ORCID Profile
0000-0001-5333-9970
Current Organisations
University College London
,
Cornell University
,
University of Oxford
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Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-05-2023
Abstract: We present an interstellar medium and stellar population analysis of three spectroscopically confirmed z & 7 galaxies in the Early Release Observations JWST/NIRCam and JWST/NIRSpec data of the SMACS J0723.3−7327 cluster. We use the Bayesian spectral energy distribution-fitting code prospector with a flexible star formation history (SFH), a variable dust attenuation law, and a self-consistent model of nebular emission (continuum and emission lines). Importantly, we self-consistently fit both the emission line fluxes from JWST/NIRSpec and the broad-band photometry from JWST/NIRCam, taking into account slit-loss effects. We find that these three z=7.6–8.5 galaxies (M⋆ ≈ 108 M⊙) are young with rising SFHs and mass-weighted ages of 3–4 Myr, though we find indications for underlying older stellar populations. The inferred gas-phase metallicities broadly agree with the direct metallicity estimates from the auroral lines. The galaxy with the lowest gas-phase metallicity (Zgas= 0.06 Z⊙) has a steeply rising SFH, is very compact (& .2 kpc), and has a high star formation rate surface density (ΣSFR ≈ 22 M⊙ yr−1 kpc−2), consistent with rapid gas accretion. The two other objects with higher gas-phase metallicities show more complex multicomponent morphologies on kpc scales, indicating that their recent increase in star formation rate is driven by mergers or internal, gravitational instabilities. We discuss effects of assuming different SFH priors or only fitting the photometric data. Our analysis highlights the strength and importance of combining JWST imaging and spectroscopy for fully assessing the nature of galaxies at the earliest epochs.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 18-01-2018
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STY152
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 07-2023
Abstract: We present JWST NIRCam nine-band near-infrared imaging of the luminous z = 10.6 galaxy GN-z11 from the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey of the GOODS-N field. We find a spectral energy distribution (SED) entirely consistent with the expected form of a high-redshift galaxy: a clear blue continuum from 1.5 to 4 μ m with a complete dropout in F115W. The core of GN-z11 is extremely compact in JWST imaging. We analyze the image with a two-component model, using a point source and a Sérsic profile that fits to a half-light radius of 200 pc and an index n = 0.9. We find a low-surface-brightness haze about 0.″4 to the northeast of the galaxy, which is most likely a foreground object but might be a more extended component of GN-z11. At a spectroscopic redshift of 10.60 (Bunker et al. 2023), the comparison of the NIRCam F410M and F444W images spans the Balmer jump. From population-synthesis modeling, here assuming no light from an active galactic nucleus, we reproduce the SED of GN-z11, finding a stellar mass of ∼10 9 M ⊙ , a star formation rate of ∼20 M ⊙ yr −1 , and a young stellar age of ∼20 Myr. Since massive galaxies at high redshift are likely to be highly clustered, we search for faint neighbors of GN-z11, finding nine galaxies out to ∼5 comoving Mpc transverse with photometric redshifts consistent with z = 10.6, and a tenth more tentative dropout only 3″ away. This is consistent with GN-z11 being hosted by a massive dark-matter halo (≈8 × 10 10 M ⊙ ), though lower halo masses cannot be ruled out.
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 10-2202
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 02-2019
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201833559
Abstract: The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) is an ongoing sensitive, high-resolution 120–168 MHz survey of the entire northern sky for which observations are now 20% complete. We present our first full-quality public data release. For this data release 424 square degrees, or 2% of the eventual coverage, in the region of the HETDEX Spring Field (right ascension 10h45m00s to 15h30m00s and declination 45°00′00″ to 57°00′00″) were mapped using a fully automated direction-dependent calibration and imaging pipeline that we developed. A total of 325 694 sources are detected with a signal of at least five times the noise, and the source density is a factor of ∼10 higher than the most sensitive existing very wide-area radio-continuum surveys. The median sensitivity is S 144 MHz = 71 μ Jy beam −1 and the point-source completeness is 90% at an integrated flux density of 0.45 mJy. The resolution of the images is 6″ and the positional accuracy is within 0.2″. This data release consists of a catalogue containing location, flux, and shape estimates together with 58 mosaic images that cover the catalogued area. In this paper we provide an overview of the data release with a focus on the processing of the LOFAR data and the characteristics of the resulting images. In two accompanying papers we provide the radio source associations and deblending and, where possible, the optical identifications of the radio sources together with the photometric redshifts and properties of the host galaxies. These data release papers are published together with a further ∼20 articles that highlight the scientific potential of LoTSS.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-04-2023
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-07-2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 21-04-2017
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STX959
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 06-08-2018
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 02-2019
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201833883
Abstract: This paper presents a study of the local radio source population, by cross-comparing the data from the first data release (DR1) of the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR7 main galaxy spectroscopic s le. The LoTSS DR1 provides deep data (median rms noise of 71 μ Jy at 150 MHz) over 424 square degrees of sky, which is sufficient to detect 10 615 (32 per cent) of the SDSS galaxies over this sky area. An improved method to separate active galactic nuclei (AGN) accurately from sources with radio emission powered by star formation (SF) is developed and applied, leading to a s le of 2121 local ( z 0.3) radio AGN. The local 150 MHz luminosity function is derived for radio AGN and SF galaxies separately, and the good agreement with previous studies at 1.4 GHz suggests that the separation method presented is robust. The prevalence of radio AGN activity is confirmed to show a strong dependence on both stellar and black hole masses, remarkably reaching a fraction of 100 per cent of the most massive galaxies ( 10 11 M ⊙ ) displaying radio-AGN activity with L 150 MHz ≥ 10 21 W Hz −1 thus, the most massive galaxies are always switched on at some level. The results allow the full Eddington-scaled accretion rate distribution (a proxy for the duty cycle) to be probed for massive galaxies, and this accretion rate is found to peak at L mech / L Edd ≈ 10 −5 . More than 50 per cent of the energy is released during the ≤2 per cent of the time spent at the highest accretion rates, L mech / L Edd 10 −2.5 . Stellar mass is shown to be a more important driver of radio-AGN activity than black hole mass, suggesting a possible connection between the fuelling gas and the surrounding halo. This result is in line with models in which these radio AGN are essential for maintaining the quenched state of galaxies at the centres of hot gas haloes.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 27-10-2023
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-07-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41477-018-0188-8
Abstract: Ferns are the closest sister group to all seed plants, yet little is known about their genomes other than that they are generally colossal. Here, we report on the genomes of Azolla filiculoides and Salvinia cucullata (Salviniales) and present evidence for episodic whole-genome duplication in ferns—one at the base of ‘core leptosporangiates’ and one specific to Azolla . One fern-specific gene that we identified, recently shown to confer high insect resistance, seems to have been derived from bacteria through horizontal gene transfer. Azolla coexists in a unique symbiosis with N 2 -fixing cyanobacteria, and we demonstrate a clear pattern of cospeciation between the two partners. Furthermore, the Azolla genome lacks genes that are common to arbuscular mycorrhizal and root nodule symbioses, and we identify several putative transporter genes specific to Azolla –cyanobacterial symbiosis. These genomic resources will help in exploring the biotechnological potential of Azolla and address fundamental questions in the evolution of plant life.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-04-2023
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 09-2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 29-05-2023
Abstract: Recent observations of GN-z11 with JWST/NIRSpec revealed numerous oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and helium emission lines at z = 10.6. Using the measured line fluxes, we derive abundance ratios of in idual elements within the interstellar medium (ISM) of this superluminous galaxy. Driven by the unusually-bright N iii] λ1750 and N iv] λ1486 emission lines (and by comparison, faint O iii] λλ1660, 1666 lines), our fiducial model prefers log (N/O) & −0.25, greater than four times solar and in stark contrast to lower-redshift star-forming galaxies. The derived log (C/O) & −0.78, (≈30 per cent solar) is also elevated with respect to galaxies of similar metallicity (12 + log (O/H) ≈ 7.82), although less at odds with lower-redshift measurements. We explore the feasibility of achieving these abundance ratios via several enrichment mechanisms using metal yields available in the literature. Given the long time-scale typically expected to enrich nitrogen with stellar winds, traditional scenarios require a very fine-tuned formation history to reproduce such an elevated N/O. We find no compelling evidence that nitrogen enhancement in GN-z11 can be explained by enrichment from metal-free Population III stars. Interestingly, yields from runaway stellar collisions in a dense stellar cluster or a tidal disruption event provide promising solutions to give rise to these unusual emission lines at z = 10.6, and explain the resemblance between GN-z11 and a nitrogen-loud quasar. These recent observations showcase the new frontier opened by JWST to constrain galactic enrichment and stellar evolution within 440 Myr of the big bang.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Aayush Saxena.