TY - JOUR
T1 - MIDIS
T2 - JWST NIRCam and MIRI Unveil the Stellar Population Properties of Lyα Emitters and Lyman-break Galaxies at z ≃ 3-7
AU - Iani, Edoardo
AU - Caputi, Karina I.
AU - Rinaldi, Pierluigi
AU - Annunziatella, Marianna
AU - Boogaard, Leindert A.
AU - Östlin, Göran
AU - Costantin, Luca
AU - Gillman, Steven
AU - Pérez-González, Pablo G.
AU - Colina, Luis
AU - Greve, Thomas R.
AU - Wright, Gillian
AU - Alonso-Herrero, Almudena
AU - Álvarez-Márquez, Javier
AU - Bik, Arjan
AU - Bosman, Sarah E.I.
AU - Gómez, Alejandro Crespo
AU - Eckart, Andreas
AU - Hjorth, Jens
AU - Jermann, Iris
AU - Labiano, Alvaro
AU - Langeroodi, Danial
AU - Melinder, Jens
AU - Moutard, Thibaud
AU - Peißker, Florian
AU - Pye, John P.
AU - Tikkanen, Tuomo V.
AU - van der Werf, Paul P.
AU - Walter, Fabian
AU - Henning, Thomas K.
AU - Lagage, Pierre Olivier
AU - van Dishoeck, Ewine F.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
PY - 2024/3/1
Y1 - 2024/3/1
N2 - We study the stellar population properties of 182 spectroscopically confirmed (MUSE/VLT) Lyα emitters (LAEs) and 450 photometrically selected Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) at z = 2.8-6.7 in the Hubble Extreme Deep Field. Leveraging the combined power of Hubble Space Telescope and JWST NIRCam and MIRI observations, we analyze their rest-frame UV-through-near-IR spectral energy distributions, with MIRI playing a crucial role in robustly assessing the LAEs’ stellar masses and ages. Our LAEs are low-mass objects ( log 10 ( M ⋆ / M ⊙ ) ≃ 7.5 ) with little or no dust extinction (E(B − V) ≃ 0.1) and a blue UV continuum slope (β ≃ −2.2). While 75% of our LAEs are young (<100 Myr), the remaining 25% have significantly older stellar populations (≥100 Myr). These old LAEs are statistically more massive, less extinct, and have lower specific star formation rate than young LAEs. Besides, they populate the plane of M ⋆ versus star formation rate along the main sequence of star-forming galaxies, while young LAEs populate the starburst region. The comparison between the LAEs’ properties and those of a stellar-mass-matched sample of LBGs shows no statistical difference between these objects, except for the LBGs’ redder UV continuum slope and marginally larger E(B − V) values. Interestingly, 48% of the LBGs have ages <10 Myr and are classified as starbursts, but lack detectable Lyα emission. This is likely due to H i resonant scattering and/or dust-selective extinction. Overall, we find that JWST observations are crucial in determining the properties of LAEs and shedding light on their comparison with LBGs.
AB - We study the stellar population properties of 182 spectroscopically confirmed (MUSE/VLT) Lyα emitters (LAEs) and 450 photometrically selected Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) at z = 2.8-6.7 in the Hubble Extreme Deep Field. Leveraging the combined power of Hubble Space Telescope and JWST NIRCam and MIRI observations, we analyze their rest-frame UV-through-near-IR spectral energy distributions, with MIRI playing a crucial role in robustly assessing the LAEs’ stellar masses and ages. Our LAEs are low-mass objects ( log 10 ( M ⋆ / M ⊙ ) ≃ 7.5 ) with little or no dust extinction (E(B − V) ≃ 0.1) and a blue UV continuum slope (β ≃ −2.2). While 75% of our LAEs are young (<100 Myr), the remaining 25% have significantly older stellar populations (≥100 Myr). These old LAEs are statistically more massive, less extinct, and have lower specific star formation rate than young LAEs. Besides, they populate the plane of M ⋆ versus star formation rate along the main sequence of star-forming galaxies, while young LAEs populate the starburst region. The comparison between the LAEs’ properties and those of a stellar-mass-matched sample of LBGs shows no statistical difference between these objects, except for the LBGs’ redder UV continuum slope and marginally larger E(B − V) values. Interestingly, 48% of the LBGs have ages <10 Myr and are classified as starbursts, but lack detectable Lyα emission. This is likely due to H i resonant scattering and/or dust-selective extinction. Overall, we find that JWST observations are crucial in determining the properties of LAEs and shedding light on their comparison with LBGs.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85186661765
U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/ad15f6
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/ad15f6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85186661765
SN - 0004-637X
VL - 963
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
IS - 2
M1 - 97
ER -