Morpheus Reveals Distant Disk Galaxy Morphologies with JWST: The First AI/ML Analysis of JWST Images
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: The dramatic first images with JWST demonstrated its power to provide unprecedented spatial detail for galaxies in the high-redshift universe. Here, we leverage the resolution and depth of the JWST Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey data in the Extended Groth Strip to perform pixel-level morphological classifications of galaxies in JWST F150W imaging using the Morpheus deep-learning framework for astronomical image analysis. By cross-referencing with existing photometric redshift catalogs from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) CANDELS survey, we show that JWST images indicate the emergence of disk morphologies before z ∼ 2 and with candidates appearing as early as z ∼ 5. By modeling the light profile of each object and accounting for the JWST point-spread function, we find the high-redshift disk candidates have exponential surface brightness profiles with an average Sérsic index 〈n〉 = 1.04 and >90% displaying “disky” profiles (n < 2). Comparing with prior Morpheus classifications in CANDELS we find that a plurality of JWST disk galaxy candidates were previously classified as compact based on the shallower HST imagery, indicating that the improved optical quality and depth of the JWST helps to reveal disk morphologies that were hiding in the noise. We discuss the implications of these early disk candidates on theories for cosmological disk galaxy formation.
Authors: Brant E. Robertson, Sandro Tacchella, Benjamin D. Johnson, Ryan Hausen, Adebusola B. Alabi, Kristan Boyett, Andrew J. Bunker, Stefano Carniani, Eiichi Egami, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Kevin N. Hainline, Jakob M. Helton, Zhiyuan Ji, Nimisha Kumari, Jianwei Lyu, Roberto Maiolino, Erica J. Nelson, Marcia J. Rieke, Irene Shivaei, Fengwu Sun, Hannah Übler, Christina C. Williams, Christopher N. A. Willmer, Joris Witstok
Institutions: University of California, Santa Cruz, University of Cambridge, Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, Johns Hopkins University, The University of Melbourne, ASTRO-3D, ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, University of Oxford, Scuola Normale Superiore, University of Arizona, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Space Telescope Science Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, NSF NOIRLab
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,400
Awards: G1166668239, Finding the most distant galaxies with NIRSpec guaranteed time on the James Webb Space Telescope, MULTIPHASE OUTFLOWS REPRESENT THE MOST DIRECT EVIDENCE THAT WINDS DRIVEN BY FEEDBACK PROCESSESREGULATE THE STAR FORMATION RATE AND BARYONIC MASS OF GALAXIES. OBSERVATIONS OF COOL METALABSORPTION SYSTEMS WITH THE COSMIC ORIGIN SPECTROGRAPH ON THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE DUSTYOUTFLOWS ON KILOPARSEC SCALES WITH SPITZER SPACE TELESCOPE AND EXPANDING HOT GAS WITH CHANDRAX-RAY OBSERVATORY HAVE DRIVEN THEORETICAL SPECULATION ABOUT HOW THE MULTIPHASE STRUCTURE OFGALACTIC WINDS AROUND STAR-FORMING GALAXIES LIKE M82 ARISES. DESPITE THESE THEORETICAL EFFORTS ADETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF MICROPHYSICAL PROCESSES THAT SET THE MULTIPHASE STRUCTURE OFGALACTIC WINDS AND THE CONNECTION BETWEEN WINDS AND GALAXY FORMATION PHYSICS ON LARGERSCALES REMAINS ELUSIVE., G6464745819, Star formation quenching and feedback in galaxies throughout the cosmic epochs, MRI: Acquisition of a High Performance Computer for Computational Science at UC Santa Cruz, G971458805
OpenAlex ID: W4318069029