The Stellar Populations and Rest-frame Colors of Star-forming Galaxies at z ≈ 8: Exploring the Impact of Filter Choice and Star Formation History Assumption with JADES
The Astrophysical Journal 1006:1 (2026)
Abstract:
Our understanding of the physical properties of star-forming galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR; at z > 6) suffers from degeneracies among the apparent properties of the stars, nebular gas, and dust. These degeneracies are most prominent with photometry, which has insufficient (1) spectral resolution and (2) rest-frame spectral coverage. We explore ways to break these degeneracies with a sample of N = 22 high-redshift star-forming galaxies at 7 < zphot ≤ 9, using some of the deepest existing imaging from JWST/NIRCam and JWST/MIRI with JADES. Key to this study is the imaging from JWST/MIRI at 7.7 μm, which provides coverage of the rest-frame I band at the observed redshifts. We infer stellar population properties and rest-frame colors using a variety of filter sets and star formation history (SFH) assumptions to explore the impact of these choices. Evaluating these quantities both with and without the 7.7 μm data point shows that dense spectral coverage with JWST/NIRCam (eight or more filters, including at least one medium-band at λobs ≈ 4–5 μm) can compensate for lacking the rest-frame I-band coverage for the vast majority (≈80%) of our sample. Furthermore, these galaxy properties are most consistently determined by assuming the delayed-tau SFH, which provides the smallest offsets and scatters around these offsets when including JWST/MIRI. Within extragalactic surveys like JADES and CEERS, our findings suggest that robust characterization of the stellar population properties and rest-frame colors for typical high-redshift star-forming galaxies (i.e., galaxies with MUV ≈ −20 and βUV ≈ −2) is possible with JWST/NIRCam alone at z ≈ 8.Ionizing Photon Production Efficiencies and Chemical Abundances at Cosmic Dawn Revealed by Ultradeep Rest-frame Optical Spectroscopy of JADES-GS-z14-0
The Astrophysical Journal Letters American Astronomical Society 1004:2 (2026) L30
Abstract:
JWST has discovered an early period of galaxy formation that was more vigorous than expected, which has challenged our understanding of the early Universe. In this work, we present the longest spectroscopic integration ever acquired by JWST/MIRI (tobs ≈ 51 hr). This spectrum covers the brightest rest-frame optical nebular emission lines for the luminous galaxy JADES-GS-z14-0 at z = 14.18. Most notably, we detect [O III]λλ4959, 5007 at ≈14σ and Hα at ≈4σ with these ultradeep observations. These lines reveal that JADES-GS-z14-0 has low dust attenuation with a recent star formation rate of SFR ≈ 8 ± 2M⊙ yr−1, star formation rate surface density of ΣSFR ≈ 20 ± 5M⊙ yr−1 kpc−2, and ionizing photon production efficiency of ξion ≈ 1025.3±0.1 Hz erg−1. Using standard strong-line diagnostics, we infer a gas-phase oxygen abundance of log10(O/H)+12≈7.5±0.2 (≈6%Z⊙), carbon-to-oxygen ratio of [C/O] ≈ −0.4 ± 0.2, ionization parameter of log10(U)≳−2.4 , and density of nH ≈ 690 ± 200 cm−3. Using detailed photoionization modeling, we instead derive log10(O/H)+12≈8.5−0.4+0.4 (≈60%Z⊙), log10(U)≈−1.4−0.4+0.3 , and nH≈540−320+520cm−3 . The inferred properties of JADES-GS-z14-0 are similar to those measured for similarly luminous galaxies at z > 10 with previous MIRI/Spectroscopy, such as GHZ2/GLASSz12, GN-z11, and MACS0647-JD1. These results suggest extreme ionization conditions and rapid metal enrichment less than 300 Myr after the Big Bang. Existing simulations are unable to reproduce the empirical and inferred properties of JADES-GS-z14-0. This work demonstrates an important step toward understanding the formation of the first stars and heavy elements in the Universe. Future work will focus on the detection of the rest-frame optical continuum and its interpretation for the stellar population properties of JADES-GS-z14-0.JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey Data Release 5: Photometrically Selected Galaxy Candidates at z > 8
The Astrophysical Journal American Astronomical Society 1004:2 (2026) 161
Abstract:
We present a sample of 2081 sources selected at a photometric redshift zphot > 8 across the JADES DR5 data release in GOODS-S and GOODS-N over a total area of 469 arcmin2. These sources range from MUV = −22 to MUV = −16, with 19 objects at zphot > 14. We estimate the UV slopes for the full sample from fits to the photometry and find evidence for a steepening of the relationship between the UV continuum slope and MUV to higher redshifts, a result that differs from prior analyses of brighter samples in the literature. We provide evidence that over one-quarter of our sources have evidence for being morphologically extended, with many galaxies showing multiple bright knots or clumps even out to z ∼ 13–14, an indication of how galaxies at cosmic dawn are growing and evolving. We discuss JADES-GN+189.15982+62.28899, a GOODS-N F200W dropout galaxy at zphot ∼ 15–18, which has been observed spectroscopically with JWST/NIRSpec in prism mode, resulting in a very low signal-to-noise spectrum that is consistent with the photometry and rules out a number of low-redshift solutions for the source. Finally, we use a subsample of 123 objects in our sample with spectroscopic redshifts to explore the usage of alternate fitting templates and a prescription for Lyα damping wing absorption, finding that both produce significant improvements to the estimated photometric redshifts.JADES data release 4 – Paper i. Sample selection, observing strategy and redshifts of the complete spectroscopic sample
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 549:4 (2026) stag836
Abstract:
This paper accompanies Data Release 4 of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey, which presents the full NIRSpec spectroscopy of the survey. We provide spectra of 5190 targets across Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS)-North and GOODS-South (including the Hubble Ultra Deep Field), observed with the low-dispersion (–300) prism and three medium-resolution () gratings spanning m; 2654 were also observed with the higher resolution () G395H grating. The tiered survey design obtained h exposures for galaxies in the Deep and Ultra Deep tiers, and shallower observations (–3 h per setting) of galaxies in the Medium tiers. Targets were selected from photometric redshifts or colours, with priority given to rest-UV-selected galaxies at and F444W-selected galaxies at . We describe the full target selection and present spectroscopic redshifts and success rates. In total, we obtain robust redshifts for 3297 galaxies, including 396 at and 2545 at . To facilitate uniform analyses, we define ‘gold’ subsamples based on UV- and F444W-selection. Using the parent samples and redshift success rates, we construct rest-UV luminosity functions at from the Medium- and Deep-JWST tiers. Our number densities agree well with previous determinations from both photometric and spectroscopic samples, with modest interloper fractions confirming the reliability of photometric UV-bright galaxy selections at these redshifts.Overview of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES)
The Astrophysical Journal: Supplement Series American Astronomical Society 283:1 (2026) 6