The AURORA Survey: The Nebular Attenuation Curve of a Galaxy at <i>z</i> = 4.41 from Ultraviolet to Near-infrared Wavelengths

Abstract We use JWST/NIRSpec observations from the Assembly of Ultradeep Rest-optical Observations Revealing Astrophysics survey to constrain the shape of the nebular attenuation curve of a star-forming galaxy at z = 4.41, GOODSN-17940. We utilize 12 H i recombination lines to derive the attenuation curve spanning optical to near-infrared wavelengths (3751–9550 Å). We then leverage a high signal-to-noise ratio spectroscopic detection of the rest-frame ultraviolet continuum in combination with rest-UV photometric measurements to constrain the shape of the curve at ultraviolet wavelengths. While this UV constraint is predominantly based on stellar emission, the large measured equivalent widths of H α and H β indicate that GOODSN-17940 is dominated by an extremely young stellar population &lt;10 Myr in age such that the UV stellar continuum experiences similar attenuation to that of the nebular emission. The resulting combined nebular attenuation curve spans 1400–9550 Å and has a shape that deviates significantly from commonly assumed dust curves in high-redshift studies. Relative to the Milky Way, SMC, and Calzetti curves, the new curve has a steeper slope at long wavelengths ( λ &gt; 5000 Å) while displaying a similar slope across blue-optical wavelengths ( λ = 3750–5000 Å). In the ultraviolet, the new curve is shallower than the SMC and Calzetti curves and displays no significant 2175 Å bump. This work demonstrates that the most commonly assumed dust curves are not appropriate for all high-redshift galaxies. These results highlight the ability to derive nebular attenuation curves for individual high-redshift sources with deep JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy, thereby improving the accuracy of physical properties inferred from nebular emission lines.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2025-08-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf066
Citations
11
Primary Topic
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
12.70

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article

The AURORA Survey: The Nebular Attenuation Curve of a Galaxy at z = 4.41 from Ultraviolet to Near-infrared Wavelengths

Mariska Kriek, Adam C. Carnall, Romeel Davé, G. D. Illingworth et al.
11 citations
The Astrophysical Journal
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
12.70
article

The AURORA Survey: The Nebular Attenuation Curve of a Galaxy at z = 4.41 from Ultraviolet to Near-infrared Wavelengths

Mariska Kriek, Adam C. Carnall, Romeel Davé, G. D. Illingworth, Karl Glazebrook, Michael W. Topping, Max Pettini, Charles C. Steidel, Danielle A. Berg, R. J. Bouwens, L. Clarke, J. S. Dunlop, Callum T. Donnan, Mengtao Tang, Emily Kehoe, Naveen A. Reddy, D J McLeod, Desika Narayanan, D. Schaerer, Fergus Cullen, Steven R. Furlanetto, Pascal A. Oesch, Alice E. Shapley, Gabriel Brammer, Richard S. Ellis, Anthony J. Pahl, Tucker Jones, Ryan L. Sanders, N. M. Förster Schreiber, Daniel P. Stark, R. J. McLure
article en
11 citations

Abstract

Abstract We use JWST/NIRSpec observations from the Assembly of Ultradeep Rest-optical Observations Revealing Astrophysics survey to constrain the shape of the nebular attenuation curve of a star-forming galaxy at z = 4.41, GOODSN-17940. We utilize 12 H i recombination lines to derive the attenuation curve spanning optical to near-infrared wavelengths (3751–9550 Å). We then leverage a high signal-to-noise ratio spectroscopic detection of the rest-frame ultraviolet continuum in combination with rest-UV photometric measurements to constrain the shape of the curve at ultraviolet wavelengths. While this UV constraint is predominantly based on stellar emission, the large measured equivalent widths of H α and H β indicate that GOODSN-17940 is dominated by an extremely young stellar population &lt;10 Myr in age such that the UV stellar continuum experiences similar attenuation to that of the nebular emission. The resulting combined nebular attenuation curve spans 1400–9550 Å and has a shape that deviates significantly from commonly assumed dust curves in high-redshift studies. Relative to the Milky Way, SMC, and Calzetti curves, the new curve has a steeper slope at long wavelengths ( λ &gt; 5000 Å) while displaying a similar slope across blue-optical wavelengths ( λ = 3750–5000 Å). In the ultraviolet, the new curve is shallower than the SMC and Calzetti curves and displays no significant 2175 Å bump. This work demonstrates that the most commonly assumed dust curves are not appropriate for all high-redshift galaxies. These results highlight the ability to derive nebular attenuation curves for individual high-redshift sources with deep JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy, thereby improving the accuracy of physical properties inferred from nebular emission lines.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 989(2)
National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Gruber Foundation, Space Telescope Science Institute, UK Research and Innovation, National Research Foundation, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Danmarks Grundforskningsfond, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
12.70
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