# The Bigfoot: A footprint of a Coma cluster progenitor at z=3.98

## TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a massive protocluster at z=3.98, revealing insights into early cluster formation and supporting high sigma_8 cosmology through JWST observations.

## Contribution

The study identifies a large, complex protocluster structure at high redshift using JWST, linking it to the progenitors of today's massive galaxy clusters.

## Key findings

- The protocluster's structure matches simulation predictions for massive cluster progenitors.
- Member galaxies in massive subgroups show accelerated formation of massive galaxies.
- The discovery supports high sigma_8 cosmology over low-redshift probes.

## Abstract

Protoclusters, galaxy clusters' high redshift progenitors, hold the keys to understanding the formation and evolution of clusters and their member galaxies. However, their cosmological distances and spatial extensions (tens of Mpc) have inhibited complete mapping of their structure and constituent galaxies, which is key to robustly linking protoclusters to their descendants. Here we report the discovery of the Bigfoot, a tridimensional structure at $z = 3.98$ including 11 subgroups traced by 55 (700) spectroscopic (photometric) redshifts with JWST, extending over $15\times 37$ $\times 49{\rm{cMpc^3}}$ in the PRIMER-UDS field. Bigfoot's large-scale and mass function of member galaxies closely match constrained simulations' predictions for the progenitors of today's most massive clusters (${M_0} > 10^{15} {M_{_ \odot }}$). All subgroups with ${M_{\rm{h}}} > {10^{12.5}}{M_{_ \odot }}$ exhibit enhanced fractions of massive galaxies ($>{10^{10.0} {M_{_ \odot }}}$) compared to lower-mass halos and the field, demonstrating the accelerated formation of massive galaxies in massive halos. The presence of this massive protocluster with a large central halo (${10^{13.0} {M_{_ \odot }}}$) in a JWST deep field bears important cosmological implication that favors high ${\sigma _8}$ of PLANCK cosmology over low-redshift probes.