Bursting at the seams: the star-forming main sequence and its scatter at <i>z</i>  = 3–9 using NIRCam photometry from JADES

ABSTRACT We present a comprehensive study of the star-forming main sequence (SFMS) and its scatter at redshifts $3 \le z \le 9$, using Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) photometry from the JADES (JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey) survey in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) South (GOODS-S) and North (GOODS-N) fields. Our analysis is based on a sample of galaxies that is stellar mass complete down to $\log \left(M_{\star }/{\rm M}_{\odot }\right) \approx 8.1$. The redshift evolution of the SFMS at an averaging time-scale of 10 Myr follows a relation, quantified by the specific star formation rates (sSFR$_{10}$), of $\mathrm{sSFR}\propto (1+z)^{\mu }$ with $\mu = 2.30^{+0.03}_{-0.01}$, in good agreement with theoretical predictions and the specific mass accretion rate of dark matter haloes. We find that the SFMS normalization varies in a complex way with the SFR averaging time-scale, reflecting the combined effects of bursty star formation and rising star formation histories (SFHs). We quantify the scatter of the SFMS, revealing that it decreases with longer SFR averaging time-scales, from $\sigma _{\rm {int}} \approx 0.4-0.5~\mathrm{dex}$ at 10 Myr to $\sigma _{\rm {int}} \approx 0.2~\mathrm{dex}$ at 100 Myr, indicating that shorter term fluctuations dominate the scatter, although long-term variations in star formation activity are also present. Our findings suggest that bursty SFHs are more pronounced at lower stellar masses. Furthermore, we explore the implications of our results for the observed overabundance of UV-bright galaxies at $z &amp;gt; 10$, concluding that additional mechanisms, such as top-heavy initial mass functions, increased star formation efficiencies, or increased burstiness in star formation are needed to explain these observations. Finally, we emphasize the importance of accurate stellar mass completeness limits when fitting the SFMS, especially for galaxies with bursty SFHs.

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Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Published
2025-11-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf1950
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
Type
article
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8.08
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article

Bursting at the seams: the star-forming main sequence and its scatter at z  = 3–9 using NIRCam photometry from JADES

Francesco D’Eugenio, Zhiyuan Ji, Andreas Stoffers, Jakob M. Helton et al.
7 citations
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
8.08
article

Bursting at the seams: the star-forming main sequence and its scatter at z  = 3–9 using NIRCam photometry from JADES

Francesco D’Eugenio, Zhiyuan Ji, Andreas Stoffers, Jakob M. Helton, Qing Duan, R. Maiolino, Stefano Carniani, Kevin Hainline, Andrey V. Kravtsov, Jacopo Chevallard, Sandro Tacchella, Chris J. Willott, Rachana Bhatawdekar, Charlotte Simmonds, Mirko Curti, Christina C. Williams, Tobias J. Looser, Irene Shivaei, William Baker, Andrew J. Bunker, Brant E. Robertson, Michael V. Maseda, V. Belokurov, Bradley D. Johnson
article en
7 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT We present a comprehensive study of the star-forming main sequence (SFMS) and its scatter at redshifts $3 \le z \le 9$, using Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) photometry from the JADES (JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey) survey in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) South (GOODS-S) and North (GOODS-N) fields. Our analysis is based on a sample of galaxies that is stellar mass complete down to $\log \left(M_{\star }/{\rm M}_{\odot }\right) \approx 8.1$. The redshift evolution of the SFMS at an averaging time-scale of 10 Myr follows a relation, quantified by the specific star formation rates (sSFR$_{10}$), of $\mathrm{sSFR}\propto (1+z)^{\mu }$ with $\mu = 2.30^{+0.03}_{-0.01}$, in good agreement with theoretical predictions and the specific mass accretion rate of dark matter haloes. We find that the SFMS normalization varies in a complex way with the SFR averaging time-scale, reflecting the combined effects of bursty star formation and rising star formation histories (SFHs). We quantify the scatter of the SFMS, revealing that it decreases with longer SFR averaging time-scales, from $\sigma _{\rm {int}} \approx 0.4-0.5~\mathrm{dex}$ at 10 Myr to $\sigma _{\rm {int}} \approx 0.2~\mathrm{dex}$ at 100 Myr, indicating that shorter term fluctuations dominate the scatter, although long-term variations in star formation activity are also present. Our findings suggest that bursty SFHs are more pronounced at lower stellar masses. Furthermore, we explore the implications of our results for the observed overabundance of UV-bright galaxies at $z &amp;gt; 10$, concluding that additional mechanisms, such as top-heavy initial mass functions, increased star formation efficiencies, or increased burstiness in star formation are needed to explain these observations. Finally, we emphasize the importance of accurate stellar mass completeness limits when fitting the SFMS, especially for galaxies with bursty SFHs.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyVol. 544(4)
Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (CA), University of Copenhagen (DK), University of Wisconsin System (US), European Southern Observatory (DE), University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), University of Arizona (US), University of Hertfordshire (GB), Scuola Normale Superiore (IT), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), University of Cambridge (GB), European Space Agency (FR), University of Oxford (GB), University of Chicago (US), European Space Astronomy Centre (ES), Institute of Astronomy (RU), Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US), Reproductive Medicine Institute (US), Centro de Astrobiología (ES), NSF NOIRLab (US), University College London (GB)
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
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