NGDEEP: The Star Formation and Ionization Properties of Galaxies at $1.7 < z < 3.4$

TL;DR

This study uses JWST/NIRISS spectroscopy to analyze star-forming galaxies at redshifts 1.7 to 3.4, revealing their ionization properties, metallicity, and evolution compared to local galaxies, especially in low-mass regimes.

Contribution

First detailed analysis of low-mass galaxies at these redshifts using JWST data, highlighting the evolution of ionization parameters and metallicity with galaxy properties.

Findings

Higher ionization parameters in high-redshift galaxies compared to local ones.

Ionization parameter correlates with stellar mass, SFR, sSFR, and emission line EWs.

Evidence of evolution in ionization properties from low to high redshift.

Abstract

We use JWST/NIRISS slitless spectroscopy from the Next Generation Deep Extragalactic Exploratory Public (NGDEEP) Survey to investigate the physical condition of star-forming galaxies at $1.7 < z < 3.4$. At these redshifts, the deep NGDEEP NIRISS slitless spectroscopy covers the [O II]$\lambda\lambda$3726,3729, [O III]$\lambda\lambda$4959,5007, H$\beta$ and H$\alpha$ emission features for galaxies with stellar masses $\log(\mathrm{M_\ast/M_\odot}) \gtrsim 7$, nearly a factor of a hundred lower than previous studies. We focus on the [O III]/[O II] (O$_{32}$) ratio which is primarily sensitive to the ionization state and with a secondary dependence on the gas-phase metallicity of the interstellar medium. We find significant ($\gtrsim5\sigma$) correlations between the O$_{32}$ ratio and galaxy properties as O$_{32}$ increases with decreasing stellar mass, decreasing star formation rate (SFR), increasing specific SFR (sSFR$\equiv \mathrm{SFR}/M_*$), and increasing equivalent width (EW) of H$\beta$ and H$\alpha$. These trends suggest a tight connection between the ionization parameter and these galaxy properties. Galaxies at $z\sim2-3$ exhibit a higher O$_{32}$ than local normal galaxies with the same stellar masses and SFRs, indicating that they have a higher ionization parameter and lower metallicity than local normal galaxies. In addition, we observe a mild evolutionary trend in the O$_{32}$ -- EW(H$\beta$) relation from $z\sim0$ to $z\gtrsim5$, where higher redshift galaxies show increased O$_{32}$ and EW, with possibly higher O$_{32}$ at fixed EW. We argue that both the enhanced recent star formation activity and the higher star formation surface density may contribute to the increase in O$_{32}$ and the ionization parameter.