@article{21342, abstract = {JWST has revealed a stunning population of bright galaxies at surprisingly early epochs, z > 10, where few such sources were expected. Here we present the most distant example of this class yet – MoM-z14, a luminous (MUV = −20.2) source in the COSMOS legacy field at zspec = 14.44+0.02−0.02 that expands the observational frontier to a mere 280 million years after the Big Bang. The redshift is confirmed with NIRSpec/prism spectroscopy through a sharp Lyman-α break and ≈ 3σ detections of five rest-UV emission lines. The number density of bright zspec ≈ 14 − 15 sources implied by our “Mirage or Miracle” survey spanning ≈ 350 arcmin2 is > 100× larger (182+329 −105×) than pre-JWST consensus models. The high EWs of UV lines (≈15−35˚A) signal a rising star-formation history, with a ≈10× increase in the last 5 Myr (SFR5Myr/SFR50Myr = 9.9 +3.0 −5.8). The source is extremely compact (circularized re = 74+15 −12 pc), and yet elongated (b/a = 0.25+0.11−0.06), suggesting an AGN is not the dominant source of UV light. The steep UV slope (β = −2.5 +0.2 −0.2) implies negligible dust attenuation and a young stellar population. The absence of a strong damping wing provides tentative evidence that the immediate surroundings of MoM-z14 may be partially ionized at a redshift where virtually every reionization model predicts a ≈ 100% neutral fraction. The nitrogen emission and highly supersolar [N/C]> 1 hint at an abundance pattern similar to local globular clusters that may have once hosted luminous supermassive stars. Since this abundance pattern is also common among the most ancient stars born in the Milky Way, we may be directly witnessing the formation of such stars in dense clusters, connecting galaxy evolution across the entire sweep of cosmic time. }, author = {Naidu, Rohan P. and Oesch, Pascal A. and Brammer, Gabriel and Weibel, Andrea and Li, Yijia and Matthee, Jorryt J and Chisholm, John and Pollock, Clara L. and Heintz, Kasper E. and Johnson, Benjamin D. and Shen, Xuejian and Hviding, Raphael E. and Leja, Joel and Tacchella, Sandro and Ganguly, Arpita and Witten, Callum and Atek, Hakim and Belli, Sirio and Bose, Sownak and Bouwens, Rychard and Dayal, Pratika and Decarli, Roberto and De Graaff, Anna and Fudamoto, Yoshinobu and Giovinazzo, Emma and Greene, Jenny E. and Illingworth, Garth and Inoue, Akio K. and Kane, Sarah G. and Labbe, Ivo and Leonova, Ecaterina and Marques-Chaves, Rui and Meyer, Romain A. and Nelson, Erica J. and Roberts-Borsani, Guido and Schaerer, Daniel and Simcoe, Robert A. and Stefanon, Mauro and Sugahara, Yuma and Toft, Sune and Van Der Wel, Arjen and Van Dokkum, Pieter and Walter, Fabian and Watson, Darach and Weaver, John R. and Whitaker, Katherine E.}, issn = {2565-6120}, journal = {The Open Journal of Astrophysics}, publisher = {Maynooth Academic Publishing}, title = {{A cosmic miracle: A remarkably luminous galaxy at zspec = 14.44 confirmed with JWST}}, doi = {10.33232/001c.156033}, volume = {9}, year = {2026}, } @article{21934, abstract = {An accurate characterisation of the physical properties of galaxies at cosmic dawn is key to understanding the origin of the high abundance of UV-bright galaxies at z≳10. We exploit deep (9.1-hour exposure time) NIRSpec PRISM observations of GHZ2 to constrain the sources of ionising radiation and the properties of the interstellar medium (ISM) in this bright, compact, and highly ionising galaxy at z=12.3. We measure with high significance the prominent N IV, C IV, He II, O III, C III, O II, and Ne III emission features previously detected in shallower observations, and confirm the detection of the N III] λ1750 multiplet, yielding tight constraints on the N/O ratio, which is found to be ≃2 times the solar value. We also detect the Mg II λ2800, [Fe IV] λ2833 and Si II λ1812 doublets, the H8+HeI λλ3889 blend, and the Si IV+O IV] λλ1400 absorption complex. The O III λ3133 fluorescence line is only detected in the first observing epoch, implying variability on a rest-frame time span of 19 days, strongly suggesting the presence of an active nucleus. Combining the NIRSpec dataset with available optical and far-infrared constraints from MIRI and ALMA, we show that the emission spectrum of GHZ2 cannot be reproduced by single-density spectro-photometric models, even under extreme assumptions on the ionisation parameter and electron density. Multi-zone photoionisation modelling performed with the HOMERUN code demonstrates that star formation must be occurring in a strongly stratified ISM, where both low-/intermediate-density gas and high-density regions (log(ne/cm−3 ) ≳ 4) coexist. The GHZ2 emission landscape is consistent with either a composite star-formation plus AGN scenario, or with star formation occurring in a combination of radiation- and matter-bounded regions. Purely radiation-bounded stellar models fail to reproduce the observed He II emission, making an additional hard ionising component unavoidable.}, author = {Castellano, M. and Napolitano, L. and Moreschini, B. and Calabrò, A. and Christensen, L. and Llerena, M. and Bakx, T. J.L.C. and Belfiore, F. and Bevacqua, D. and Dickinson, M. and Fontana, A. and Gandolfi, G. and Gasparetto, T. and Marconi, A. and Mascia, Sara and Merlin, E. and Morishita, T. and Nanayakkara, T. and Paris, D. and Pentericci, L. and Pérez-Díaz, B. and Roberts-Borsani, G. and Rojas-Ruiz, S. and Santini, P. and Treu, T. and Vanzella, E. and Vulcani, B. and Wang, X. and Yoon, I. and Zavala, J.}, issn = {2565-6120}, journal = {The Open Journal of Astrophysics}, publisher = {Maynooth Academic Publishing}, title = {{Investigating ionising sources and the complex interstellar medium of GHZ2 at z=12.3}}, doi = {10.33232/001c.160281}, volume = {9}, year = {2026}, } @article{21951, abstract = {The central engines of Little Red Dots (LRDs) may be “black hole stars” (BH*s), early stages of black hole growth characterized by dense gas envelopes. So far, the most direct evidence for BH*s comes from a handful of sources where the host galaxy is completely outshone as suggested by their remarkably steep Balmer breaks. Here we present a novel scheme to disentangle BH*s from their host galaxies assuming that the [O III]5008˚A line arises exclusively from the host. Using a sample of 98 LRDs (z ≈ 2 − 9) with high quality NIRSpec/PRISM spectra, we demonstrate that the hostsubtracted median stack displays a Balmer break > 2× stronger than massive quiescent galaxies, with the rest-optical continuum resembling a blackbody-like SED (Teff ≈ 4050 K, log(Lbol) ≈ 43.9 erg s−1 , Reff ≈ 1300 au). We measure a steep Balmer decrement (Hα/Hβ > 10) and numerous density-sensitive features (e.g., Fe II, He I, O I). These are hallmark signatures of dense gas envelopes, providing population-level evidence that BH*s indeed power LRDs. In the median LRD, BH*s account for ∼ 20% of the UV emission, ∼ 50% at the Balmer break, and ∼ 90% at wavelengths longer than Hα with the remainder arising from the host. BH*s preferentially reside in low-mass galaxies (M⋆ ≈ 108 M⊙) undergoing recent starbursts, as evidenced by extreme emission line EWs (e.g., [O III]5008˚A≈ 1100˚A, C III]≈ 12˚A), thereby favoring BH* origins linked to star-formation. We show V-shaped LRD selections are biased to high BH*/host fractions (≳ 60% at 5500˚A) – less dominant BH*s may be powering JWST’s blue broad-line AGN. We find BH*s are so commonplace and transient (duty cycle ∼ 1%, lifetime ∼ 10 Myrs) that every massive black hole may have once shone as a BH*. }, author = {Sun, Wendy Q. and Naidu, Rohan P. and Matthee, Jorryt J and De Graaff, Anna and Chisholm, John and Greene, Jenny E. and Oesch, Pascal A. and Torralba Torregrosa, Alberto and Hviding, Raphael E. and Brammer, Gabriel and Simcoe, Robert A. and Bose, Sownak and Bouwens, Rychard and Dayal, Pratika and Eilers, Anna Christina and Fei, Qinyue and Furtak, Lukas J. and Gottumukkala, Rashmi and Goulding, Andy and Heintz, Kasper E. and Hirschmann, Michaela and Kokorev, Vasily and Leja, Joel and Liu, Zhaoran and Natarajan, Priyamvada and Santarelli, Andrew D. and Setton, David J. and Smith, Aaron and Tacchella, Sandro and Volonteri, Marta and Walter, Fabian and Weibel, Andrea and Williams, Christina C.}, issn = {2565-6120}, journal = {The Open Journal of Astrophysics}, publisher = {Maynooth Academic Publishing}, title = {{Little Red Dot - Host Galaxy = Black Hole Star: A gas-enshrouded heart at the center of every Little Red Dot}}, doi = {10.33232/001c.162505}, volume = {9}, year = {2026}, } @article{22270, abstract = {The explosion of a white dwarf (WD) in a close binary can launch a surviving runaway star at velocities of ≳ 1000 km s−1 . Such runaways provide a direct probe of thermonuclear supernovae (SNe) in double-degenerate binaries. Several candidate runaways are known, but their evolutionary states and the demographics of the broader population are uncertain. To enable robust population inference, we carry out a systematic survey for hypervelocity runaways with a simple selection function, selecting candidates based on large Gaia-inferred tangential velocities and blue colors. We classify 100% of the resulting 92 candidates using a combination of spectroscopic follow-up and archival data. The search yields ten suspected D6 stars and three LP 40-365 stars. Three D6 stars are new discoveries, including two hot (Teff ≳ 50,000 K) objects and one cool (Teff ≈ 7,000 K) object. We forward-model our survey under several proposed D6 star evolutionary models, coupling each to a Galactic model and the survey selection function. No single model reproduces the observed diversity of D6 stars, which likely reflects a range of remnant masses, ages, and heating mechanisms. Models in which runaway companions are heated by SN shocks alone are too faint and short-lived to explain most of the observed sample, while fully reheated models are too luminous and long-lived. Models with intermediate heating, as occurs in some simulations of violent mergers and partially disrupted remnants, best match the observed magnitude, distance, and kinematic-age distributions. The inferred D6 star birth rate is model dependent, but the models that best match the observed population require rates of only a few percent of the Galactic SN Ia rate, perhaps implying that most SNe Ia result from WD binaries in which both components explode. If most SNe Ia do produce surviving runaways, these must be fainter or shorter-lived than the currently known runaways.}, author = {El-Badry, Kareem and Werner, Klaus and Shen, Ken J. and Strader, Jay and Rodriguez, Antonio C. and Han, Jiwon Jesse and Chandra, Vedant and Chomiuk, Laura and Vanderbosch, Zachary P. and Blomberg, Lisa and Yamaguchi, Natsuko and Nagarajan, Pranav and Caiazzo, Ilaria and van Roestel, Joannes C and Glanz, Hila and Wong, Tin Long Sunny and Bhat, Aakash and Hollands, Mark A.}, issn = {2565-6120}, journal = {The Open Journal of Astrophysics}, keywords = {white dwarfs, binaries: close, stars: chemically peculiar}, publisher = {Maynooth Academic Publishing}, title = {{A systematic survey for hypervelocity runaways from thermonuclear supernovae}}, doi = {10.33232/001c.164326}, volume = {9}, year = {2026}, } @article{22928, abstract = {We present deep ALMA Band 7 observations of the [O iii] 88 µm line and underlying dust continuum emission in four UV-bright, gravitationally lensed (magnification µ = 1.4 − 3.8), JWST-selected galaxies at z = 8.5 − 10.3, with observed magnitudes −22.5 ≲ MUV ≲ −20.5. [O iii] 88 µm is confidently detected in UNCOVER-10646 at z = 8.5080 ± 0.0011 (15σ) and DHZ1 at z = 9.3113 ± 0.0006 (6σ), with both being intrinsically luminous systems [L[O iii] = (1.1− 1.6) ×109 L⊙] that follow the local [O iii]-SFR relation. [O iii] 88 µm remains undetected in the two z > 10 targets, including in the z = 10.07 X-ray AGN UHZ1, where we obtain a deep limit of L[O iii] < 6 × 107 L⊙. Dust emission is not detected in any individual source nor in a stack (< 3σ). The high S/N [O iii] 88 µm detection in UNCOVER-10646 uniquely reveals an additional broad component (FWHM = 1366+473 −329 km/s; ∆BIC ≈ 20) indicative of an ionized outflow. We infer a high outflow rate of M˙ out = 128+80 −46 M⊙ yr−1 , corresponding to a mass loading factor η = M˙ out/SFR = 2.9 +1.8 −1.0 that matches or exceeds theoretical predictions and JWST-based studies of ionized outflows at high redshift. While high-resolution ALMA follow-up is required to confirm and spatially resolve the outflow, this first systematic study at z > 8 highlights the unique diagnostic power of [O iii] 88 µm in characterizing galaxies in the early Universe.}, author = {Algera, Hiddo S.B. and Weaver, John R. and Bakx, Tom J.L.C. and Aravena, Manuel and Bouwens, Rychard J. and Cescon, Karin and Chen, Chian Chou and Da Cunha, Elisabete and Dayal, Pratika and Faisst, Andreas and Ferrara, Andrea and Fujimoto, Seiji and Hashimoto, Takuya and Heintz, Kasper and Herrera-Camus, Rodrigo and Hodge, Jacqueline and Inami, Hanae and Inoue, Akio K. and Matthee, Jorryt J and Meyer, Romain and Mizukoshi, Shoichiro and Mondal, Chayan and Nanayakkara, Themiya and Oesch, Pascal A. and Pallottini, Andrea and Röttgering, Huub and Rowland, Lucie E. and Schouws, Sander and Smit, Renske and Sommovigo, Laura and Stark, Daniel P. and Sugahara, Yuma and Vallini, Livia and Vijarnwannaluk, Bovornpratch and Van Der Werf, Paul and Werner, Norbert and Witstok, Joris and Xiao, Mengyuan}, issn = {2565-6120}, journal = {The Open Journal of Astrophysics}, publisher = {Maynooth Academic Publishing}, title = {{A first systematic study of [OIII] 88μm at z>8: two luminous oxygen lines and a powerful ionized outflow in the first 600 million years}}, doi = {10.33232/001c.165333}, volume = {9}, year = {2026}, } @article{20192, abstract = {We study the physical origin and spectroscopic impact of extreme nebular emission in high-redshift galaxies. The nebular continuum, which can appear during an extreme starburst, is of particular importance as it tends to redden UV slopes and has a significant contribution to the UV luminosities of galaxies. Furthermore, its shape can be used to infer the gas density and temperature of the interstellar medium. First, we provide a theoretical background, showing how different stellar populations (SPS models, initial mass functions (IMFs), and stellar temperatures) and nebular conditions impact observed galaxy spectra. We demonstrate that, for systems with strong nebular continuum emission, 1) UV fluxes can increase by up to 0.7~mag (or more in the case of hot/massive stars) above the stellar continuum, which may help reconcile the surprising abundance of bright high-redshift galaxies and the elevated UV luminosity density at z>10, 2) at high gas densities, UV slopes can redden from \beta<-2.5 to \beta\sim-1, 3) observational measurements of \xi_{\rm ion} are gross underestimates, and 4) UV downturns from two-photon emission can masquerade as damped Ly\alpha systems. Second, we present a dataset of 58 galaxies observed with NIRSpec on JWST at 2.510 galaxies, finding that UV slopes and UV downturns are in some cases redder or steeper than expected from SPS models, which may hint at more exotic (e.g. hotter/more massive stars or AGN) ionizing sources.}, author = {Katz, Harley and Cameron, Alex J. and Saxena, Aayush and Barrufet, Laia and Choustikov, Nicholas and Cleri, Nikko J. and De Graaff, Anna and Ellis, Richard S. and Fosbury, Robert A.E. and Heintz, Kasper E. and Maseda, Michael and Matthee, Jorryt J and Mcconachie, Ian and Oesch, Pascal A.}, issn = {2565-6120}, journal = {The Open Journal of Astrophysics}, publisher = {Maynooth Academic Publishing}, title = {{21 Balmer Jump Street: The nebular continuum at high redshift and implications for the bright galaxy problem, UV continuum slopes, and early stellar populations}}, doi = {10.33232/001c.142570}, volume = {8}, year = {2025}, }