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Accelerated formation of ultra-massive galaxies in the first billion years

Author

Listed:
  • Mengyuan Xiao

    (University of Geneva)

  • Pascal A. Oesch

    (University of Geneva
    University of Copenhagen)

  • David Elbaz

    (AIM)

  • Longji Bing

    (University of Sussex)

  • Erica J. Nelson

    (University of Colorado)

  • Andrea Weibel

    (University of Geneva)

  • Garth D. Illingworth

    (University of California Santa Cruz)

  • Pieter Dokkum

    (Yale University)

  • Rohan P. Naidu

    (MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research)

  • Emanuele Daddi

    (AIM)

  • Rychard J. Bouwens

    (Leiden University)

  • Jorryt Matthee

    (ETH Zürich)

  • Stijn Wuyts

    (University of Bath)

  • John Chisholm

    (The University of Texas at Austin)

  • Gabriel Brammer

    (University of Copenhagen)

  • Mark Dickinson

    (NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory)

  • Benjamin Magnelli

    (AIM)

  • Lucas Leroy

    (AIM)

  • Daniel Schaerer

    (University of Geneva)

  • Thomas Herard-Demanche

    (Leiden University)

  • Seunghwan Lim

    (University of Cambridge
    University of Cambridge)

  • Laia Barrufet

    (University of Geneva)

  • Ryan Endsley

    (The University of Texas at Austin)

  • Yoshinobu Fudamoto

    (Waseda University
    National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)

  • Carlos Gómez-Guijarro

    (AIM)

  • Rashmi Gottumukkala

    (University of Geneva)

  • Ivo Labbé

    (Swinburne University of Technology)

  • Dan Magee

    (University of California Santa Cruz)

  • Danilo Marchesini

    (Tufts University)

  • Michael Maseda

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Yuxiang Qin

    (University of Melbourne
    ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D))

  • Naveen A. Reddy

    (University of California Riverside)

  • Alice Shapley

    (University of California Los Angeles)

  • Irene Shivaei

    (University of Arizona)

  • Marko Shuntov

    (University of Copenhagen)

  • Mauro Stefanon

    (Universitat de València
    Unidad Asociada CSIC ‘Grupo de Astrofísica Extragaláctica y Cosmología’ (Instituto de Física de Cantabria - Universitat de València))

  • Katherine E. Whitaker

    (University of Copenhagen
    University of Massachusetts)

  • J. Stuart B. Wyithe

    (University of Melbourne
    ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D))

Abstract

Recent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations have revealed an unexpected abundance of massive-galaxy candidates in the early Universe, extending further in redshift and to lower luminosity than what had previously been found by submillimetre surveys1–6. These JWST candidates have been interpreted as challenging the Λ cold dark-matter cosmology (where Λ is the cosmological constant)7–9, but, so far, these studies have mostly relied on only rest-frame ultraviolet data and have lacked spectroscopic confirmation of their redshifts10–16. Here we report a systematic study of 36 massive dust-obscured galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts between 5 and 9 from the JWST FRESCO survey. We find no tension with the Λ cold dark-matter model in our sample. However, three ultra-massive galaxies (logM★/M⊙ ≳ 11.0, where M★ is the stellar mass and M⊙ is the mass of the Sun) require an exceptional fraction of 50 per cent of baryons converted into stars—two to three times higher than the most efficient galaxies at later epochs. The contribution from an active galactic nucleus is unlikely because of their extended emission. Ultra-massive galaxies account for as much as 17 per cent of the total cosmic star-formation-rate density17 at redshifts between about five and six.

Suggested Citation

  • Mengyuan Xiao & Pascal A. Oesch & David Elbaz & Longji Bing & Erica J. Nelson & Andrea Weibel & Garth D. Illingworth & Pieter Dokkum & Rohan P. Naidu & Emanuele Daddi & Rychard J. Bouwens & Jorryt Mat, 2024. "Accelerated formation of ultra-massive galaxies in the first billion years," Nature, Nature, vol. 635(8038), pages 311-315, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:635:y:2024:i:8038:d:10.1038_s41586-024-08094-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08094-5
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