PHANGS-JWST First Results: The 21 $\mu$m Compact Source Population

TL;DR

This study uses JWST data to identify and classify 1271 compact 21 μm sources in nearby galaxies, revealing their association with star-forming regions, their stellar masses, ages, and correlations with Hα luminosity, providing a new framework for source classification.

Contribution

It introduces a novel classification framework for 21 μm sources using multi-wavelength data and a dendrogram-based algorithm, advancing understanding of star formation and ISM in galaxies.

Findings

Majority of sources are associated with HII regions and stellar associations.

Stellar masses range from 10^2 to 10^4 solar masses, with ages down to 2 Myr.

Strong correlation between Hα and 21 μm luminosity for luminous sources.

Abstract

We use PHANGS-JWST data to identify and classify 1271 compact 21 $\mu$m sources in four nearby galaxies using MIRI F2100W data. We identify sources using a dendrogram-based algorithm, and we measure the background-subtracted flux densities for JWST bands from 2 $\mu$m to 21 $\mu$m. Using the SED in JWST as well as HST bands, plus ALMA and MUSE/VLT observations, we classify the sources by eye. Then we use this classification to define regions in color-color space, and so establish a quantitative framework for classifying sources. We identify 1085 sources as belonging to the ISM of the target galaxies with the remainder being dusty stars or background galaxies. These 21 $\mu$m sources are strongly spatially associated with HII regions ($>92\%$ of sources), while 74$\%$ of sources are coincident with a stellar association defined in the HST data. Using SED fitting, we find that the stellar masses of the 21 $\mu$m sources span a range of 10$^{2}$ to 10$^{4}~M_\odot$ with mass-weighted ages down to 2 Myr. There is a tight correlation between attenuation-corrected H$\alpha$ and 21 $\mu$m luminosity for $L_{\nu,\mathrm{F2100W}}>10^{19}~\mathrm{W~Hz}^{-1}$. Young embedded source candidates selected at 21 $\mu$m are found below this threshold and have $M_\star < 10^{3}~M_\odot$.