MSA-3D: Dissecting Galaxies at <i>z</i> ∼ 1 with High Spatial and Spectral Resolution

Abstract Integral field spectroscopy (IFS) is a powerful tool for understanding the formation of galaxies across cosmic history. We present the observing strategy and first results of MSA-3D, a novel JWST program using multi-object spectroscopy in a slit-stepping strategy to produce IFS data cubes. The program observed 43 normal star-forming galaxies at redshifts 0.5 ≲ z ≲ 1.5, corresponding to the epoch when spiral thin-disk galaxies of the modern Hubble sequence are thought to emerge, obtaining kiloparsec-scale maps of rest-frame optical nebular emission lines with spectral resolution R ≃ 2700. Here we describe the multiplexed slit-stepping method, which is &gt;15 times more efficient than the NIRSpec IFS mode for our program. As an example of the data quality, we present a case study of an individual galaxy at z = 1.104 (stellar mass M * = 10 10.3 M ⊙ , star formation rate, SFR = 3 M ⊙ yr −1 ) with prominent face-on spiral structure. We show that the galaxy exhibits a rotationally supported disk with moderate velocity dispersion ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mi>σ</mml:mi> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>6</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>4</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>5</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> km s −1 ), a negative radial metallicity gradient (−0.020 ± 0.002 dex kpc −1 ), a dust attenuation gradient, and an exponentially decreasing SFR density profile that closely matches the stellar continuum. These properties are characteristic of local spirals, indicating that mature galaxies are in place at z ∼ 1. We also describe the customized data reduction and original cube-building software pipelines that we have developed to exploit the powerful slit-stepping technique. Our results demonstrate the ability of JWST slit-stepping to study galaxy populations at intermediate to high redshifts, with data quality similar to current surveys of the z ∼ 0.1 Universe.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2025-04-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada617
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.31

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article

MSA-3D: Dissecting Galaxies at z ∼ 1 with High Spatial and Spectral Resolution

Yuguang Chen, Mengting Ju, James S. Bullock, Juan M. Espejo Salcedo et al.
2 citations
The Astrophysical Journal
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
2.31
article

MSA-3D: Dissecting Galaxies at z ∼ 1 with High Spatial and Spectral Resolution

Yuguang Chen, Mengting Ju, James S. Bullock, Juan M. Espejo Salcedo, Karl Glazebrook, Tommaso Treu, Themiya Nanayakkara, Takahiro Morishita, Matthew A. Malkan, Kyle B. Westfall, Kevin Bundy, Xin Wang, Ivana Barišić, Claude‐André Faucher‐Giguère, Alice E. Shapley, Kris Mortensen, Namrata Roy, Danail Obreschkow, Alaina Henry, Tucker Jones, Ryan L. Sanders
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Abstract Integral field spectroscopy (IFS) is a powerful tool for understanding the formation of galaxies across cosmic history. We present the observing strategy and first results of MSA-3D, a novel JWST program using multi-object spectroscopy in a slit-stepping strategy to produce IFS data cubes. The program observed 43 normal star-forming galaxies at redshifts 0.5 ≲ z ≲ 1.5, corresponding to the epoch when spiral thin-disk galaxies of the modern Hubble sequence are thought to emerge, obtaining kiloparsec-scale maps of rest-frame optical nebular emission lines with spectral resolution R ≃ 2700. Here we describe the multiplexed slit-stepping method, which is &gt;15 times more efficient than the NIRSpec IFS mode for our program. As an example of the data quality, we present a case study of an individual galaxy at z = 1.104 (stellar mass M * = 10 10.3 M ⊙ , star formation rate, SFR = 3 M ⊙ yr −1 ) with prominent face-on spiral structure. We show that the galaxy exhibits a rotationally supported disk with moderate velocity dispersion ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mi>σ</mml:mi> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>6</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>4</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>5</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> km s −1 ), a negative radial metallicity gradient (−0.020 ± 0.002 dex kpc −1 ), a dust attenuation gradient, and an exponentially decreasing SFR density profile that closely matches the stellar continuum. These properties are characteristic of local spirals, indicating that mature galaxies are in place at z ∼ 1. We also describe the customized data reduction and original cube-building software pipelines that we have developed to exploit the powerful slit-stepping technique. Our results demonstrate the ability of JWST slit-stepping to study galaxy populations at intermediate to high redshifts, with data quality similar to current surveys of the z ∼ 0.1 Universe.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 983(2)
Northwestern University (US), California Institute of Technology (US), Space Telescope Science Institute (US), Australian Research Council (AU), University of Kentucky (US), Johns Hopkins University (US), University of California, Los Angeles (US), The University of Western Australia (AU), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), University of California, Irvine (US), Beijing Normal University (CN), ASTRO-3D (AU), Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (DE), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR), ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (AU), International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (AU), National Astronomical Observatories (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (US), Swinburne University of Technology (AU), University of California, Davis (US)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
2.31
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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