English

Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS): Multi-classing Galactic Dwarf Stars in the deep JWST/NIRCam

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2023-09-13 v1

Abstract

Low mass (sub)stellar objects represent the low end of the initial mass function, the transition to free-floating planets and a prominent interloper population in the search for high-redshift galaxies. Without proper motions or spectroscopy, can one identify these objects photometrically? JWST/NIRCam has several advantages over HST/WFC3 NIR: more filters, a greater wavelength range, and greater spatial resolution. Here, we present a catalogue of (sub)stellar dwarfs identified in the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS). We identify 518 stellar objects down to mF200W28m_F200W \sim 28 using half-light radius, a full three magnitudes deeper than typical HST/WFC3 images. A kNN nearest neighbour algorithm identifies and types these sources, using four HST/WFC3 and four NIRCam filters, trained on SpeX spectra of nearby brown dwarfs. The kNN with four neighbors classifies well within two subtypes: e.g M2±\pm2 or T4±\pm2, achieving \sim95% precision and recall. More granular typing results in worse metrics. In CEERS, we find 9 M8±\pm2, 2 L6±\pm2, 1 T4±\pm2, and 15 T8±\pm2. We compare the observed long wavelength NIRCam colours -- not used in the kNN -- to those expected for brown dwarf atmospheric models. The NIRCam F356W-F444W and F410M-F444W colours are redder by a magnitude for the type assigned by the kNN, hinting at a wider variety of atmospheres for these objects. We find a 300-350pc scale-height for M6±\pm2 dwarfs plus a second structural component and a 150-200pc scale-height for T6±\pm2 type dwarfs, consistent with literature values.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2309.05835,
  title  = {Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS): Multi-classing Galactic Dwarf Stars in the deep JWST/NIRCam},
  author = {B. W. Holwerda and Chih-Chun Hsu and Nimish Hathi and Laura Bisigello and Alexander de la Vega and Pablo Arrabal Haro and Micaela Bagley and Mark Dickinson and Steven L. Finkelstein and Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe and Anton M. Koekemoer and Casey Papovich and Nor Pirzkal and Kyle Cook and Clayton Robertson and Caitlin M Casey and Christian Aganze and Pablo G. Pérez-González and Ray A. Lucas and Shardha Jogee and Stephen Wilkins and Denis Burgarella and Allison Kirkpatrick},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2309.05835},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

18 pages, 24 figures, 3 tables, submitted to MNRAS