No Arabic abstract
The James Webb Space Telescope will provide deep imaging and spectroscopy for sources at redshifts above 6, covering the Epoch of Reionization (EoR, 6 < z < 10). The Mid-IR instrument (MIRI) integral field spectrograph (MRS) will be the only instrument on board JWST able to observe the brightest optical emission lines H$alpha$ and [OIII]0.5007$mu$m at redshifts above 7 and 9, respectively. This paper presents a study of the H$alpha$ fluxes predicted by FIRSTLIGHT cosmological simulations for galaxies at redshifts of 6.5 to 10.5, and its detectability with MIRI. Deep (40 ks) spectroscopic integrations with MRS will be able to detect (S/N > 5) EoR sources at redshifts above 7 with intrinsic star formation rates of more than 2 M$_{odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, and stellar masses above 4-9 $times$ 10$^7$ M$_{odot}$. In addition, the paper presents realistic MRS simulated observations of the expected (rest-frame) optical and near-infrared spectra for some spectroscopically confirmed EoR sources detected by ALMA as [OIII]88$mu$m emitters. The MRS simulated spectra cover a wide range of low metallicities from about 0.2 to 0.02Z$_{odot}$, and different [OIII]88$mu$m/[OIII]0.5007$mu$m line ratios. The simulated 10ks MRS spectra show S/N in the range of 5 to 90 for H$beta$, [OIII]0.4959,0.5007$mu$m, H$alpha$ and HeI1.083$mu$m emission lines of MACS1149-JD1 at z = 9.11, independent of metallicity. In addition, deep 40 ks simulated spectra of the luminous merger candidate B14-65666 at z=7.15 shows the MRS capabilities of detecting, or putting strong upper limits, on the [NII]0.6584$mu$m, [SII]0.6717,0.6731$mu$m, and [SIII]0.9069,0.9532$mu$m emission lines. In summary, MRS will enable the detailed study of key physical properties like internal extinction, instantaneous star formation, hardness of the ionising continuum, and metallicity, in bright (intrinsic or lensed) EoR sources.
We present new results on [CII]158$mu$ m emission from four galaxies in the reionization epoch. These galaxies were previously confirmed to be at redshifts between 6.6 and 7.15 from the presence of the Ly$alpha$ emission line in their spectra. The Ly$alpha$ emission line is redshifted by 100-200 km/s compared to the systemic redshift given by the [CII] line. These velocity offsets are smaller than what is observed in z~3 Lyman break galaxies with similar UV luminosities and emission line properties. Smaller velocity shifts reduce the visibility of Ly$alpha$ and hence somewhat alleviate the need for a very neutral IGM at z~7 to explain the drop in the fraction of Ly$alpha$ emitters observed at this epoch. The galaxies show [CII] emission with L[CII]=0.6-1.6 x10$^8 L_odot$: these luminosities place them consistently below the SFR-L[CII] relation observed for low redshift star forming and metal poor galaxies and also below z =5.5 Lyman break galaxies with similar star formation rates. We argue that previous undetections of [CII] in z~7 galaxies with similar or smaller star formation rates are due to selection effects: previous targets were mostly strong Ly$alpha$ emitters and therefore probably metal poor systems, while our galaxies are more representative of the general high redshift star forming population .
Heating of neutral gas by energetic sources is crucial for the prediction of the 21 cm signal during the epoch of reionization (EoR). To investigate differences induced on statistics of the 21 cm signal by various source types, we use five radiative transfer simulations which have the same stellar UV emission model and varying combinations of more energetic sources, such as X-ray binaries (XRBs), accreting nuclear black holes (BHs) and hot interstellar medium emission (ISM). We find that the efficient heating from the ISM increases the average global 21~cm signal, while reducing its fluctuations and thus power spectrum. A clear impact is also observed in the bispectrum in terms of scale and timing of the transition between a positive and a negative value. The impact of XRBs is similar to that of the ISM, although it is delayed in time and reduced in intensity because of the less efficient heating. Due to the paucity of nuclear BHs, the behaviour of the 21~cm statistics in their presence is very similar to that of a case when only stars are considered, with the exception of the latest stages of reionization, when the effect of BHs is clearly visible. We find that differences between the source scenarios investigated here are larger than the instrumental noise of SKA1-low at $z gtrsim 7-8$, suggesting that in the future it might be possible to constrain the spectral energy distribution of the sources contributing to the reionization process.
The HI gas content is a key ingredient in galaxy evolution, the study of which has been limited to moderate cosmological distances for individual galaxies due to the weakness of the hyperfine HI 21-cm transition. Here we present a new approach that allows us to infer the HI gas mass $M_{rm HI}$ of individual galaxies up to $zapprox 6$, based on a direct measurement of the [CII]-to-HI conversion factor in star-forming galaxies at $zgtrsim 2$ using $gamma$-ray burst afterglows. By compiling recent [CII]-158 $mu$m emission line measurements we quantify the evolution of the HI content in galaxies through cosmic time. We find that the HI mass starts to exceed the stellar mass $M_star$ at $zgtrsim 1$, and increases as a function of redshift. The HI fraction of the total baryonic mass increases from around $20%$ at $z = 0$ to about $60%$ at $zsim 6$. We further uncover a universal relation between the HI gas fraction $M_{rm HI}/M_star$ and the gas-phase metallicity, which seems to hold from $zapprox 6$ to $z=0$. The majority of galaxies at $z>2$ are observed to have HI depletion times, $t_{rm dep,HI} = M_{rm HI}/{rm SFR}$, less than $approx 2$ Gyr, substantially shorter than for $zsim 0$ galaxies. Finally, we use the [CII]-to-HI conversion factor to determine the cosmic mass density of HI in galaxies, $rho_{rm HI}$, at three distinct epochs: $zapprox 0$, $zapprox 2$, and $zsim 4-6$. These measurements are consistent with previous estimates based on 21-cm HI observations in the local Universe and with damped Lyman-$alpha$ absorbers (DLAs) at $zgtrsim 2$, suggesting an overall decrease by a factor of $approx 5$ in $rho_{rm HI}(z)$ from the end of the reionization epoch to the present.
We present the results of CANDELSz7, an ESO large program aimed at confirming spectroscopically a homogeneous sample of z~6 and z~7 star forming galaxies. The candidates were selected in the GOODS-South, UDS and COSMOS fields using the official CANDELS catalogs based on H160-band detections. Standard color criteria, which were tailored depending on the ancillary multi-wavelength data available for each field, were applied to select more than 160 candidate galaxies at z~6 and z~7. Deep medium resolution FORS2 spectroscopic observations were then conducted with integration times ranging from 12 to 20 hours, to reach a Lyalpha flux limit of approximately 1-3x 10-18 erg/s/cm^2 at 3sigma. For about 40% of the galaxies we could determine a spectroscopic redshift, mainly through the detection of a single emission line that we interpret as Lyalpha emission, or for some of the brightest objects (H160< 25.5) from the presence of faint continuum and sharp drop that we interpret as a Lyman break. In this paper we present the redshifts and main properties of 65 newly confirmed high redshift galaxies. Adding previous proprietary and archival data we assemble a sample of ~260 galaxies that we use to explore the evolution of the Lyalpha fraction in Lyman break galaxies and the change in the shape of the emission line between z~6 and z~7. We also discuss the accuracy of the CANDELS photometric redshifts in this redshift range.
The Mid-Infrared instrument (MIRI) on board the James Webb Space Telescope will perform the first ever characterization of young giant exoplanets observed by direct imaging in the 5-28 microns spectral range. This wavelength range is key for both determining the bolometric luminosity of the cool known exoplanets and for accessing the strongest ammonia bands. In conjunction with shorter wavelength observations, MIRI will enable a more accurate characterization of the exoplanetary atmospheric properties. Here we consider a subsample of the currently known exoplanets detected by direct imaging and we discuss their detectability with MIRI, either using the coronagraphic or the spectroscopic modes. By using the Exo-REM atmosphere model we calculate the mid-infrared emission spectra of fourteen exoplanets, and we simulate MIRI coronagraphic or spectroscopic observations. Specifically we analyze four coronagraphic observational setups, which depend on (i) the target-star and reference-star offset (0, 3, 14 mas), (ii) the wave-front-error (130, 204 nm rms), (iii) the telescope jitter amplitude (1.6, 7 mas). We then determine the signal-to-noise and integration time values for the coronagraphic targets whose planet-to-star contrasts range from 3.9 to 10.1 mag. We conclude that all the MIRI targets should be observable with different degrees of difficulty, which depends on the final in-flight instrument performances. Furthermore, we test for detection of ammonia in the atmosphere of the coolest targets. Finally, we present the case of HR 8799 b to discuss what MIRI observations can bring to the knowledge of a planetary atmosphere, either alone or in combination with shorter wavelength observations.