James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

Arxiv: Probing the Origin of the Star Formation Excess Discovered by JWST through Gamma-Ray Bursts Published: 9/17/2024 9:00:05 PM Updated: 9/17/2024 9:00:05 PM

Paper abstract: The recent observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) haverevealed a larger number of bright galaxies at z\gtrsim10 than was expected.The origin of this excess is still under debate, although several possibilitieshave been presented. We propose that gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are a powerfulprobe to explore the origin of the excess and, hence, the star and galaxyformation histories in the early universe. Focusing on the recently launchedmission, Einstein Probe (EP), we find that EP can detect several GRBs annuallyat z\gtrsim10, assuming the GRB formation rate calibrated by events atz<~6 can be extrapolated. Interestingly, depending on the excessscenarios, the GRB event rate may also show an excess at z~eq10, and itsdetection will help to discriminate between the scenarios that are otherwisedifficult to distinguish. Additionally, we discuss that the puzzling,red-color, compact galaxies discovered by JWST, the so-called ``little reddots'', could host dark GRBs if they are dust-obscured star forming galaxies.We are eager for unbiased follow-up of GRBs and encourage future missions suchas high-z GUNDAM to explore the early universe.