Rest-Frame Near-Infrared Radial Light Profiles up to z=3 from JWST/NIRCam: Wavelength Dependence of the S\'ersic Index

TL;DR

This study investigates how the Sersic index, describing galaxy light profiles, varies with wavelength for a large galaxy sample up to redshift 3, revealing weak dependence and a link to star formation activity.

Contribution

It provides the first extensive analysis of wavelength dependence of galaxy light profiles up to z=3 using JWST data, highlighting the connection between stellar mass distribution and star formation.

Findings

Weak wavelength dependence of Sersic index across redshifts.

Star-forming galaxies have lower Sersic indices than quiescent ones.

Strong correlation between Sersic index and star-formation activity.

Abstract

We examine the wavelength dependence of radial light profiles based on S\'ersic index $n$ measurements of 1067 galaxies with M$_*\geq$ 10$^{9.5}$M$_\odot$ and in the redshift range $0.5 < z < 3$. The sample and rest-frame optical light profiles are drawn from CANDELS$+$3D-HST; rest-frame near-infrared light profiles are inferred from CEERS JWST/NIRCam imaging. $n$ shows only weak dependence on wavelength, regardless of redshift, galaxy mass and type: on average, star-forming galaxies have $n = 1-1.5$ and quiescent galaxies have $n = 3-4$ in the rest-frame optical and near-infrared. The strong correlation at all wavelengths between $n$ and star-formation activity implies a physical connection between the radial stellar mass profile and star-formation activity. The main caveat is that the current sample is too small to discern trends for the most massive galaxies (M$_* > 10^{11}M_\odot$).