JWST CEERS probes the role of stellar mass and morphology in obscuring galaxies

Carlos Gómez-Guijarro; Benjamin Magnelli; David Elbaz; Stijn Wuyts; Emanuele Daddi; Aurélien Le Bail; Mauro Giavalisco; Mark Dickinson; Pablo G. Pérez-González; Pablo Arrabal Haro; Micaela B. Bagley; Laura Bisigello; Véronique Buat; Denis Burgarella; Antonello Calabrò; Caitlin M. Casey; Yingjie Cheng; Laure Ciesla; Avishai Dekel; Henry C. Ferguson; Steven L. Finkelstein; Maximilien Franco; Norman A. Grogin; Benne W. Holwerda; Shuowen Jin; Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe; Anton M. Koekemoer; Vasily Kokorev; Arianna S. Long; Ray A. Lucas; Georgios E. Magdis; Casey Papovich; Nor Pirzkal; Lise Marie Seillé; Sandro Tacchella; Maxime Tarrasse; Francesco Valentino; Alexander De La Vega; Stephen M. Wilkins; Mengyuan Xiao; L. Y.Aaron Yung

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202346673

JWST CEERS probes the role of stellar mass and morphology in obscuring galaxies

Carlos Gómez-Guijarro, Benjamin Magnelli, David Elbaz, Stijn Wuyts, Emanuele Daddi, Aurélien Le Bail, Mauro Giavalisco, Mark Dickinson, Pablo G. Pérez-González, Pablo Arrabal Haro, Micaela B. Bagley, Laura Bisigello, Véronique Buat, Denis Burgarella, Antonello Calabrò, Caitlin M. Casey, Yingjie Cheng, Laure Ciesla, Avishai Dekel, Henry C. FergusonSteven L. Finkelstein, Maximilien Franco, Norman A. Grogin, Benne W. Holwerda, Shuowen Jin, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Anton M. Koekemoer, Vasily Kokorev, Arianna S. Long, Ray A. Lucas, Georgios E. Magdis, Casey Papovich, Nor Pirzkal, Lise Marie Seillé, Sandro Tacchella, Maxime Tarrasse, Francesco Valentino, Alexander De La Vega, Stephen M. Wilkins, Mengyuan Xiao, L. Y.Aaron Yung

Racah Institute of Physics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

In recent years, observations have uncovered a population of massive galaxies that are invisible or very faint in deep optical/near-infrared (near-IR) surveys but brighter at longer wavelengths. However, the nature of these optically dark or faint galaxies (OFGs; one of several names given to these objects) is highly uncertain. In this work, we investigate the drivers of dust attenuation in the JWST era. In particular, we study the role of stellar mass, size, and orientation in obscuring star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at 3'., <'., z'., <'., 7.5, focusing on the question of why OFGs and similar galaxies are so faint at optical/near-IR wavelengths. We find that stellar mass is the primary proxy for dust attenuation, among the properties studied. Effective radius and axis ratio do not show a clear link with dust attenuation, with the effect of orientation being close to random. However, there is a subset of highly dust attenuated (A_V'., >'., 1, typically) SFGs, of which OFGs are a specific case. For this subset, we find that the key distinctive feature is their compact size (for massive systems with log(M_∗/M_™) > 10); OFGs exhibit a 30% smaller effective radius than the average SFG at the same stellar mass and redshift. On the contrary, OFGs do not exhibit a preference for low axis ratios (i.e., edge-on disks). The results in this work show that stellar mass is the primary proxy for dust attenuation and compact stellar light profiles behind the thick dust columns obscuring typical massive SFGs.

Original language	English
Article number	A34
Journal	Astronomy and Astrophysics
Volume	677
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202346673
State	Published - 1 Sep 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors.

Keywords

Galaxies: evolution
Galaxies: high-redshift
Galaxies: photometry
Galaxies: star formation
Galaxies: structure
Infrared: galaxies

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Gómez-Guijarro, C., Magnelli, B., Elbaz, D., Wuyts, S., Daddi, E., Le Bail, A., Giavalisco, M., Dickinson, M., Pérez-González, P. G., Arrabal Haro, P., Bagley, M. B., Bisigello, L., Buat, V., Burgarella, D., Calabrò, A., Casey, C. M., Cheng, Y., Ciesla, L., Dekel, A., ... Yung, L. Y. A. (2023). JWST CEERS probes the role of stellar mass and morphology in obscuring galaxies. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 677, Article A34. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202346673

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title = "JWST CEERS probes the role of stellar mass and morphology in obscuring galaxies",

abstract = "In recent years, observations have uncovered a population of massive galaxies that are invisible or very faint in deep optical/near-infrared (near-IR) surveys but brighter at longer wavelengths. However, the nature of these optically dark or faint galaxies (OFGs; one of several names given to these objects) is highly uncertain. In this work, we investigate the drivers of dust attenuation in the JWST era. In particular, we study the role of stellar mass, size, and orientation in obscuring star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at 3'., <'., z'., <'., 7.5, focusing on the question of why OFGs and similar galaxies are so faint at optical/near-IR wavelengths. We find that stellar mass is the primary proxy for dust attenuation, among the properties studied. Effective radius and axis ratio do not show a clear link with dust attenuation, with the effect of orientation being close to random. However, there is a subset of highly dust attenuated (AV'., >'., 1, typically) SFGs, of which OFGs are a specific case. For this subset, we find that the key distinctive feature is their compact size (for massive systems with log(M∗/M{\texttrademark} ) > 10); OFGs exhibit a 30% smaller effective radius than the average SFG at the same stellar mass and redshift. On the contrary, OFGs do not exhibit a preference for low axis ratios (i.e., edge-on disks). The results in this work show that stellar mass is the primary proxy for dust attenuation and compact stellar light profiles behind the thick dust columns obscuring typical massive SFGs.",

keywords = "Galaxies: evolution, Galaxies: high-redshift, Galaxies: photometry, Galaxies: star formation, Galaxies: structure, Infrared: galaxies",

author = "Carlos G{\'o}mez-Guijarro and Benjamin Magnelli and David Elbaz and Stijn Wuyts and Emanuele Daddi and {Le Bail}, Aur{\'e}lien and Mauro Giavalisco and Mark Dickinson and P{\'e}rez-Gonz{\'a}lez, {Pablo G.} and {Arrabal Haro}, Pablo and Bagley, {Micaela B.} and Laura Bisigello and V{\'e}ronique Buat and Denis Burgarella and Antonello Calabr{\`o} and Casey, {Caitlin M.} and Yingjie Cheng and Laure Ciesla and Avishai Dekel and Ferguson, {Henry C.} and Finkelstein, {Steven L.} and Maximilien Franco and Grogin, {Norman A.} and Holwerda, {Benne W.} and Shuowen Jin and Kartaltepe, {Jeyhan S.} and Koekemoer, {Anton M.} and Vasily Kokorev and Long, {Arianna S.} and Lucas, {Ray A.} and Magdis, {Georgios E.} and Casey Papovich and Nor Pirzkal and Seill{\'e}, {Lise Marie} and Sandro Tacchella and Maxime Tarrasse and Francesco Valentino and {De La Vega}, Alexander and Wilkins, {Stephen M.} and Mengyuan Xiao and Yung, {L. Y.Aaron}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Authors.",

year = "2023",

month = sep,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1051/0004-6361/202346673",

language = "אנגלית",

volume = "677",

journal = "Astronomy and Astrophysics",

issn = "0004-6361",

publisher = "EDP Sciences",

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Gómez-Guijarro, C, Magnelli, B, Elbaz, D, Wuyts, S, Daddi, E, Le Bail, A, Giavalisco, M, Dickinson, M, Pérez-González, PG, Arrabal Haro, P, Bagley, MB, Bisigello, L, Buat, V, Burgarella, D, Calabrò, A, Casey, CM, Cheng, Y, Ciesla, L, Dekel, A, Ferguson, HC, Finkelstein, SL, Franco, M, Grogin, NA, Holwerda, BW, Jin, S, Kartaltepe, JS, Koekemoer, AM, Kokorev, V, Long, AS, Lucas, RA, Magdis, GE, Papovich, C, Pirzkal, N, Seillé, LM, Tacchella, S, Tarrasse, M, Valentino, F, De La Vega, A, Wilkins, SM, Xiao, M & Yung, LYA 2023, 'JWST CEERS probes the role of stellar mass and morphology in obscuring galaxies', Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 677, A34. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202346673

TY - JOUR

T1 - JWST CEERS probes the role of stellar mass and morphology in obscuring galaxies

AU - Gómez-Guijarro, Carlos

AU - Magnelli, Benjamin

AU - Elbaz, David

AU - Wuyts, Stijn

AU - Daddi, Emanuele

AU - Le Bail, Aurélien

AU - Giavalisco, Mauro

AU - Dickinson, Mark

AU - Pérez-González, Pablo G.

AU - Arrabal Haro, Pablo

AU - Bagley, Micaela B.

AU - Bisigello, Laura

AU - Buat, Véronique

AU - Burgarella, Denis

AU - Calabrò, Antonello

AU - Casey, Caitlin M.

AU - Cheng, Yingjie

AU - Ciesla, Laure

AU - Dekel, Avishai

AU - Ferguson, Henry C.

AU - Finkelstein, Steven L.

AU - Franco, Maximilien

AU - Grogin, Norman A.

AU - Holwerda, Benne W.

AU - Jin, Shuowen

AU - Kartaltepe, Jeyhan S.

AU - Koekemoer, Anton M.

AU - Kokorev, Vasily

AU - Long, Arianna S.

AU - Lucas, Ray A.

AU - Magdis, Georgios E.

AU - Papovich, Casey

AU - Pirzkal, Nor

AU - Seillé, Lise Marie

AU - Tacchella, Sandro

AU - Tarrasse, Maxime

AU - Valentino, Francesco

AU - De La Vega, Alexander

AU - Wilkins, Stephen M.

AU - Xiao, Mengyuan

AU - Yung, L. Y.Aaron

PY - 2023/9/1

Y1 - 2023/9/1

N2 - In recent years, observations have uncovered a population of massive galaxies that are invisible or very faint in deep optical/near-infrared (near-IR) surveys but brighter at longer wavelengths. However, the nature of these optically dark or faint galaxies (OFGs; one of several names given to these objects) is highly uncertain. In this work, we investigate the drivers of dust attenuation in the JWST era. In particular, we study the role of stellar mass, size, and orientation in obscuring star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at 3'., <'., z'., <'., 7.5, focusing on the question of why OFGs and similar galaxies are so faint at optical/near-IR wavelengths. We find that stellar mass is the primary proxy for dust attenuation, among the properties studied. Effective radius and axis ratio do not show a clear link with dust attenuation, with the effect of orientation being close to random. However, there is a subset of highly dust attenuated (AV'., >'., 1, typically) SFGs, of which OFGs are a specific case. For this subset, we find that the key distinctive feature is their compact size (for massive systems with log(M∗/M™ ) > 10); OFGs exhibit a 30% smaller effective radius than the average SFG at the same stellar mass and redshift. On the contrary, OFGs do not exhibit a preference for low axis ratios (i.e., edge-on disks). The results in this work show that stellar mass is the primary proxy for dust attenuation and compact stellar light profiles behind the thick dust columns obscuring typical massive SFGs.

AB - In recent years, observations have uncovered a population of massive galaxies that are invisible or very faint in deep optical/near-infrared (near-IR) surveys but brighter at longer wavelengths. However, the nature of these optically dark or faint galaxies (OFGs; one of several names given to these objects) is highly uncertain. In this work, we investigate the drivers of dust attenuation in the JWST era. In particular, we study the role of stellar mass, size, and orientation in obscuring star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at 3'., <'., z'., <'., 7.5, focusing on the question of why OFGs and similar galaxies are so faint at optical/near-IR wavelengths. We find that stellar mass is the primary proxy for dust attenuation, among the properties studied. Effective radius and axis ratio do not show a clear link with dust attenuation, with the effect of orientation being close to random. However, there is a subset of highly dust attenuated (AV'., >'., 1, typically) SFGs, of which OFGs are a specific case. For this subset, we find that the key distinctive feature is their compact size (for massive systems with log(M∗/M™ ) > 10); OFGs exhibit a 30% smaller effective radius than the average SFG at the same stellar mass and redshift. On the contrary, OFGs do not exhibit a preference for low axis ratios (i.e., edge-on disks). The results in this work show that stellar mass is the primary proxy for dust attenuation and compact stellar light profiles behind the thick dust columns obscuring typical massive SFGs.

KW - Galaxies: evolution

KW - Galaxies: high-redshift

KW - Galaxies: photometry

KW - Galaxies: star formation

KW - Galaxies: structure

KW - Infrared: galaxies

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U2 - 10.1051/0004-6361/202346673

DO - 10.1051/0004-6361/202346673

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AN - SCOPUS:85170828978

SN - 0004-6361

VL - 677

JO - Astronomy and Astrophysics

JF - Astronomy and Astrophysics

M1 - A34

ER -

JWST CEERS probes the role of stellar mass and morphology in obscuring galaxies

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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