A recently quenched galaxy 700 million years after the Big Bang

Tobias J. Looser; Francesco D'Eugenio; Roberto Maiolino; Joris Witstok; Lester Sandles; Emma Curtis-Lake; Jacopo Chevallard; Sandro Tacchella; Benjamin D. Johnson; William M. Baker; Katherine A. Suess; Stefano Carniani; Pierre Ferruit; Santiago Arribas; Nina Bonaventura; Andrew J. Bunker; Alex J. Cameron; Stephane Charlot; Mirko Curti; Anna de Graaff; Michael V. Maseda; Tim Rawle; Hans-Walter Rix; Bruno Rodriguez Del Pino; Renske Smit; Hannah Übler; Chris Willott; Stacey Alberts; Eiichi Egami; Daniel J. Eisenstein; Ryan Endsley; Ryan Hausen; Marcia Rieke; Brant Robertson; Irene Shivaei; Christina C. Williams; Kristan Boyett; Zuyi Chen; Zhiyuan Ji; Gareth C. Jones; Nimisha Kumari; Erica Nelson; Michele Perna; Aayush Saxena; Jan Scholtz

doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07227-0

A recently quenched galaxy 700 million years after the Big Bang

Tobias J. Looser, Francesco D'Eugenio, Roberto Maiolino, Joris Witstok, Lester Sandles, Emma Curtis-Lake, Jacopo Chevallard, Sandro Tacchella, Benjamin D. Johnson, William M. Baker, Katherine A. Suess, Stefano Carniani, Pierre Ferruit, Santiago Arribas, Nina Bonaventura, Andrew J. Bunker, Alex J. Cameron, Stephane Charlot, Mirko Curti, Anna de GraaffMichael V. Maseda, Tim Rawle, Hans-Walter Rix, Bruno Rodriguez Del Pino, Renske Smit, Hannah Übler, Chris Willott, Stacey Alberts, Eiichi Egami, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Ryan Endsley, Ryan Hausen, Marcia Rieke, Brant Robertson, Irene Shivaei, Christina C. Williams, Kristan Boyett, Zuyi Chen, Zhiyuan Ji, Gareth C. Jones, Nimisha Kumari, Erica Nelson, Michele Perna, Aayush Saxena, Jan Scholtz

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Abstract

Local and low-redshift (z < 3) galaxies are known to broadly follow a bimodal distribution: actively star-forming galaxies with relatively stable star-formation rates and passive systems. These two populations are connected by galaxies in relatively slow transition. By contrast, theory predicts that star formation was stochastic at early cosmic times and in low-mass systems ^1–4. These galaxies transitioned rapidly between starburst episodes and phases of suppressed star formation, potentially even causing temporary quiescence—so-called mini-quenching events ^5,6. However, the regime of star-formation burstiness is observationally highly unconstrained. Directly observing mini-quenched galaxies in the primordial Universe is therefore of utmost importance to constrain models of galaxy formation and transformation ^7,8. Early quenched galaxies have been identified out to redshift z < 5 (refs. ^9–12) and these are all found to be massive (M _⋆ > 10 ¹⁰ M _⊙) and relatively old. Here we report a (mini-)quenched galaxy at z = 7.3, when the Universe was only 700 Myr old. The JWST/NIRSpec spectrum is very blue (U–V = 0.16 ± 0.03 mag) but exhibits a Balmer break and no nebular emission lines. The galaxy experienced a short starburst followed by rapid quenching; its stellar mass (4–6 × 10 ⁸ M _⊙) falls in a range that is sensitive to various feedback mechanisms, which can result in perhaps only temporary quenching.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	53-57
Number of pages	15
Journal	Nature
Volume	629
Early online date	6 Mar 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07227-0
Publication status	Published - 2 May 2024

Keywords

astro-ph.GA
Galaxies
Time Factors
Extraterrestrial Environment/chemistry
Stars, Celestial

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10.1038/s41586-024-07227-0Licence: CC BY

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© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Final published version, 10.4 MBLicence: CC BY

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Looser, T. J., D'Eugenio, F., Maiolino, R., Witstok, J., Sandles, L., Curtis-Lake, E., Chevallard, J., Tacchella, S., Johnson, B. D., Baker, W. M., Suess, K. A., Carniani, S., Ferruit, P., Arribas, S., Bonaventura, N., Bunker, A. J., Cameron, A. J., Charlot, S., Curti, M., ... Scholtz, J. (2024). A recently quenched galaxy 700 million years after the Big Bang. Nature, 629, 53-57. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07227-0

@article{c2c054277dc34899bd6f753a437a5128,

title = "A recently quenched galaxy 700 million years after the Big Bang",

abstract = "Local and low-redshift (z < 3) galaxies are known to broadly follow a bimodal distribution: actively star-forming galaxies with relatively stable star-formation rates and passive systems. These two populations are connected by galaxies in relatively slow transition. By contrast, theory predicts that star formation was stochastic at early cosmic times and in low-mass systems 1–4. These galaxies transitioned rapidly between starburst episodes and phases of suppressed star formation, potentially even causing temporary quiescence—so-called mini-quenching events 5,6. However, the regime of star-formation burstiness is observationally highly unconstrained. Directly observing mini-quenched galaxies in the primordial Universe is therefore of utmost importance to constrain models of galaxy formation and transformation 7,8. Early quenched galaxies have been identified out to redshift z < 5 (refs. 9–12) and these are all found to be massive (M ⋆ > 10 10 M ⊙) and relatively old. Here we report a (mini-)quenched galaxy at z = 7.3, when the Universe was only 700 Myr old. The JWST/NIRSpec spectrum is very blue (U–V = 0.16 ± 0.03 mag) but exhibits a Balmer break and no nebular emission lines. The galaxy experienced a short starburst followed by rapid quenching; its stellar mass (4–6 × 10 8 M ⊙) falls in a range that is sensitive to various feedback mechanisms, which can result in perhaps only temporary quenching.",

keywords = "astro-ph.GA, Galaxies, Time Factors, Extraterrestrial Environment/chemistry, Stars, Celestial",

author = "Looser, {Tobias J.} and Francesco D'Eugenio and Roberto Maiolino and Joris Witstok and Lester Sandles and Emma Curtis-Lake and Jacopo Chevallard and Sandro Tacchella and Johnson, {Benjamin D.} and Baker, {William M.} and Suess, {Katherine A.} and Stefano Carniani and Pierre Ferruit and Santiago Arribas and Nina Bonaventura and Bunker, {Andrew J.} and Cameron, {Alex J.} and Stephane Charlot and Mirko Curti and Graaff, {Anna de} and Maseda, {Michael V.} and Tim Rawle and Hans-Walter Rix and Pino, {Bruno Rodriguez Del} and Renske Smit and Hannah {\"U}bler and Chris Willott and Stacey Alberts and Eiichi Egami and Eisenstein, {Daniel J.} and Ryan Endsley and Ryan Hausen and Marcia Rieke and Brant Robertson and Irene Shivaei and Williams, {Christina C.} and Kristan Boyett and Zuyi Chen and Zhiyuan Ji and Jones, {Gareth C.} and Nimisha Kumari and Erica Nelson and Michele Perna and Aayush Saxena and Jan Scholtz",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",

year = "2024",

month = may,

day = "2",

doi = "10.1038/s41586-024-07227-0",

language = "English",

volume = "629",

pages = "53--57",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "0028-0836",

publisher = "Nature Research",

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Looser, TJ, D'Eugenio, F, Maiolino, R, Witstok, J, Sandles, L, Curtis-Lake, E, Chevallard, J, Tacchella, S, Johnson, BD, Baker, WM, Suess, KA, Carniani, S, Ferruit, P, Arribas, S, Bonaventura, N, Bunker, AJ, Cameron, AJ, Charlot, S, Curti, M, Graaff, AD, Maseda, MV, Rawle, T, Rix, H-W, Pino, BRD, Smit, R, Übler, H, Willott, C, Alberts, S, Egami, E, Eisenstein, DJ, Endsley, R, Hausen, R, Rieke, M, Robertson, B, Shivaei, I, Williams, CC, Boyett, K, Chen, Z, Ji, Z, Jones, GC, Kumari, N, Nelson, E, Perna, M, Saxena, A & Scholtz, J 2024, 'A recently quenched galaxy 700 million years after the Big Bang', Nature, vol. 629, pp. 53-57. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07227-0

TY - JOUR

T1 - A recently quenched galaxy 700 million years after the Big Bang

AU - Looser, Tobias J.

AU - D'Eugenio, Francesco

AU - Maiolino, Roberto

AU - Witstok, Joris

AU - Sandles, Lester

AU - Curtis-Lake, Emma

AU - Chevallard, Jacopo

AU - Tacchella, Sandro

AU - Johnson, Benjamin D.

AU - Baker, William M.

AU - Suess, Katherine A.

AU - Carniani, Stefano

AU - Ferruit, Pierre

AU - Arribas, Santiago

AU - Bonaventura, Nina

AU - Bunker, Andrew J.

AU - Cameron, Alex J.

AU - Charlot, Stephane

AU - Curti, Mirko

AU - Graaff, Anna de

AU - Maseda, Michael V.

AU - Rawle, Tim

AU - Rix, Hans-Walter

AU - Pino, Bruno Rodriguez Del

AU - Smit, Renske

AU - Übler, Hannah

AU - Willott, Chris

AU - Alberts, Stacey

AU - Egami, Eiichi

AU - Eisenstein, Daniel J.

AU - Endsley, Ryan

AU - Hausen, Ryan

AU - Rieke, Marcia

AU - Robertson, Brant

AU - Shivaei, Irene

AU - Williams, Christina C.

AU - Boyett, Kristan

AU - Chen, Zuyi

AU - Ji, Zhiyuan

AU - Jones, Gareth C.

AU - Kumari, Nimisha

AU - Nelson, Erica

AU - Perna, Michele

AU - Saxena, Aayush

AU - Scholtz, Jan

PY - 2024/5/2

Y1 - 2024/5/2

N2 - Local and low-redshift (z < 3) galaxies are known to broadly follow a bimodal distribution: actively star-forming galaxies with relatively stable star-formation rates and passive systems. These two populations are connected by galaxies in relatively slow transition. By contrast, theory predicts that star formation was stochastic at early cosmic times and in low-mass systems 1–4. These galaxies transitioned rapidly between starburst episodes and phases of suppressed star formation, potentially even causing temporary quiescence—so-called mini-quenching events 5,6. However, the regime of star-formation burstiness is observationally highly unconstrained. Directly observing mini-quenched galaxies in the primordial Universe is therefore of utmost importance to constrain models of galaxy formation and transformation 7,8. Early quenched galaxies have been identified out to redshift z < 5 (refs. 9–12) and these are all found to be massive (M ⋆ > 10 10 M ⊙) and relatively old. Here we report a (mini-)quenched galaxy at z = 7.3, when the Universe was only 700 Myr old. The JWST/NIRSpec spectrum is very blue (U–V = 0.16 ± 0.03 mag) but exhibits a Balmer break and no nebular emission lines. The galaxy experienced a short starburst followed by rapid quenching; its stellar mass (4–6 × 10 8 M ⊙) falls in a range that is sensitive to various feedback mechanisms, which can result in perhaps only temporary quenching.

AB - Local and low-redshift (z < 3) galaxies are known to broadly follow a bimodal distribution: actively star-forming galaxies with relatively stable star-formation rates and passive systems. These two populations are connected by galaxies in relatively slow transition. By contrast, theory predicts that star formation was stochastic at early cosmic times and in low-mass systems 1–4. These galaxies transitioned rapidly between starburst episodes and phases of suppressed star formation, potentially even causing temporary quiescence—so-called mini-quenching events 5,6. However, the regime of star-formation burstiness is observationally highly unconstrained. Directly observing mini-quenched galaxies in the primordial Universe is therefore of utmost importance to constrain models of galaxy formation and transformation 7,8. Early quenched galaxies have been identified out to redshift z < 5 (refs. 9–12) and these are all found to be massive (M ⋆ > 10 10 M ⊙) and relatively old. Here we report a (mini-)quenched galaxy at z = 7.3, when the Universe was only 700 Myr old. The JWST/NIRSpec spectrum is very blue (U–V = 0.16 ± 0.03 mag) but exhibits a Balmer break and no nebular emission lines. The galaxy experienced a short starburst followed by rapid quenching; its stellar mass (4–6 × 10 8 M ⊙) falls in a range that is sensitive to various feedback mechanisms, which can result in perhaps only temporary quenching.

KW - astro-ph.GA

KW - Galaxies

KW - Time Factors

KW - Extraterrestrial Environment/chemistry

KW - Stars, Celestial

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85191355942&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41586-024-07227-0

DO - 10.1038/s41586-024-07227-0

M3 - Article

C2 - 38447669

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 629

SP - 53

EP - 57

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

ER -

A recently quenched galaxy 700 million years after the Big Bang

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