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The abundance and nature of high-redshift quiescent galaxies from JADES spectroscopy and the FLAMINGO simulations

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT We use NIRSpec/MSA (Micro Shutter Assembly) spectroscopy and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) imaging to study a sample of 18 massive ($\log M_\star /\mathrm{M}_\odot \gt 10$ dex), central quiescent galaxies at $2\le z \le 5$ in the GOODS (Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey) fields, to investigate their number density, star formation histories, quenching time-scales, and incidence of active galactic nuclei (AGN). The data depth reaches $\log M_\star /\mathrm{M}_\odot \approx 9$ dex, yet the least-massive central quiescent galaxy found has $\log M_\star /\mathrm{M}_\odot \gt 10$ dex, suggesting that quenching is regulated by a physical quantity that scales with $M_\star$. With spectroscopy, we assess the completeness and purity of photometric samples, finding number densities 10 times higher than predicted by galaxy formation models, confirming earlier photometric studies. We compare our number densities to predictions from FLAMINGO (Full-Hydro Large-scale Structure Simulations with All-sky Mapping for the Interpretation of Next Generation Observations), the largest box full-hydro-simulation suite to date. We rule-out cosmic variance at the 3$\sigma$ level, providing spectroscopic confirmation that galaxy formation models do not match observations at $z>3$. Using FLAMINGO, we find that the vast majority of quiescent galaxies’ stars formed in situ, with these galaxies not having undergone multiple major dry mergers. This is in agreement with the compact observed size of these systems and suggests that major mergers are not a viable channel for quenching most massive galaxies. Several of our observed galaxies are old, with four displaying 4000 Å breaks with formation and quenching redshifts of $z\ge 8$ and $\ge 6$. Using tracers, we find that eight galaxies host AGN, including old systems, suggesting a high AGN duty cycle with a continuing trickle of gas to fuel accretion.
DOI: 10.17863/cam.116933
Authors: Baker, William M, Lim, Seunghwan, D’Eugenio, Francesco, Maiolino, Roberto, Ji, Zhiyuan, Arribas, Santiago, Bunker, Andrew J, Carniani, Stefano, Charlot, Stephane, de Graaff, Anna, Hainline, Kevin, Looser, Tobias J, Lyu, Jianwei, Rinaldi, Pierluigi, Robertson, Brant, Schaller, Matthieu, Schaye, Joop, Scholtz, Jan, Übler, Hannah, Williams, Christina C, Willmer, Christopher NA, Willott, Chris, Zhu, Yongda
Language: English
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, University of California, Santa Cruz, Villum Fonden, Space Telescope Science Institute, UK Research and Innovation, European Commission, Durham University, Isaac Newton Trust, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Awards: G103270039, G1166668239, G1175115578, G1245046120, G1338664626, Durham DiRAC-2 petascale facility, G1468651527, G1577046871, G1700342535, DiRAC-2.5 - the pathway to DiRAC Phase 3, G1855990336, G2005369488, G2144673021, G2262748287, G2309174360, G2309215924, G2368581224, G256731684, G2601397997, G2843074508, G300979063, G3228396264, G3340416472, G3363198467, G3480869486, G3518538256, G3660973570, G3681454997, G4035329295, G4042783231, G4161023950, G4251892262, G425668148, G430777504, G4498713678, G4501905872, G4831232377, G4848836895, G4915654406, G5080475149, G531848386, G5368796297, G5385953647, G5421974903, G5480708011, G5568641063, G6307073466, DiRAC-2.5 DC - Operations 2017-2020, G6464745819, G7322907961, G7434936867, G7678768968, G768801584, G7935691682, DiRAC: Memory Intensive 2.5y, G8631195605, MRI: Acquisition of a High Performance Computer for Computational Science at UC Santa Cruz, G8931419319, G896202797, DiRAC: Memory Intensive 2.5x, G99296377
OpenAlex ID: W6887909586
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