JADES NIRSpec Spectroscopy of GN-z11: Lyman-$α$ emission and possible enhanced nitrogen abundance in a $z=10.60$ luminous galaxy
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Author
Bunker, Andrew J.
Saxena, Aayush
Cameron, Alex J.
Willott, Chris J.
Curtis-Lake, Emma
Jakobsen, Peter
Carniani, Stefano
Smit, Renske
Maiolino, Roberto
Witstok, Joris
Curti, Mirko
D'Eugenio, Francesco
Jones, Gareth C.
Ferruit, Pierre
Arribas, Santiago
Charlot, Stephane
Chevallard, Jacopo
Giardino, Giovanna
Graaff, Anna de
Looser, Tobias J.
Luetzgendorf, Nora
Maseda, Michael V.
Rawle, Tim
Rix, Hans-Walter
Pino, Bruno Rodriguez Del
Alberts, Stacey
Egami, Eiichi
Eisenstein, Daniel J.
Endsley, Ryan
Hainline, Kevin
Hausen, Ryan
Johnson, Benjamin D.
Rieke, George
Rieke, Marcia
Robertson, Brant E.
Shivaei, Irene
Stark, Daniel P.
Sun, Fengwu
Tacchella, Sandro
Tang, Mengtao
Williams, Christina C.
Willmer, Christopher N. A.
Baker, William M.
Baum, Stefi
Bhatawdekar, Rachana
Bowler, Rebecca
Boyett, Kristan
Chen, Zuyi
Circosta, Chiara
Helton, Jakob M.
Ji, Zhiyuan
Kumari, Nimisha
Lyu, Jianwei
Nelson, Erica
Parlanti, Eleonora
Perna, Michele
Sandles, Lester
Scholtz, Jan
Suess, Katherine A.
Topping, Michael W.
Uebler, Hannah
Wallace, Imaan E. B.
Whitler, Lily
Attention
2299/27248
Abstract
We present JADES JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy of GN-z11, the most luminous candidate z>10 Lyman break galaxy in the GOODS-North field with MUV =-21.5. We derive a redshift of z = 10.603 (lower than previous determinations) based on multiple emission lines in our low and medium resolution spectra over 0.7- 5.3 μm. We significantly detect the continuum and measure a blue rest-UV spectral slope of β =-2.4. Remarkably, we see spatially extended Lyman-α in emission (despite the highly neutral intergalactic medium expected at this early epoch), offset 555 km s-1 redwards of the systemic redshift. From our measurements of collisionally excited lines of both low and high ionisation (including [O II] λ3727, [Ne III] λ3869, and C III] λ1909), we infer a high ionisation parameter (log U ∼-2). We detect the rarely seen N IV] λ1486 and N III] λ1748 lines in both our low and medium resolution spectra, with other high ionisation lines seen in the low resolution spectrum, such as He II (blended with O III]) and C IV (with a possible P-Cygni profile). Based on the observed rest-UV line ratios, we cannot conclusively rule out photoionisation from an active galactic nucleus (AGN), although the high C III]/He II and N III]/He II ratios are compatible with a star formation explanation. If the observed emission lines are powered by star formation, then the strong N III] λ1748 observed may imply an unusually high N/O abundance. Balmer emission lines (Hγ, Hδ) are also detected, and if powered by star formation rather than an AGN, we infer a star formation rate of ∼20-30 M⊙ yr-1 (depending on the initial mass function) and low dust attenuation. Our NIRSpec spectroscopy confirms that GN-z11 is a remarkable galaxy with extreme properties seen 430 Myr after the Big Bang.
Publication date
2023-09-11Published in
Astronomy & AstrophysicsPublished version
https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202346159Other links
http://hdl.handle.net/2299/27248Metadata
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