Near-infrared characterization of ultra-diffuse galaxies in Abell 2744 by JWST/NIRISS imaging

TL;DR

This study uses JWST/NIRISS imaging to identify and analyze ultra-diffuse galaxies in Abell 2744, revealing larger sizes at near-infrared wavelengths and demonstrating JWST's efficiency for such distant galaxy surveys.

Contribution

First JWST-based characterization of UDGs in a galaxy cluster at z=0.308, highlighting differences in size measurements across wavelengths and efficiency improvements over previous methods.

Findings

22 UDGs identified down to stellar mass of ~10^7 M_sun

One third of UDGs not previously detected in optical data

JWST F200W imaging is more effective for UDG detection at high redshift

Abstract

We present a search and characterization of ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) in the Frontier Fields cluster Abell~2744 at $z=0.308$. We use JWST/NIRISS F200W observations, acquired as part of the GLASS-JWST Early Release Science Program, aiming to characterize morphologies of cluster UDGs and their diffuse stellar components. A total number of 22 UDGs are identified by our selection criteria using morphological parameters, down to stellar mass of $\sim10^{7}M_{\odot}$. The selected UDGs are systematically larger in effective radius in F200W than in HST/ACS F814W images, which implies that some of them would not have been identified as UDGs when selected at rest-frame optical wavelengths. In fact, we find that about one third of the UDGs were not previously identified based on the F814W data. We observe a flat distribution of the UDGs in the stellar mass-size plane, similar to what is found for cluster quiescent galaxies at comparable mass. Our pilot study using the new JWST F200W filter showcases the efficiency of searching UDGs at cosmological distances, with 1/30 of the exposure time of the previous deep observing campaign with HST. Further studies with JWST focusing on spatially-resolved properties of individual sources will provide insight into their origin.