CEERS: Increasing Scatter along the Star-forming Main Sequence Indicates Early Galaxies Form in Bursts
We present the star formation rate–stellar mass (SFR– M _* ) relation for galaxies in the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science survey at 4.5 ≤ z ≤ 12. We model the JWST and Hubble Space Telescope rest-UV and rest-optical photometry of galaxies with flexible star formation histories (SFHs) using BA...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad9a6a |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832584837084479488 |
|---|---|
| author | Justin W. Cole Casey Papovich Steven L. Finkelstein Micaela B. Bagley Mark Dickinson Kartheik G. Iyer L. Y. Aaron Yung Laure Ciesla Ricardo O. Amorín Pablo Arrabal Haro Rachana Bhatawdekar Antonello Calabrò Nikko J. Cleri Alexander de la Vega Avishai Dekel Ryan Endsley Eric Gawiser Mauro Giavalisco Nimish P. Hathi Michaela Hirschmann Benne W. Holwerda Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe Anton M. Koekemoer Ray A. Lucas Sara Mascia Bahram Mobasher Pablo G. Pérez-González Giulia Rodighiero Kaila Ronayne Sandro Tacchella Benjamin J. Weiner Stephen M. Wilkins |
| author_facet | Justin W. Cole Casey Papovich Steven L. Finkelstein Micaela B. Bagley Mark Dickinson Kartheik G. Iyer L. Y. Aaron Yung Laure Ciesla Ricardo O. Amorín Pablo Arrabal Haro Rachana Bhatawdekar Antonello Calabrò Nikko J. Cleri Alexander de la Vega Avishai Dekel Ryan Endsley Eric Gawiser Mauro Giavalisco Nimish P. Hathi Michaela Hirschmann Benne W. Holwerda Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe Anton M. Koekemoer Ray A. Lucas Sara Mascia Bahram Mobasher Pablo G. Pérez-González Giulia Rodighiero Kaila Ronayne Sandro Tacchella Benjamin J. Weiner Stephen M. Wilkins |
| author_sort | Justin W. Cole |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present the star formation rate–stellar mass (SFR– M _* ) relation for galaxies in the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science survey at 4.5 ≤ z ≤ 12. We model the JWST and Hubble Space Telescope rest-UV and rest-optical photometry of galaxies with flexible star formation histories (SFHs) using BAGPIPES. We consider SFRs averaged from the SFHs over 10 Myr (SFR _10 ) and 100 Myr (SFR _100 ), where the photometry probes SFRs on these timescales, effectively tracing nebular emission lines in the rest-optical (on ~10 Myr timescales) and the UV/optical continuum (on ~100 Myr timescales). We measure the slope, normalization and intrinsic scatter of the SFR– M _* relation, taking into account the uncertainty and the covariance of galaxy SFRs and M _* . From z ~ 5 to 9 there is larger scatter in the SFR _10 – M _* relation, with $\sigma (\mathrm{log}{\rm{S}}{\rm{F}}{{\rm{R}}}_{100})=0.4$ dex, compared to the SFR _100 – M _* relation, with $\sigma (\mathrm{log}SF{R}_{10})=0.1$ dex. This scatter increases with redshift and increasing stellar mass, at least out to z ~ 7. These results can be explained if galaxies at higher redshift experience an increase in star formation variability and form primarily in short, active periods, followed by a lull in star formation (i.e., “napping” phases). We see a significant trend in the ratio R _SFR = SFR _10 /SFR _100 in which, on average, R _SFR decreases with increasing stellar mass and increasing redshift. This yields a star formation “duty cycle” of ~40% for galaxies with $\mathrm{log}{M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot }\geqslant 9.3$ at z ~ 5, declining to ~20% at z ~ 9. Galaxies also experience longer lulls in star formation at higher redshift and at higher stellar mass, such that galaxies transition from periods of higher SFR variability at z ≳ 6 to smoother SFR evolution at z ≲ 4.5. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-036588e1a32c4b9eada2dfb298ff96f1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-036588e1a32c4b9eada2dfb298ff96f12025-01-27T10:44:21ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01979219310.3847/1538-4357/ad9a6aCEERS: Increasing Scatter along the Star-forming Main Sequence Indicates Early Galaxies Form in BurstsJustin W. Cole0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6348-1900Casey Papovich1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7503-8482Steven L. Finkelstein2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8519-1130Micaela B. Bagley3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9921-9218Mark Dickinson4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5414-5131Kartheik G. Iyer5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9298-3523L. Y. Aaron Yung6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3466-035XLaure Ciesla7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0541-2891Ricardo O. Amorín8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5758-1000Pablo Arrabal Haro9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7959-8783Rachana Bhatawdekar10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0883-2226Antonello Calabrò11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2536-1614Nikko J. Cleri12https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7151-009XAlexander de la Vega13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6219-5558Avishai Dekel14https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4174-0374Ryan Endsley15https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4564-2771Eric Gawiser16https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1530-8713Mauro Giavalisco17https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7831-8751Nimish P. Hathi18https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6145-5090Michaela Hirschmann19https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3301-3321Benne W. Holwerda20https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4884-6756Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe21https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9187-3605Anton M. Koekemoer22https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6610-2048Ray A. Lucas23https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1581-7825Sara Mascia24https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9572-7813Bahram Mobasher25https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5846-4404Pablo G. Pérez-González26https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4528-5639Giulia Rodighiero27https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9415-2296Kaila Ronayne28https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5749-5452Sandro Tacchella29https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8224-4505Benjamin J. Weiner30https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6065-7483Stephen M. Wilkins31https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3903-6935Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX, 77843-4242, USA ; jwc68@tamu.edu; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX, 77843-4242, USA ; jwc68@tamu.edu; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX 78712-1205, USADepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX 78712-1205, USANSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719, USADunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto , Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, CanadaAstrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAAix Marseille Univ , CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, FranceARAID Foundation, Centro de Estudios de Física del Cosmos de Aragón (CEFCA), Unidad Asociada al CSIC , Plaza San Juan 1, E–44001 Teruel, Spain; Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de La Serena , Av. Juan Cisternas 1200 Norte, La Serena 1720236, ChileNSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719, USAEuropean Space Agency (ESA) , European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Camino Bajo del Castillo s/n, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, SpainINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via Frascati 33, 00078 Monteporzio Catone, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX, 77843-4242, USA ; jwc68@tamu.edu; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA 92521, USARacah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Jerusalem 91904, IsraelDepartment of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX 78712-1205, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey , Piscataway, NJ 08854, USAUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003-9305, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAInstitute of Physics, Laboratory for galaxy evolution, EPFL , Observatory of Sauverny, Chemin Pegasi 51, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland; INAF, Astronomical Observatory of Trieste , Via G.P. Tiepolo 11, 34134 Trieste, ItalyPhysics & Astronomy Department, University of Louisville , Louisville, KY 40292, USALaboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology , 84 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via Frascati 33, 00078 Monteporzio Catone, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA 92521, USACentro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA , Ctra. de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, E-28850, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Università degli Studi di Padova , Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 3, I-35122, Padova, Italy; INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova , Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, I-35122, Padova, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX, 77843-4242, USA ; jwc68@tamu.edu; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USAKavli Institute for Cosmology, University of Cambridge , Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA, UK; Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge , 19 JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UKMMT/Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry St, Tucson, AZ 85721, USAAstronomy Centre, University of Sussex , Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QH, UK; Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy, University of Malta , Msida MSD 2080, MaltaWe present the star formation rate–stellar mass (SFR– M _* ) relation for galaxies in the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science survey at 4.5 ≤ z ≤ 12. We model the JWST and Hubble Space Telescope rest-UV and rest-optical photometry of galaxies with flexible star formation histories (SFHs) using BAGPIPES. We consider SFRs averaged from the SFHs over 10 Myr (SFR _10 ) and 100 Myr (SFR _100 ), where the photometry probes SFRs on these timescales, effectively tracing nebular emission lines in the rest-optical (on ~10 Myr timescales) and the UV/optical continuum (on ~100 Myr timescales). We measure the slope, normalization and intrinsic scatter of the SFR– M _* relation, taking into account the uncertainty and the covariance of galaxy SFRs and M _* . From z ~ 5 to 9 there is larger scatter in the SFR _10 – M _* relation, with $\sigma (\mathrm{log}{\rm{S}}{\rm{F}}{{\rm{R}}}_{100})=0.4$ dex, compared to the SFR _100 – M _* relation, with $\sigma (\mathrm{log}SF{R}_{10})=0.1$ dex. This scatter increases with redshift and increasing stellar mass, at least out to z ~ 7. These results can be explained if galaxies at higher redshift experience an increase in star formation variability and form primarily in short, active periods, followed by a lull in star formation (i.e., “napping” phases). We see a significant trend in the ratio R _SFR = SFR _10 /SFR _100 in which, on average, R _SFR decreases with increasing stellar mass and increasing redshift. This yields a star formation “duty cycle” of ~40% for galaxies with $\mathrm{log}{M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot }\geqslant 9.3$ at z ~ 5, declining to ~20% at z ~ 9. Galaxies also experience longer lulls in star formation at higher redshift and at higher stellar mass, such that galaxies transition from periods of higher SFR variability at z ≳ 6 to smoother SFR evolution at z ≲ 4.5.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad9a6aHigh-redshift galaxiesGalaxy evolutionGalaxy formationStar formation |
| spellingShingle | Justin W. Cole Casey Papovich Steven L. Finkelstein Micaela B. Bagley Mark Dickinson Kartheik G. Iyer L. Y. Aaron Yung Laure Ciesla Ricardo O. Amorín Pablo Arrabal Haro Rachana Bhatawdekar Antonello Calabrò Nikko J. Cleri Alexander de la Vega Avishai Dekel Ryan Endsley Eric Gawiser Mauro Giavalisco Nimish P. Hathi Michaela Hirschmann Benne W. Holwerda Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe Anton M. Koekemoer Ray A. Lucas Sara Mascia Bahram Mobasher Pablo G. Pérez-González Giulia Rodighiero Kaila Ronayne Sandro Tacchella Benjamin J. Weiner Stephen M. Wilkins CEERS: Increasing Scatter along the Star-forming Main Sequence Indicates Early Galaxies Form in Bursts The Astrophysical Journal High-redshift galaxies Galaxy evolution Galaxy formation Star formation |
| title | CEERS: Increasing Scatter along the Star-forming Main Sequence Indicates Early Galaxies Form in Bursts |
| title_full | CEERS: Increasing Scatter along the Star-forming Main Sequence Indicates Early Galaxies Form in Bursts |
| title_fullStr | CEERS: Increasing Scatter along the Star-forming Main Sequence Indicates Early Galaxies Form in Bursts |
| title_full_unstemmed | CEERS: Increasing Scatter along the Star-forming Main Sequence Indicates Early Galaxies Form in Bursts |
| title_short | CEERS: Increasing Scatter along the Star-forming Main Sequence Indicates Early Galaxies Form in Bursts |
| title_sort | ceers increasing scatter along the star forming main sequence indicates early galaxies form in bursts |
| topic | High-redshift galaxies Galaxy evolution Galaxy formation Star formation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad9a6a |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT justinwcole ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT caseypapovich ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT stevenlfinkelstein ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT micaelabbagley ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT markdickinson ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT kartheikgiyer ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT lyaaronyung ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT laureciesla ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT ricardooamorin ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT pabloarrabalharo ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT rachanabhatawdekar ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT antonellocalabro ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT nikkojcleri ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT alexanderdelavega ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT avishaidekel ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT ryanendsley ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT ericgawiser ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT maurogiavalisco ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT nimishphathi ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT michaelahirschmann ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT bennewholwerda ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT jeyhanskartaltepe ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT antonmkoekemoer ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT rayalucas ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT saramascia ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT bahrammobasher ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT pablogperezgonzalez ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT giuliarodighiero ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT kailaronayne ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT sandrotacchella ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT benjaminjweiner ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts AT stephenmwilkins ceersincreasingscatteralongthestarformingmainsequenceindicatesearlygalaxiesforminbursts |