Search

The NOEMA formIng Cluster survEy (NICE) is a large program targeting 69 massive galaxy group candidates at $z>2$ in six deep fields. We report spectroscopic confirmation of eight groups at $1.65\leq z\leq3.61$ in COSMOS. Homogeneously selected as significant overdensities of red IRAC sources with red Herschel colors, four groups are confirmed by CO and [CI] with NOEMA 3mm observations, three are confirmed with ALMA, and one is confirmed by H$\alpha$ from Subaru/FMOS. We constructed the integrated FIR SEDs for the eight groups, obtaining total IR SFR $=260-1300~{\rm M_\odot}$~yr$^{-1}$. We adopted six methods to estimate the dark matter masses, including stellar mass to halo mass relations, overdensity with galaxy bias, and NFW profile fitting to radial stellar mass density. We found the radial stellar mass density are consistent with a NFW profile, supporting that they are collapsed structures hosted by a single dark matter halo. The best halo mass estimates are $\log(M_{\rm h}/{\rm M_\odot})=12.8-13.7$ with uncertainty of 0.3 dex. From halo mass estimates, we derive baryonic accretion rate ${\rm BAR}=(1-8)\times10^{3}\,{\rm M_{\odot}/yr}$ for this sample. We find a quasi-linear correlation between the integrated SFR/BAR and the theoretical halo mass limit for cold streams, $M_{\rm stream}/M_{\rm h}$, with ${\rm SFR/BAR}=10^{-0.46\pm0.22}\left({M_{\rm stream}/M_{\rm h}}\right)^{0.71\pm0.16}$ with a scatter of $0.40\,{\rm dex}$. Further, we compare halo masses and stellar masses with simulations, and find all structures are consistent with being progenitors of $M_{\rm h}(z=0)>10^{14}\,{\rm M_{\odot}}$ galaxy clusters, and the most massive central galaxies have stellar masses consistent with brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) progenitors in the TNG300 simulation. The results strongly suggest these structures are forming massive galaxy clusters via baryonic and dark matter accretion., Comment: 44 pages (27pp appendix), 32 figures, 18 tables, accepted for publication in A&A

We present a study of the mid-IR (MIR) emission of quiescent galaxies (QGs) beyond the local universe. Using deep $JWST$ imaging in the SMACS-0723 cluster field we identify a mass limited ($M_{*} >10^{9}$M$_{\odot}$) sample of intermediate redshift QGs ($0.2 5 \mu$m, can be attributed to different dust continuum levels and/or the presence of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) features. The latter would indicate enhanced 11.3- and 12.7 $\mu$m PAHs strengths with respect to those at 6.2- and 7.7$ \mu$m, consistent with the observed spectra of local ellipticals and indicative of soft radiation fields. Finally, we augment the average UV-to-MIR spectrum of the population with cold dust and gas emission in the far-IR/mm and construct a panchromatic UV-to-radio SED that can serve as a template for the future exploration of the interstellar medium of $z>0$ QGs with ALMA and $JWST$., Comment: The panchromatic QG SED has been made publicly available at http://www.georgiosmagdis.com/software

We utilise the unprecedented depth and resolution of recent early-release science (ERS) JWST observations to define the near-infrared counterparts of sub-millimetre selected galaxies (SMGs). We identify 45 SCUBA-2 SMG positions within The Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS) JWST/NIRCam fields. Through an analysis of multi-wavelength $p$-values, NIRCam colours and predicted SCUBA-2 fluxes, we define 43 JWST/NIRCam counterparts to the SCUBA-2 SMGs, finding a 63 per cent agreement with those identified in prior $HST$ studies. Using EaZy-py we fit the available HST and JWST observations to quantify the photometric redshifts of the NIRCam-SMGs, establishing a broad range of redshift from $z$$\approx$0.2$-$5.4 with a median of $z$$\approx$2.29, in agreement with other studies of SMGs. We analyse their rest-frame optical and near-infrared morphological properties (e.g. effective radius (R$_{\rm e}$), S\'ersic index ($n$), CAS, Gini and M$_{20}$), finding, on average, late-type disc-like morphologies with large scatter into the intermediate and merger regions of the non-parametric parameter space. For the non-merging galaxies, we find a median rest-frame optical size and S\'ersic index (and $1\sigma$ scatter) of R$_{\rm e}$=3.10$\pm$1.67kpc and $n$=0.96$\pm$0.66. Whilst in the rest-frame near-infrared we establish more compact, higher S\'ersic index morphologies (R$_{\rm e}$=1.64$\pm$0.97, $n$=1.85$\pm$0.63). We further establish that both the rest-frame optical and near-infrared effective radii correlate negatively (at a 2$\sigma$ level) with redshift whilst the S\'ersic index remains constant with cosmic time. Our results are consistent with the picture of inside-out galaxy evolution, with more centrally concentrated older stellar populations, and more extended, younger star-forming regions whose stellar emission is heavily attenuated in the central regions., Comment: Submitted for publication in A&A. Comments welcome. 18 pages

We present a 1.1mm stacking analysis of moderately massive (log($M_{*}$/$M_{\odot}$) = 10.7 $\pm$ 0.2) quiescent galaxies (QGs) at $\langle z\rangle \sim1.5$, searching for cold dust continuum emission, an excellent tracer of dust and gas mass. Using both the recent GOODS-ALMA survey as well as the full suite of ALMA Band-6 ancillary data in the GOODS-S field, we report the tentative detection of dust continuum equivalent of dust mass log($M_{dust}$/$M_{\odot}$) = 7.47 $\pm$ 0.13 and gas mass log($M_{gas}$/$M_{\odot}$) = 9.42 $\pm$ 0.14. The emerging gas fraction is $f_{gas}$ = 5.3 $\pm$ 1.8%, consistent with the results of previous stacking analyses based on lower resolution sub(mm) observations. Our results support the scenario where high-z QGs have an order of magnitude larger $f_{gas}$ compared to their local counterparts and have experienced quenching with a non negligible gas reservoir in their interstellar medium - i.e. with gas retention. Subsequent analysis yields an anti-correlation between the $f_{gas}$ and the stellar mass of QGs, especially in the high mass end where galaxies reside in the most massive haloes. The $f_{gas}$ - $M_{*}$ anti-correlation promotes the selection bias as a possible solution to the tension between the stacking results pointing towards gas retention in high-z QGs of moderate $M_{*}$ and the studies of individual targets that favour a fully depleted ISM in massive (log($M_{*}$/$M_{\odot}$) high-z QGs., Comment: Accepted to A&A on the 16/03/2023

Using the novel $JWST$/NIRCam observations in the Abell 2744 field, we present a first spatially resolved overview of an $HST$-dark galaxy, spectroscopically confirmed at $z=2.58$ with magnification $\mu\approx1.9$. While being largely invisible at $\sim$1 $\mu$m with NIRCam, except for sparse clumpy sub-structures, the object is well-detected and resolved in the long-wavelength bands with a spiral shape clearly visible in F277W. By combining ancillary ALMA and $Herschel$ data, we infer that this object is an edge-on dusty spiral with an intrinsic stellar mass log$(M_*/M_\odot)\sim11.3$ and a dust-obscured SFR$\sim 300~M_\odot$~yr$^{-1}$. A massive quiescent galaxy (log$(M_*/M_\odot)\sim10.8$) with tidal features lies 2\farcs{0} away ($r$$\sim$9 kpc), at a consistent redshift as inferred by $JWST$ photometry, indicating a potential major merger. The dusty spiral lies on the main-sequence of star formation, and shows high dust attenuation in the optical ($34$ would be only detectable in F356W and F444W in UNCOVER-like survey, and become totally $JWST$-dark at $z\sim6$. This suggests that detecting highly attenuated galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization might be a challenging task for $JWST$., Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. Accepted to ApJL

We report the discovery of a compact group of galaxies, CGG-z5, at z~5.2 in the EGS field covered by the JWST/CEERS survey. CGG-z5 was selected as the highest overdensity of galaxies at z>2 in recent JWST public surveys and it consists of six candidate members lying within a projected area of $1.5"\times3"$ (10$\times$20~kpc$^2$). All group members are HST/F435W and HST/F606W dropouts while securely detected in the JWST/NIRCam bands, yielding a narrow range of robust photometric redshifts $5.011$) at z~1. This implies that CGG-z5 could be a "proto-massive galaxy" captured during a short-lived phase of massive galaxy formation., Comment: Published in A&A Letter

How much gas and dust is contained in high-redshift quiescent galaxies (QGs) is currently an open question with relatively few and contradictory answers, as well as important implications for our understanding of the nature of star formation quenching processes at cosmic noon. Here we revisit far-infrared (FIR) observations of the REQUIEM-ALMA sample of six z = 1.6 - 3.2 QGs strongly lensed by intermediate-redshift galaxy clusters. We measured their continuum emission using priors obtained from high resolution near-infrared (NIR) imaging, as opposed to focusing on point-source extraction, converted it into dust masses using a FIR dust emission model derived from statistical samples of QGs, and compared the results to those of the reference work. We find that, while at least the most massive sample galaxy is indeed dust-poor, the picture is much more nuanced than previously reported. In particular, these more conservative constraints remain consistent with high dust fractions in early QGs. We find that these measurements are very sensitive to the adopted extraction method and conversion factors: the use of an extended light model to fit the FIR emission increases the flux of detections by up to 50% and the upper limit by up to a factor 6. Adding the FIR-to-dust conversion, this amounts to an order of magnitude difference in dust fraction, casting doubts on the power of these data to discriminate between star formation quenching scenarios. Unless these are identified by other means, mapping the dust and gas in high-redshift QGs will continue to require somewhat costly observations., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables; accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Using NOEMA and ALMA 3mm line scans, we measure spectroscopic redshifts of six new dusty galaxies at 3.56, based on template IR spectrum energy distribution (SED) from known submillimeter galaxies at z=4--6. Dust SED analyses explain the photo-z overestimate from seemingly cold dust temperatures (Td) and steep Rayleigh-Jeans (RJ) slopes, providing additional examples of cold dusty galaxies impacted by the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). We therefore study the general properties of the enlarged sample of 10 ``cold" dusty galaxies over 3.5~4, together with the severe impact of the CMB on their RJ observables, paving the way for the diagnostics of optically thick dust in the early universe. Conventional gas mass estimates based on RJ dust continuum luminosities implicitly assume an optically thin case, overestimating gas masses by a factor of 2--3 on average in compact dusty star-forming galaxies., Comment: Published version in A&A

We present a novel method to estimate galaxy physical properties from spectral energy distributions (SEDs), alternate to template fitting techniques and based on self-organizing maps (SOM) to learn the high-dimensional manifold of a photometric galaxy catalog. The method has been previously tested with hydrodynamical simulations in Davidzon et al. (2019) while here is applied to real data for the first time. It is crucial for its implementation to build the SOM with a high quality, panchromatic data set, which we elect to be the "COSMOS2020" galaxy catalog. After the training and calibration steps with COSMOS2020, other galaxies can be processed through SOM to obtain an estimate of their stellar mass and star formation rate (SFR). Both quantities result to be in good agreement with independent measurements derived from more extended photometric baseline, and also their combination (i.e., the SFR vs. stellar mass diagram) shows a main sequence of star forming galaxies consistent with previous studies. We discuss the advantages of this method compared to traditional SED fitting, highlighting the impact of having, instead of the usual synthetic templates, a collection of empirical SEDs built by the SOM in a "data-driven" way. Such an approach also allows, even for extremely large data sets, an efficient visual inspection to identify photometric errors or peculiar galaxy types. Considering in addition the computational speed of this new estimator, we argue that it will play a valuable role in the analysis of oncoming large-area surveys like Euclid or the Legacy Survey of Space and Time at the Vera Cooper Rubin Telescope., Comment: to appear on A&A

The occurrence of the extensively used herbicide diuron in the environment poses a severe threat to the ecosystem and human health. Four different ligninolytic fungi were studied as biodegradation candidates for the removal of diuron. Among them, T. versicolor was the most effective species, degrading rapidly not only diuron (83%) but also the major metabolite 3,4-dichloroaniline (100%), after 7-day incubation. During diuron degradation, five transformation products (TPs) were found to be formed and the structures for three of them are tentatively proposed. According to the identified TPs, a hydroxylated intermediate 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-hydroxymethyl-1-methylurea (DCPHMU) was further metabolized into the N-dealkylated compounds 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methylurea (DCPMU) and 3,4-dichlorophenylurea (DCPU). The discovery of DCPHMU suggests a relevant role of hydroxylation for subsequent N-demethylation, helping to better understand the main reaction mechanisms of diuron detoxification. Experiments also evidenced that degradation reactions may occur intracellularly and be catalyzed by the cytochrome P450 system. A response surface method, established by central composite design, assisted in evaluating the effect of operational variables in a trickle-bed bioreactor immobilized with T. versicolor on diuron removal. The best performance was obtained at low recycling ratios and influent flow rates. Furthermore, results indicate that the contact time between the contaminant and immobilized fungi plays a crucial role in diuron removal. This study represents a pioneering step forward amid techniques for bioremediation of pesticides-contaminated waters using fungal reactors at a real scale., Comment: Published in Science of the Total Environment