JWST's PEARLS: resolved study of the stellar and dust components in starburst galaxies at cosmic noon

• Published in: arXiv.org 2024-08
• Main Authors: Polletta, M, Frye, B L, Garuda, N, Willner, S P, Berta, S, Kneissl, R, Dole, H, Jansen, R A, Lehnert, M D, Cohen, S H, Summers, J, Windhorst, R A, D'Silva, J C J, Koekemoer, A M, Coe, D, Conselice, C J, Driver, S P, Grogin, N A, Marshall, M A, Nonino, M, Ortiz, R, Pirzkal, N, Robotham, A, Ryan, R E, Jr, Willmer, C N A, Yan, H, Arumugam, V, Cheng, C, Gim, H B, Hathi, N P, Holwerda, B, Kamieneski, P, Keel, W C, J Li, Pascale, M, Rottgering, H, Smith, B M, Yun, M S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clumps; Cosmic dust; Dust; Emitters; Galaxy distribution; James Webb Space Telescope; Morphology; Skewed distributions; Star & galaxy formation; Star formation; Starburst galaxies; Starbursts; Stellar mass
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2405.07986

Dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) contribute significantly to the stellar buildup at cosmic noon. Major mergers and gas accretion are often invoked to explain DSFGs' prodigious star-formation rates (SFRs) and large stellar masses. We conducted a spatially-resolved morphological analysis of the rest-frame UV/NIR emission in three DSFGs at z~2.5. Initially discovered as CO emitters by NOEMA observations of a bright Herschel source, we observed them with the JWST/NIRCam as part of the PEARLS program. The NIRCam data reveal the galaxies' stellar populations and dust distributions on scales of 250 pc. Spatial variations in stellar mass, SFR, and dust extinction are determined in resolved maps obtained through pixel-based SED fitting. The CO emitters are massive, dusty starburst galaxies with SFRs=340-2500 Msun/yr, positioning them among the most active SFGs at 2