English

TEMPLATES: Direct Abundance Constraints for Two Lensed Lyman-Break Galaxies

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2024-11-22 v2

Abstract

Using integrated spectra for two gravitationally lensed galaxies from the JWST TEMPLATES Early Release Science program, we analyze faint auroral lines, which provide direct measurements of the gas-phase chemical abundance. For the brighter galaxy, SGAS1723++34 (z=1.3293z = 1.3293), we detect the [OIII]λ4363\lambda4363, [SIII]λ6312\lambda6312, and [OII]λλ\lambda\lambda7320,7330 auroral emission lines, and set an upper limit for the [NII]λ5755\lambda5755 line. For the second galaxy, SGAS1226++21 (z=2.925z = 2.925), we do not detect any auroral lines, and report upper limits. With these measurements and upper limits, we constrain the electron temperatures in different ionization zones within both of these galaxies. For SGAS1723++34, where auroral lines are detected, we calculate direct oxygen and nitrogen abundances, finding an N/O ratio consistent with observations of nearby (z0z\sim 0) galaxies. These observations highlight the potent combination of JWST and gravitational lensing to measure faint emission lines in individual distant galaxies and to directly study the chemical abundance patterns in those galaxies.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2401.13046,
  title  = {TEMPLATES: Direct Abundance Constraints for Two Lensed Lyman-Break Galaxies},
  author = {Brian Welch and Grace M. Olivier and Taylor A. Hutchison and Jane R. Rigby and Danielle A. Berg and Manuel Aravena and Matthew B. Bayliss and Jack E. Birkin and Scott C. Chapman and Håkon Dahle and Gourav Khullar and Keunho J. Kim and Guillaume Mahler and Matthew A. Malkan and Desika Narayanan and Kedar A. Phadke and Keren Sharon and J. D. T. Smith and Manuel Solimano and Justin S. Spilker and Joaquin D. Viera and David Vizgan},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.13046},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal's Focus Issue on the TEMPLATES JWST Early Release Science Program. 16 pages, 6 figures