GA-NIFS: Dissecting the multiple sub-structures and probing their complex interactions in the Lyα emitter galaxy CR7 at z = 6.6 with JWST/NIRSpec
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We present JWST/NIRSpec integral field spectroscopic (IFS) observations of the Lyα emitter CR7 at z ∼ 6.6, observed as part of the GA-NIFS program. Using low-resolution PRISM (R ∼ 100) data, we confirm the observation of a bright Lyα emitter with a diffuse Lyα halo extending up to 3 kpc from the peak of ionised emission. Both features are associated with the most massive UV bright galaxy in the system, CR7-A. We confirm the presence of two additional UV-bright satellites (CR7-B and CR7-C) detected at projected distances of 6.4 and 5.2 kpc from the primary source. We performed a spectral energy distribution fitting of the low-resolution data, and it revealed an inverted star formation history between two satellites at early epochs and a spatially resolved anti-correlation of the gas-phase metallicity and the star formation rate density, likely driven by the gas exchange among the satellites and favouring the merger scenario for CR7. From the high-resolution G395H (R ∼ 2700) data, we discovered at least one additional companion mainly traced by the [O III]λ5007 emission line, although it is not detected in continuum emission. We disentangled the kinematics of the system and reveal extended ionised emission linking the main galaxy and the satellite. We spatially resolved the [O III]λ5007, [O III]4363, and Hγ emission lines and used a diagnostic diagram tailored to high-z systems to reveal tentative evidence of active galactic nucleus ionisation across the main galaxy (CR7-A) and the N-E companion (CR7-B). Moreover, we detected an unresolved blueshifted outflow from one of the satellites and present first evidence for a redshifted outflow from the main galaxy. Finally, we computed the resolved electron temperature (Te∼1.6×104 K) and metallicity maps (log(Z/Z⊙) from –0.8 to –0.5), and we provide insights on how the physical properties of the system evolved at earlier epochs.
Authors: C. Marconcini, F. D’Eugenio, R. Maiolino, S. Arribas, A. Bunker, S. Carniani, S. Charlot, M. Perna, B. Rodríguez Del Pino, H. Übler, P. G. Pérez-González, C. J. Willott, T. Böker, G. Cresci, M. Curti, I. Lamperti, J. Scholtz, E. Parlanti, G. Venturi
Institutions: Centro de Astrobiología, University of Oxford, Scuola Normale Superiore, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, Sorbonne Université, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, European Space Agency, Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, National Institute for Astrophysics, European Southern Observatory, University of Florence, University of Cambridge
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1650125035, G1812695587, G2005369488, G2144673021, G2309174360, G2660406951, G2685794135, G3228396264, G3480869486, G3518538256, G3660973570, G4161023950, G490073602, G4915654406, G5080475149, G531848386, G5368796297, G5480708011, G6307073466, G7084143925, G7434936867, G783242260, G7935691682, G8931419319
OpenAlex ID: W6884532287
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