%0 Generic %1 naidu2022schrodingers %A Naidu, Rohan P. %A Oesch, Pascal A. %A Setton, David J. %A Matthee, Jorryt %A Conroy, Charlie %A Johnson, Benjamin D. %A Weaver, John R. %A Bouwens, Rychard J. %A Brammer, Gabriel B. %A Dayal, Pratika %A Illingworth, Garth D. %A Barrufet, Laia %A Belli, Sirio %A Bezanson, Rachel %A Bose, Sownak %A Heintz, Kasper E. %A Leja, Joel %A Leonova, Ecaterina %A Marques-Chaves, Rui %A Stefanon, Mauro %A Toft, Sune %A van der Wel, Arjen %A van Dokkum, Pieter %A Weibel, Andrea %A Whitaker, Katherine E. %D 2022 %K Edgeverse %T Schrodinger's Galaxy Candidate: Puzzlingly Luminous at $z\approx17$, or Dusty/Quenched at $z\approx5$? %U http://arxiv.org/abs/2208.02794 %X $JWST$'s first glimpse of the $z>10$ Universe has yielded a surprising abundance of luminous galaxy candidates. Here we present the most extreme of these systems: CEERS-1749. Based on $0.6-5\mu$m photometry, this strikingly luminous ($\approx$26 mag) galaxy appears to lie at $z\approx17$. This would make it an $M_UV\approx-22$, $M_\star\approx5\times10^9M_ødot$ system that formed a mere $\sim220$ Myrs after the Big Bang. The implied number density of this galaxy and its analogues challenges virtually every early galaxy evolution model that assumes $Łambda$CDM cosmology. However, there is strong environmental evidence supporting a secondary redshift solution of $z\approx5$: all three of the galaxy's nearest neighbors at $<2.5$" have photometric redshifts of $z\approx5$. Further, we show that CEERS-1749 may lie in a $z\approx5$ protocluster that is $\gtrsim5\times$ overdense compared to the field. Intense line emission at $z\approx5$ from a quiescent galaxy harboring ionized gas, or from a dusty starburst, may provide satisfactory explanations for CEERS-1749's photometry. The emission lines at $z\approx5$ conspire to boost the $>2\mu$m photometry, producing an apparent blue slope as well as a strong break in the SED. Such a perfectly disguised contaminant is possible only in a narrow redshift window ($\Delta złesssim0.1$), implying that the permitted volume for such interlopers may not be a major concern for $z>10$ searches, particularly when medium-bands are deployed. If CEERS-1749 is confirmed to lie at $z\approx5$, it will be the highest-redshift quiescent galaxy, or one of the lowest mass dusty galaxies of the early Universe detected to-date. Both redshift solutions of this intriguing galaxy hold the potential to challenge existing models of early galaxy evolution, making spectroscopic follow-up of this source critical.

@collection{naidu2022schrodingers, abstract = {$JWST$'s first glimpse of the $z>10$ Universe has yielded a surprising abundance of luminous galaxy candidates. Here we present the most extreme of these systems: CEERS-1749. Based on $0.6-5\mu$m photometry, this strikingly luminous ($\approx$26 mag) galaxy appears to lie at $z\approx17$. This would make it an $M_{\rm{UV}}\approx-22$, $M_{\rm{\star}}\approx5\times10^{9}M_{\rm{\odot}}$ system that formed a mere $\sim220$ Myrs after the Big Bang. The implied number density of this galaxy and its analogues challenges virtually every early galaxy evolution model that assumes $\Lambda$CDM cosmology. However, there is strong environmental evidence supporting a secondary redshift solution of $z\approx5$: all three of the galaxy's nearest neighbors at $<2.5$" have photometric redshifts of $z\approx5$. Further, we show that CEERS-1749 may lie in a $z\approx5$ protocluster that is $\gtrsim5\times$ overdense compared to the field. Intense line emission at $z\approx5$ from a quiescent galaxy harboring ionized gas, or from a dusty starburst, may provide satisfactory explanations for CEERS-1749's photometry. The emission lines at $z\approx5$ conspire to boost the $>2\mu$m photometry, producing an apparent blue slope as well as a strong break in the SED. Such a perfectly disguised contaminant is possible only in a narrow redshift window ($\Delta z\lesssim0.1$), implying that the permitted volume for such interlopers may not be a major concern for $z>10$ searches, particularly when medium-bands are deployed. If CEERS-1749 is confirmed to lie at $z\approx5$, it will be the highest-redshift quiescent galaxy, or one of the lowest mass dusty galaxies of the early Universe detected to-date. Both redshift solutions of this intriguing galaxy hold the potential to challenge existing models of early galaxy evolution, making spectroscopic follow-up of this source critical.}, added-at = {2022-08-27T07:35:07.000+0200}, author = {Naidu, Rohan P. and Oesch, Pascal A. and Setton, David J. and Matthee, Jorryt and Conroy, Charlie and Johnson, Benjamin D. and Weaver, John R. and Bouwens, Rychard J. and Brammer, Gabriel B. and Dayal, Pratika and Illingworth, Garth D. and Barrufet, Laia and Belli, Sirio and Bezanson, Rachel and Bose, Sownak and Heintz, Kasper E. and Leja, Joel and Leonova, Ecaterina and Marques-Chaves, Rui and Stefanon, Mauro and Toft, Sune and van der Wel, Arjen and van Dokkum, Pieter and Weibel, Andrea and Whitaker, Katherine E.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/293b3293475fd0a60d9667b881808f439/porq}, description = {Schrodinger's Galaxy Candidate: Puzzlingly Luminous at $z\approx17$, or Dusty/Quenched at $z\approx5$?}, interhash = {cd8fa54760c6741a9a2be3569cda1983}, intrahash = {93b3293475fd0a60d9667b881808f439}, keywords = {Edgeverse}, note = {cite arxiv:2208.02794Comment: Submitted to ApJL. Fig. 1 shows the "superposed" state, Fig. 2 presents the potential z~5 protocluster, Fig. 3 shows some atypical z~5 SEDs, Fig. 4 studies the morphology, Fig. 5 summarizes the extraordinary situation at z~17, and Fig. 6 argues for why such interlopers may not be a major issue for z>10 searches. Comments warmly welcomed}, timestamp = {2022-08-27T07:35:07.000+0200}, title = {Schrodinger's Galaxy Candidate: Puzzlingly Luminous at $z\approx17$, or Dusty/Quenched at $z\approx5$?}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2208.02794}, year = 2022 }