James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post
JWST's PEARLS: resolved study of the stellar and dust components in starburst galaxies at cosmic noon
Multi-color (red: F356W+F410M+F444W, green: F200W+F277W, blue: F090W+F115W+F150W) JWST/NIRCam images. Left panel: 1'×1' image centered on the Herschel source H01. The Herschel contours at 250 µm are in white, the radio LOFAR 144 MHz contours in yellow, and the IRAM/NOEMA CO-detected sources are indicated by magenta arrows and labeled. Right panel: 15''×17'' image showing the CO contours starting from 3s in steps of 3s (green) and the NOEMA beam (white ellipse in the top right corner).
Abstract: 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 population and dust distribution 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 ranging from 340 to 2500 Msun/yr, positioning them among the most active SFGs at 2
