ALMA Detection of [O iii ] 88 μm at z=12.33: Exploring the Nature and Evolution of GHZ2 as a Massive Compact Stellar System
Journal article, 2024
We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations on the high-redshift galaxy GHZ2 and report a successful detection of the rest-frame 88 mu m atomic transition from doubly ionized oxygen at z = 12.3327 +/- 0.0035. Based on these observations, combined with additional constraints on the [O iii] 52 mu m line luminosity and previous JWST data, we argue that GHZ2 is likely powered by compact and young star formation and show that it follows well-established relationships found for giant H ii regions and metal-poor star-forming dwarf galaxies that are known to host bright super star clusters. Additionally, these observations provide new constraints on the oxygen electron density (100 less than or similar to n e [cm-3] less than or similar to 4,000) and dynamical mass (M dyn approximate to 3-8 x 108 M circle dot). The existence of these massive starburst systems 13.3 Gyr ago might explain the origin of today's globular clusters, a long-standing question in astronomy. To test this, we present observational probes to investigate whether sources like GHZ2 are linked to the formation of today's globular clusters or other more massive compact stellar systems.
Author
Jorge A. Zavala
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Tom Bakx
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics
Ikki Mitsuhashi
Waseda University
Marco Castellano
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Antonello Calabro
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Hollis Akins
University of Texas
Veronique Buat
Aix Marseille University
Caitlin M. Casey
University of Texas
David Fernandez-Arenas
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics
ArcWear
Maximilien Franco
University of Texas
Adriano Fontana
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Bunyo Hatsukade
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Waseda University
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)
Luis C. Ho
Beijing University of Technology
Ryota Ikeda
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)
Jeyhan Kartaltepe
Rochester Institute of Technology
Anton M. Koekemoer
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Jed Mckinney
University of Texas
Lorenzo Napolitano
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Sapienza University of Rome
Pablo G. Perez-Gonzalez
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Paola Santini
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Stephen Serjeant
UK Open Univ
Elena Terlevich
University of Cambridge
National University of La Plata
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics
Roberto Terlevich
University of Cambridge
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics
National University of La Plata
L. Y. Aaron Yung
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Astrophysical Journal Letters
2041-8205 (ISSN) 2041-8213 (eISSN)
Vol. 977 1 L9Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics
DOI
10.3847/2041-8213/ad8f38