Parallel Application of Slitless Spectroscopy to Analyze Galaxy Evolution (PASSAGE): Survey Overview

Abstract During the second half of Cycle 1 of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), we conducted the Parallel Application of Slitless Spectroscopy to Analyze Galaxy Evolution (PASSAGE) program. PASSAGE received the largest allocation of JWST observing time in Cycle 1, 591 hr of NIRISS observations to obtain direct near-IR imaging and slitless spectroscopy. About two-thirds of this was ultimately executed, to observe 63 high-latitude fields in pure-parallel mode. These have provided more than 10,000 near-infrared grism spectrograms of faint galaxies. PASSAGE brings unique advantages in studying galaxy evolution: (a) Unbiased spectroscopic search, without prior photometric preselection. By including the typical galaxies which have low masses and strong emission lines, slitless spectroscopy is the indispensable complement to any pretargeted spectroscopy. (b) The combination of several dozen independent fields to overcome cosmic variance. (c) Near-infrared spectral coverage, spanning a wide wavelength range of up to 1.0 to 2.3 μ m, with minimal wavelength gaps, to measure multiple diagnostic rest-frame optical lines, minimizing sensitivity to dust reddening. (d) JWST’s unprecedented spatial resolution, in some cases using two orthogonal grism orientations, to overcome contamination due to blending of overlapping spectra. (e) Discovery of rare bright objects especially for detailed JWST follow-up. PASSAGE data are public immediately, and our team plans to deliver fully processed high-level data products. In this PASSAGE overview, we describe the survey and data quality, and present examples of these accomplishments in several areas of current interest in the evolution of emission-line galaxy properties, particularly at low masses.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2025-10-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae00bb
Primary Topic
Astronomy and Astrophysical Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Parallel Application of Slitless Spectroscopy to Analyze Galaxy Evolution (PASSAGE): Survey Overview

Matthew Hayes, Farhanul Hasan, Guido Roberts-Borsani, Maruša Bradač et al.
The Astrophysical Journal
Astronomy and Astrophysical Research
article

Parallel Application of Slitless Spectroscopy to Analyze Galaxy Evolution (PASSAGE): Survey Overview

Matthew Hayes, Farhanul Hasan, Guido Roberts-Borsani, Maruša Bradač, Santosh Harish, Y. Sophia Dai, Hollis B. Akins, Adam J. Burgasser, Nicha Leethochawalit, S Bruton, Anahita Alavi, P. J. S. Watson, Ivano Baronchelli, Caitlin M. Casey, Takahiro Morishita, Vihang Mehta, Matthew A. Malkan, V. Raj, Daniel Masters, Sijia Li, Ayan Acharyya, Hakim Atek, James Colbert, Maximilien Franco, Mason Huberty, Kristan Boyett, Andrew J. Bunker, Michele Trenti, Marko Shuntov, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Andrew Battisti, Alaina Henry, Tucker Jones, Yixiao 一笑 Liu 刘, Nuo Chen, Clea Hannahs
article en

Abstract

Abstract During the second half of Cycle 1 of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), we conducted the Parallel Application of Slitless Spectroscopy to Analyze Galaxy Evolution (PASSAGE) program. PASSAGE received the largest allocation of JWST observing time in Cycle 1, 591 hr of NIRISS observations to obtain direct near-IR imaging and slitless spectroscopy. About two-thirds of this was ultimately executed, to observe 63 high-latitude fields in pure-parallel mode. These have provided more than 10,000 near-infrared grism spectrograms of faint galaxies. PASSAGE brings unique advantages in studying galaxy evolution: (a) Unbiased spectroscopic search, without prior photometric preselection. By including the typical galaxies which have low masses and strong emission lines, slitless spectroscopy is the indispensable complement to any pretargeted spectroscopy. (b) The combination of several dozen independent fields to overcome cosmic variance. (c) Near-infrared spectral coverage, spanning a wide wavelength range of up to 1.0 to 2.3 μ m, with minimal wavelength gaps, to measure multiple diagnostic rest-frame optical lines, minimizing sensitivity to dust reddening. (d) JWST’s unprecedented spatial resolution, in some cases using two orthogonal grism orientations, to overcome contamination due to blending of overlapping spectra. (e) Discovery of rare bright objects especially for detailed JWST follow-up. PASSAGE data are public immediately, and our team plans to deliver fully processed high-level data products. In this PASSAGE overview, we describe the survey and data quality, and present examples of these accomplishments in several areas of current interest in the evolution of emission-line galaxy properties, particularly at low masses.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 993(1)
University of Geneva (CH), Australian National University (AU), California Institute of Technology (US), University of Copenhagen (DK), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Space Telescope Science Institute (US), University of Minnesota (US), Johns Hopkins University (US), Minnesota State University, Mankato (US), University of Ljubljana (SI), University of California, Santa Barbara (US), Rochester Institute of Technology (US), University of California, Los Angeles (US), Stockholm University (SE), The University of Melbourne (AU), The University of Western Australia (AU), Xiamen University (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Université Paris Cité (FR), Beijing Normal University (CN), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (FR), University of California San Diego (US), Sorbonne Université (FR), University of Oxford (GB), Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation (FR), ASTRO-3D (AU), Twin Cities Orthopedics (US), Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna (IT), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR), CEA Paris-Saclay (FR), AlbaNova (SE), ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (AU), Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova (IT), International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (AU), National Astronomical Observatories (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (US), The University of Tokyo (JP), University of California, Davis (US), National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (TH), The University of Texas at Austin (US)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Javna Agencija za Raziskovalno Dejavnost RS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules
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