Identification and Characterization of Six Spectroscopically Confirmed Massive Protostructures at \(2.5<z<4.5\)

• Published in: arXiv.org 2023-12
• Main Authors: Shah, Ekta A, Lemaux, Brian, rest, Benjamin, Cucciati, Olga, Hung, Denise, Staab, Priti, Hathi, Nimish, Lubin, Lori, Gal, Roy R, Shen, Lu, Zamorani, Giovanni, Giddings, Finn, Bardelli, Sandro, Letizia Pasqua Cassara, Cassata, Paolo, Contini, Thierry, Golden-Marx, Emmet, Guaita, Lucia, Gururajan, Gayathri, Koekemoer, Anton M, McLeod, Derek, Tasca, Lidia A M, Tresse, Laurence, Vergani, Daniela, Zucca, Elena
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Galactic evolution; Measurement techniques; Red shift; Star & galaxy formation; Star formation rate
• ISSN: 2331-8422

We present six spectroscopically confirmed massive protostructures, spanning a redshift range of \(2.55\sigma_{\delta}\)) peaks. One of the most complex protostructures discovered is a massive (\(M_{tot}=10^{15.1}M_\odot\)) system at \(z\sim3.47\) that contains six peaks and 55 spectroscopic members. We also discover protostructures at \(z\sim3.30\) and \(z\sim3.70\) that appear to at least partially overlap on sky with the protostructure at \(z\sim3.47\), suggesting a possible connection. We additionally report on the discovery of three massive protostructures at \(z=2.67\), 2.80, and 4.14 and discuss their properties. Finally, we discuss the relationship between star formation rate and environment in the richest of these protostructures, finding an enhancement of star formation activity in the densest regions. The diversity of the protostructures reported here provide an opportunity to study the complex effects of dense environments on galaxy evolution over a large redshift range in the early universe.