The JADES Origins Field: A New JWST Deep Field in the JADES Second NIRCam Data Release

TL;DR

The paper introduces the JADES Origins Field, a deep JWST imaging field in GOODS-S, highlighting its properties, extensive data collection over multiple cycles, and its significance for studying the early Universe.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed description and data release of the JADES Origins Field, including imaging and catalogs from the second year of observations with JWST.

Findings

Extensive JWST imaging over 380 hours in multiple filters.

Deep spectroscopic data including NIRSpec and MIRI observations.

Identification of candidates for galaxies at z>15.

Abstract

We summarize the properties and initial data release of the JADES Origins Field (JOF), the longest single pointing yet imaged with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This field falls within the GOODS-S region about 8' south-west of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), where it was formed initially in Cycle 1 as a parallel field of HUDF spectroscopic observations within the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES). This imaging was greatly extended in Cycle 2 program 3215, which observed the JOF for 5 days in six medium-band filters, seeking robust candidates for z>15 galaxies. This program also includes ultra-deep parallel NIRSpec spectroscopy (up to 91 hours on-source, summing over the dispersion modes) on the HUDF. Cycle 3 observations from program 4540 added 20 hours of NIRCam slitless spectroscopy and F070W imaging to the JOF. With these three campaigns, the JOF was observed for 380 open-shutter hours with NIRCam using 15 imaging filters and 2 grism bandpasses. Further, parts of the JOF have deep 43 hr MIRI observations in F770W. Taken together, the JOF is one of the most compelling deep fields available with JWST and a powerful window into the early Universe. This paper presents the second data release from JADES, featuring the imaging and catalogs from the year 1 JOF observations.