JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) Data Release 5: Photometrically Selected Galaxy Candidates at z > 8

Read full text
Authors: Kevin N. Hainline, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Lily Whitler, Brant E. Robertson, Benjamin D. Johnson, Peter Jakobsen, Dávid Puskás, Sandro Tacchella, Jakob M. Helton, Zihao Wu, Santiago Arribas, William M. Baker
+25 more Andrew J. Bunker, Alex J. Cameron, Stefano Carniani, Courtney Carreira, Stephane Charlot, Jacopo Chevallard, Emma Curtis-Lake, Francesco D'Eugenio, Qiao Duan, Eiichi Egami, Ryan Hausen, Zhiyuan Ji, Tobias J. Looser, Roberto Maiolino, Petra Mengistu, Pablo G. Perez-Gonzalez, Marcia J. Rieke, Pierluigi Rinaldi, Fengwu Sun, James A. A. Trussler, Hannah Übler, Christina C. Williams, Christopher N. A. Willmer, Chris Willott, Joris Witstok
Cited by: 1

Abstract

We present a sample of 2081 sources selected at photometric redshift $z_{\mathrm{phot}} > 8$ across the JADES DR5 data release in GOODS-S and GOODS-N over a total area of 469 square arcmin. These sources range from $M_{\mathrm{UV}} = -22$ to $M_{\mathrm{UV}} = -16$, with 19 objects at $z_{\mathrm{phot}} > 14$. We estimate the UV slopes for the full sample from fits to the photometry and find evidence for a steepening of the relationship between the UV continuum slope and $M_{\mathrm{UV}}$ to higher redshifts, a result that differs from prior analyses of brighter samples in the literature. We provide evidence that over one quarter of our sources have evidence for being morphologically extended, with many galaxies showing multiple bright knots or clumps even out to $z \sim 13 - 14$, an indication of how galaxies at Cosmic Dawn are growing and evolving. We discuss JADES-GN+189.15982+62.28899, a GOODS-N F200W dropout galaxy at $z_{\mathrm{phot}} \sim 15 - 18$ which has been observed spectroscopically with JWST/NIRSpec in prism mode, resulting in a very low signal-to-noise spectrum that is consistent with the photometry and rules out a number of low-redshift solutions for the source. Finally, we use a subsample of 123 objects in our sample with spectroscopic redshifts to explore the usage of alternate fitting templates and a prescription for Ly-$α$ damping wing absorption, finding that both produce significant improvements to the estimated photometric redshifts.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Galaxies: Formation Evolution Phenomena Astronomy and Astrophysical Research Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae

Publication details

Journal / source
arXiv (Cornell University)
Publication date
22 January 2026
Document type
Preprint