First Peek with JWST/NIRCam Wide-Field Slitless Spectroscopy: Serendipitous Discovery of a Strong [O III]/H$\alpha$ Emitter at $z=6.11$

TL;DR

This paper reports the serendipitous discovery of a high-redshift galaxy at z=6.11 with JWST/NIRCam slitless spectroscopy, revealing strong optical emission lines and evidence of a merger, demonstrating JWST's capabilities for studying early galaxies.

Contribution

First demonstration of JWST/NIRCam wide-field slitless spectroscopy detecting rest-frame optical lines in EoR galaxies, revealing galaxy properties and merger activity at z>6.

Findings

Detected strong [O III] and Hα emission lines at z=6.11

Evidence of a galaxy merger with two components

Possible indication of very young, metal-poor star-forming regions

Abstract

We report the serendipitous discovery of an [O III] $\lambda\lambda$4959/5007 and H$\alpha$ line emitter in the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) with the JWST commissioning data taken in the NIRCam wide field slitless spectroscopy (WFSS) mode. Located $\sim$55" away from the flux calibrator P330-E, this galaxy exhibits bright [O III] $\lambda\lambda$4959/5007 and H$\alpha$ lines detected at 3.7, 9.9 and 5.7$\sigma$, respectively, with a spectroscopic redshift of $z=6.112\pm0.001$. The total H$\beta$+[O III] equivalent width is 664$\pm$98 \r{A} (454$\pm$78 \r{A} from the [O III] $\lambda$5007 line). This provides direct spectroscopic evidence for the presence of strong rest-frame optical lines (H$\beta$+[O III] and H$\alpha$) in EoR galaxies as inferred previously from the analyses of Spitzer/IRAC spectral energy distributions. Two spatial and velocity components are identified in this source, possibly indicating that this system is undergoing a major merger, which might have triggered the ongoing starburst with strong nebular emission lines over a timescale of $\sim$2 Myr as our SED modeling suggests. The tentative detection of He II $\lambda$4686 line ($1.9\sigma$), if real, may indicate the existence of very young and metal-poor star-forming regions with a hard UV radiation field. Finally, this discovery demonstrates the power and readiness of the JWST/NIRCam WFSS mode, and marks the beginning of a new era for extragalactic astronomy, in which EoR galaxies can be routinely discovered via blind slitless spectroscopy through the detection of rest-frame optical emission lines.