The AURORA Survey: An Extraordinarily Mature, Star-forming Galaxy at z ∼ 7

Alice E. Shapley; Ryan L. Sanders; Michael W. Topping; Naveen A. Reddy; Anthony J. Pahl; Pascal A. Oesch; Danielle A. Berg; Rychard J. Bouwens; Gabriel Brammer; Adam C. Carnall; Fergus Cullen; Romeel Davé; James S. Dunlop; Richard S. Ellis; N. M. Förster Schreiber; Steven R. Furlanetto; Karl Glazebrook; Garth D. Illingworth; Tucker Jones; Mariska Kriek; Derek J. McLeod; Ross J. McLure; Desika Narayanan; Max Pettini; Daniel Schaerer; Daniel P. Stark; Charles C. Steidel; Mengtao Tang; Leonardo Clarke; Callum T. Donnan; Emily Kehoe

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/adaf98

The AURORA Survey: An Extraordinarily Mature, Star-forming Galaxy at z ∼ 7

Alice E. Shapley, Ryan L. Sanders, Michael W. Topping, Naveen A. Reddy, Anthony J. Pahl, Pascal A. Oesch, Danielle A. Berg, Rychard J. Bouwens, Gabriel Brammer, Adam C. Carnall, Fergus Cullen, Romeel Davé, James S. Dunlop, Richard S. Ellis, N. M. Förster Schreiber, Steven R. Furlanetto, Karl Glazebrook, Garth D. Illingworth, Tucker Jones, Mariska KriekDerek J. McLeod, Ross J. McLure, Desika Narayanan, Max Pettini, Daniel Schaerer, Daniel P. Stark, Charles C. Steidel, Mengtao Tang, Leonardo Clarke, Callum T. Donnan, Emily Kehoe

Physics And Astronomy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present the properties of a massive, large, dusty, metal-rich, star-forming galaxy at z_spec = 6.73. GOODSN-100182 was observed with JWST/NIRSpec as part of the Assembly of Ultradeep Rest-optical Observations Revealing Astrophysics (AURORA) survey, and is also covered by public multiwavelength Hubble Space Telescope and JWST imaging. While the large stellar mass of GOODSN-100182 (∼10¹⁰ M_⊙) was indicated prior to JWST, NIRCam rest-frame optical imaging now reveals the presence of an extended disk (r_eff ∼ 1.5 kpc). In addition, the NIRSpec R ∼ 1000 spectrum of GOODSN-100182 includes the detection of a large suite of rest-frame optical nebular emission lines ranging in wavelength from [O ii] λ3727 up to [N ii] λ6583. The ratios of Balmer lines suggest significant dust attenuation ( E ( B − V ) gas = 0.4 0 − 0.09 + 0.10 ), consistent with the red rest-frame UV slope inferred for GOODSN-100182 (β = −0.50 ± 0.09). The star formation rate based on dust-corrected Hα emission is log ( SFR(H α ) / M ⊙ yr − 1 ) = 2.0 2 − 0.14 + 0.13 , well above the z ∼ 7 star-forming main sequence in terms of specific star formation rate. Strikingly, the ratio of [N ii] λ6583/Hα emission suggests almost solar metallicity, as does the ratio ([O iii] λ5007/Hβ)/([N ii] λ6583/Hα) and the detection of the faint [Fe ii] λ4360 emission feature. Overall, the excitation and ionization properties of GOODSN-100182 more closely resemble those of typical star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 2-3 rather than z ∼ 7. Based on public spectroscopy of the GOODS-N field, we find that GOODSN-100182 resides within a significant galaxy overdensity, and is accompanied by a spectroscopically confirmed neighbor galaxy. GOODSN-100182 demonstrates the existence of mature, chemically enriched galaxies within the first billion years of cosmic time, whose properties must be explained by galaxy formation models.

Original language	English
Article number	167
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	981
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adaf98
State	Published - Mar 10 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

Funding

This work is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. The data were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-03127 for JWST. The specific observations analyzed can be accessed via DOI: 10.17909/hvne-7139 . We also acknowledge support from NASA grant JWST-GO-01914. F.C. acknowledges support from a UKRI Frontier Research Guarantee Grant (PI: Cullen, grant reference EP/X021025/1). A.C.C. thanks the Leverhulme Trust for their support via a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship. C.T.D., D.J.M., R.J.M., and J.S.D. acknowledge the support of the Science and Technology Facilities Council. J.S.D. also acknowledges the support of the Royal Society through a Royal Society Research Professorship. R.D. acknowledges support from the Wolfson Research Merit Award program of the U.K. Royal Society. K.G. acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship FL180100060. M.K. acknowledges funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) through the award of the Vici grant VI.C.222.047 (project 2010007169). P.O. acknowledges the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) under contract number MB22.00072, as well as from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) through project grant 200020_207349. A.J.P. was generously supported by a Carnegie Fellowship through the Carnegie Observatories. D.N. was funded by JWST-AR-01883.001.

Funders	Funder number
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Leverhulme Trust
Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation
Epsilon Sigma Alpha
Wolfson Research Merit Award program
U.K. Royal Society
Royal Society of Medicine
Spine Education and Research Institute	MB22.00072
National Science Foundation Arctic Social Science Program	200020_207349
Australian Research Council	FL180100060
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	JWST-GO-01914
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek	2010007169, VI.C.222.047
UK Industrial Decarbonization Research and Innovation Centre	EP/X021025/1
Colorado State Archives	NAS5-03127

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.3847/1538-4357/adaf98

Cite this

Shapley, A. E., Sanders, R. L., Topping, M. W., Reddy, N. A., Pahl, A. J., Oesch, P. A., Berg, D. A., Bouwens, R. J., Brammer, G., Carnall, A. C., Cullen, F., Davé, R., Dunlop, J. S., Ellis, R. S., Förster Schreiber, N. M., Furlanetto, S. R., Glazebrook, K., Illingworth, G. D., Jones, T., ... Kehoe, E. (2025). The AURORA Survey: An Extraordinarily Mature, Star-forming Galaxy at z ∼ 7. Astrophysical Journal, 981(2), Article 167. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adaf98

@article{28698996222d45d58bba71780940fe2f,

title = "The AURORA Survey: An Extraordinarily Mature, Star-forming Galaxy at z ∼ 7",

abstract = "We present the properties of a massive, large, dusty, metal-rich, star-forming galaxy at zspec = 6.73. GOODSN-100182 was observed with JWST/NIRSpec as part of the Assembly of Ultradeep Rest-optical Observations Revealing Astrophysics (AURORA) survey, and is also covered by public multiwavelength Hubble Space Telescope and JWST imaging. While the large stellar mass of GOODSN-100182 (∼1010 M⊙) was indicated prior to JWST, NIRCam rest-frame optical imaging now reveals the presence of an extended disk (reff ∼ 1.5 kpc). In addition, the NIRSpec R ∼ 1000 spectrum of GOODSN-100182 includes the detection of a large suite of rest-frame optical nebular emission lines ranging in wavelength from [O ii] λ3727 up to [N ii] λ6583. The ratios of Balmer lines suggest significant dust attenuation ( E ( B − V ) gas = 0.4 0 − 0.09 + 0.10 ), consistent with the red rest-frame UV slope inferred for GOODSN-100182 (β = −0.50 ± 0.09). The star formation rate based on dust-corrected Hα emission is log ( SFR(H α ) / M ⊙ yr − 1 ) = 2.0 2 − 0.14 + 0.13 , well above the z ∼ 7 star-forming main sequence in terms of specific star formation rate. Strikingly, the ratio of [N ii] λ6583/Hα emission suggests almost solar metallicity, as does the ratio ([O iii] λ5007/Hβ)/([N ii] λ6583/Hα) and the detection of the faint [Fe ii] λ4360 emission feature. Overall, the excitation and ionization properties of GOODSN-100182 more closely resemble those of typical star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 2-3 rather than z ∼ 7. Based on public spectroscopy of the GOODS-N field, we find that GOODSN-100182 resides within a significant galaxy overdensity, and is accompanied by a spectroscopically confirmed neighbor galaxy. GOODSN-100182 demonstrates the existence of mature, chemically enriched galaxies within the first billion years of cosmic time, whose properties must be explained by galaxy formation models.",

author = "Shapley, \{Alice E.\} and Sanders, \{Ryan L.\} and Topping, \{Michael W.\} and Reddy, \{Naveen A.\} and Pahl, \{Anthony J.\} and Oesch, \{Pascal A.\} and Berg, \{Danielle A.\} and Bouwens, \{Rychard J.\} and Gabriel Brammer and Carnall, \{Adam C.\} and Fergus Cullen and Romeel Dav{\'e} and Dunlop, \{James S.\} and Ellis, \{Richard S.\} and \{F{\"o}rster Schreiber\}, \{N. M.\} and Furlanetto, \{Steven R.\} and Karl Glazebrook and Illingworth, \{Garth D.\} and Tucker Jones and Mariska Kriek and McLeod, \{Derek J.\} and McLure, \{Ross J.\} and Desika Narayanan and Max Pettini and Daniel Schaerer and Stark, \{Daniel P.\} and Steidel, \{Charles C.\} and Mengtao Tang and Leonardo Clarke and Donnan, \{Callum T.\} and Emily Kehoe",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.",

year = "2025",

month = mar,

day = "10",

doi = "10.3847/1538-4357/adaf98",

language = "English",

volume = "981",

number = "2",

}

Shapley, AE, Sanders, RL, Topping, MW, Reddy, NA, Pahl, AJ, Oesch, PA, Berg, DA, Bouwens, RJ, Brammer, G, Carnall, AC, Cullen, F, Davé, R, Dunlop, JS, Ellis, RS, Förster Schreiber, NM, Furlanetto, SR, Glazebrook, K, Illingworth, GD, Jones, T, Kriek, M, McLeod, DJ, McLure, RJ, Narayanan, D, Pettini, M, Schaerer, D, Stark, DP, Steidel, CC, Tang, M, Clarke, L, Donnan, CT & Kehoe, E 2025, 'The AURORA Survey: An Extraordinarily Mature, Star-forming Galaxy at z ∼ 7', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 981, no. 2, 167. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adaf98

TY - JOUR

T1 - The AURORA Survey

T2 - An Extraordinarily Mature, Star-forming Galaxy at z ∼ 7

AU - Shapley, Alice E.

AU - Sanders, Ryan L.

AU - Topping, Michael W.

AU - Reddy, Naveen A.

AU - Pahl, Anthony J.

AU - Oesch, Pascal A.

AU - Berg, Danielle A.

AU - Bouwens, Rychard J.

AU - Brammer, Gabriel

AU - Carnall, Adam C.

AU - Cullen, Fergus

AU - Davé, Romeel

AU - Dunlop, James S.

AU - Ellis, Richard S.

AU - Förster Schreiber, N. M.

AU - Furlanetto, Steven R.

AU - Glazebrook, Karl

AU - Illingworth, Garth D.

AU - Jones, Tucker

AU - Kriek, Mariska

AU - McLeod, Derek J.

AU - McLure, Ross J.

AU - Narayanan, Desika

AU - Pettini, Max

AU - Schaerer, Daniel

AU - Stark, Daniel P.

AU - Steidel, Charles C.

AU - Tang, Mengtao

AU - Clarke, Leonardo

AU - Donnan, Callum T.

AU - Kehoe, Emily

PY - 2025/3/10

Y1 - 2025/3/10

N2 - We present the properties of a massive, large, dusty, metal-rich, star-forming galaxy at zspec = 6.73. GOODSN-100182 was observed with JWST/NIRSpec as part of the Assembly of Ultradeep Rest-optical Observations Revealing Astrophysics (AURORA) survey, and is also covered by public multiwavelength Hubble Space Telescope and JWST imaging. While the large stellar mass of GOODSN-100182 (∼1010 M⊙) was indicated prior to JWST, NIRCam rest-frame optical imaging now reveals the presence of an extended disk (reff ∼ 1.5 kpc). In addition, the NIRSpec R ∼ 1000 spectrum of GOODSN-100182 includes the detection of a large suite of rest-frame optical nebular emission lines ranging in wavelength from [O ii] λ3727 up to [N ii] λ6583. The ratios of Balmer lines suggest significant dust attenuation ( E ( B − V ) gas = 0.4 0 − 0.09 + 0.10 ), consistent with the red rest-frame UV slope inferred for GOODSN-100182 (β = −0.50 ± 0.09). The star formation rate based on dust-corrected Hα emission is log ( SFR(H α ) / M ⊙ yr − 1 ) = 2.0 2 − 0.14 + 0.13 , well above the z ∼ 7 star-forming main sequence in terms of specific star formation rate. Strikingly, the ratio of [N ii] λ6583/Hα emission suggests almost solar metallicity, as does the ratio ([O iii] λ5007/Hβ)/([N ii] λ6583/Hα) and the detection of the faint [Fe ii] λ4360 emission feature. Overall, the excitation and ionization properties of GOODSN-100182 more closely resemble those of typical star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 2-3 rather than z ∼ 7. Based on public spectroscopy of the GOODS-N field, we find that GOODSN-100182 resides within a significant galaxy overdensity, and is accompanied by a spectroscopically confirmed neighbor galaxy. GOODSN-100182 demonstrates the existence of mature, chemically enriched galaxies within the first billion years of cosmic time, whose properties must be explained by galaxy formation models.

AB - We present the properties of a massive, large, dusty, metal-rich, star-forming galaxy at zspec = 6.73. GOODSN-100182 was observed with JWST/NIRSpec as part of the Assembly of Ultradeep Rest-optical Observations Revealing Astrophysics (AURORA) survey, and is also covered by public multiwavelength Hubble Space Telescope and JWST imaging. While the large stellar mass of GOODSN-100182 (∼1010 M⊙) was indicated prior to JWST, NIRCam rest-frame optical imaging now reveals the presence of an extended disk (reff ∼ 1.5 kpc). In addition, the NIRSpec R ∼ 1000 spectrum of GOODSN-100182 includes the detection of a large suite of rest-frame optical nebular emission lines ranging in wavelength from [O ii] λ3727 up to [N ii] λ6583. The ratios of Balmer lines suggest significant dust attenuation ( E ( B − V ) gas = 0.4 0 − 0.09 + 0.10 ), consistent with the red rest-frame UV slope inferred for GOODSN-100182 (β = −0.50 ± 0.09). The star formation rate based on dust-corrected Hα emission is log ( SFR(H α ) / M ⊙ yr − 1 ) = 2.0 2 − 0.14 + 0.13 , well above the z ∼ 7 star-forming main sequence in terms of specific star formation rate. Strikingly, the ratio of [N ii] λ6583/Hα emission suggests almost solar metallicity, as does the ratio ([O iii] λ5007/Hβ)/([N ii] λ6583/Hα) and the detection of the faint [Fe ii] λ4360 emission feature. Overall, the excitation and ionization properties of GOODSN-100182 more closely resemble those of typical star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 2-3 rather than z ∼ 7. Based on public spectroscopy of the GOODS-N field, we find that GOODSN-100182 resides within a significant galaxy overdensity, and is accompanied by a spectroscopically confirmed neighbor galaxy. GOODSN-100182 demonstrates the existence of mature, chemically enriched galaxies within the first billion years of cosmic time, whose properties must be explained by galaxy formation models.

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JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

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The AURORA Survey: An Extraordinarily Mature, Star-forming Galaxy at z ∼ 7

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