A massive quiescent galaxy at redshift 4.658

Adam C. Carnall (), Ross J. McLure, James S. Dunlop, Derek J. McLeod, Vivienne Wild, Fergus Cullen, Dan Magee, Ryan Begley, Andrea Cimatti, Callum T. Donnan, Massissilia L. Hamadouche, Sophie M. Jewell and Sam Walker
Additional contact information
Adam C. Carnall: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
Ross J. McLure: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
James S. Dunlop: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
Derek J. McLeod: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
Vivienne Wild: University of St Andrews
Fergus Cullen: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
Dan Magee: UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California
Ryan Begley: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
Andrea Cimatti: University of Bologna
Callum T. Donnan: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
Massissilia L. Hamadouche: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
Sophie M. Jewell: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
Sam Walker: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory

Nature, 2023, vol. 619, issue 7971, 716-719

Abstract: Abstract The extremely rapid assembly of the earliest galaxies during the first billion years of cosmic history is a major challenge for our understanding of galaxy formation physics1–5. The advent of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has exacerbated this issue by confirming the existence of galaxies in substantial numbers as early as the first few hundred million years6–8. Perhaps even more surprisingly, in some galaxies, this initial highly efficient star formation rapidly shuts down, or quenches, giving rise to massive quiescent galaxies as little as 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang9,10. However, due to their faintness and red colour, it has proven extremely challenging to learn about these extreme quiescent galaxies, or to confirm whether any existed at earlier times. Here we report the spectroscopic confirmation of a massive quiescent galaxy, GS-9209, at redshift, z = 4.658, just 1.25 billion years after the Big Bang, using the JWST Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec). From these data we infer a stellar mass of M* = 3.8 ± 0.2 × 1010 M⊙, which formed over a roughly 200 Myr period before this galaxy quenched its star-formation activity at $$z={6.5}_{-0.5}^{+0.2}$$ z = 6.5 − 0.5 + 0.2 , when the Universe was approximately 800 Myr old. This galaxy is both a likely descendent of the highest-redshift submillimetre galaxies and quasars, and a likely progenitor for the dense, ancient cores of the most massive local galaxies.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06158-6

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