GN-z11: The environment of an active galactic nucleus at z= 10.603: New insights into the most distant Ly α detection

Scholtz, J ORCID: 0000-0001-6010-6809, Witten, C, Laporte, N, Übler, H, Perna, M ORCID: 0000-0002-0362-5941, Maiolino, R, Arribas, S ORCID: 0000-0001-7997-1640, Baker, WM, Bennett, JS, D'Eugenio, F, Simmonds, C, Tacchella, S, Witstok, J, Bunker, AJ, Carniani, S, Charlot, S ORCID: 0000-0003-3458-2275, Cresci, G, Curtis-Lake, E, Eisenstein, DJ, Kumari, N et al (2024) GN-z11: The environment of an active galactic nucleus at z= 10.603: New insights into the most distant Ly α detection. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 687. ISSN 0004-6361

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Abstract

Recent observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have further refined the spectroscopic redshift of GN-z11, one of the most distant galaxies identified with the Hubble Space Telescope, at za=a10.603. The presence of extremely dense gas (> 1010 cm-3), the detection of high-ionisation lines and of CII∗1335 emission, and the presence of an ionisation cone indicate that GN-z11 also hosts an active galactic nucleus. Further photometric and spectroscopic follow-up demonstrates that it lies in a large-scale, overdense structure with possible signatures of Population III stars in its halo. Surprisingly, Lyα has also been detected despite the expected largely neutral intergalactic medium at such a redshift. We exploit recent JWST/NIRSpec integral field unit observations to demonstrate that the Lyα emission in GN-z11 is part of an extended halo with a minimum size of 0.8-3.2 kpc, depending on the definition used to derive the halo size. The surface brightness of the Lyα halo around GN-z11 appears consistent with Lyα halos observed around za∼6 quasars. At the wavelength of Lyα at za∼10.6, we identify three other emission line candidates within the integral field unit field of view with no UV rest-frame counterpart visible in deep images from the JWST/NIRCam. If confirmed, this could be the first evidence that the local region of GN-z11 represents a candidate protocluster core, forming just 400 Myr after the Big Bang. We give a first estimate of the dark matter halo mass of this structure (Mha-2.96a- 0.39+0.44-1010-), which is consistent with a Coma-like cluster progenitor.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences; Astronomy & Astrophysics
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy Q Science > QC Physics
Divisions:	Astrophysics Research Institute
Publisher:	EDP Sciences
Date of acceptance:	1 March 2024
Date of first compliant Open Access:	12 August 2024
Date Deposited:	12 Aug 2024 11:41
Last Modified:	04 Jul 2025 10:00
DOI or ID number:	10.1051/0004-6361/202347187
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/23922

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