$ 100) NIRSpec observations revealed that COS-3018 is comprised of three separate components detected in [O iii]$\lambda $5007, which we dub as Main, North, and East, with stellar masses of 10$^{9.4 \pm 0.1}$, 10$^{9.2 \pm 0.07}$, 10$^{7.7 \pm 0.15}$ $\mathrm{M}_\odot$. We detect [O iii]$\lambda $$\lambda $5007,4959, [O ii]$\lambda $$\lambda $3727,3729, and multiple Balmer lines in all three components together with [O iii]$\lambda $4363 in the Main and North components. This allows us to measure an interstellar medium temperature of $T_\text{e}$ = 1.27$\pm 0.07\times 10^4$ and $T_\text{e}$ = 1.6$\pm 0.14\times 10^4$ K with densities of $n_{e}$ = 1250$\pm$250 and $n_{e}$ = 700$\pm$200 cm$^{-3}$, respectively. These deep observations allow us to measure an average metallicity of 12 + log(O/H) = 7.9–8.2 for the three components with the T$_{e}$-method. We do not find any significant evidence of metallicity gradients between the components. Furthermore, we also detect [N ii]$\lambda $6585, one of the highest redshift detections of this emission line. We find that in a small, metal-poor clump 0.2 arcsec west of the North component, N/O is elevated compared to other regions, indicating that nitrogen enrichment originates from smaller substructures, possibly proto-globular clusters. [O iii]$\lambda $5007 kinematics show that this system is merging, which is probably driving the ongoing, luminous starburst.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyVol. 539(3)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), European Southern Observatory (DE), Scuola Normale Superiore (IT), University of Cambridge (GB), Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory (IT), Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (FR), Sorbonne Université (FR), University of Oxford (GB), Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (DE), Bridge University (SS), Institute of Astronomy (RU), Centro de Astrobiología (ES), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze (IT), University of Florence (IT), University College London (GB), Liverpool John Moores University (GB)
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Nuclear Physics and Applications
24.48
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.