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Emission-line Ratios and Ionization Conditions of CEERS Star-forming Galaxies with JWST/NIRSpec

Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Galaxy emission-line fluxes can constrain star formation rates (SFRs) and interstellar medium (ISM) ionization. We investigate rest-frame optical emission lines of 71 star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at redshift 0.7 < z < 7 using JWST/NIRSpec measurements from the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science survey. We use Hα to measure SFR and utilize Hubble Space Telescope CANDELS stellar mass estimates to determine specific SFR (sSFR) and compare with the SFG main sequence (MS). We create [O iii]λ5008/Hβ versus [Ne iii]λ3870/[O ii]λ3728 line ratio diagrams. The line ratios appear to correlate with sSFR, and our results suggest that sSFR is the parameter that governs ionization conditions rather than SFR or a galaxy’s distance from the MS. These measurements reveal a rich diversity of ISM conditions and physical galaxy properties throughout cosmic time.
DOI: 10.3847/2515-5172/ad888e
Authors: Ansh R. Gupta, Allison Kirkpatrick, Vital Fernández, Pablo Arrabal Haro, Bren E. Backhaus, Nikko J. Cleri, Norman A. Grogin, Anton M. Koekemoer
Institutions: University of Arizona, University of Kansas, University of Michigan, NSF NOIRLab, University of Connecticut, Pennsylvania State University, Space Telescope Science Institute
Language: English
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4403636334
FWCI: 0.191
Cites: 26
Cited by: 1
Related to: 10