GA-NIFS: Dissecting The Alchemised: NIRSpec/IFU reveals turbulent gas inflows in a complex system at $z=10.17$

TL;DR

This study uses NIRSpec/IFU observations to analyze the spatially resolved properties of a galaxy at redshift 10.17, revealing turbulent gas inflows, metallicity variations, and signs of a merger-driven starburst in an early universe system.

Contribution

First spatially resolved ISM study of a galaxy at z=10.17, uncovering gas dynamics, metallicity differences, and merger evidence with NIRSpec/IFU.

Findings

Metallicity differences suggest prolonged chemical enrichment.

Offset in emission lines indicates merger-driven starburst.

Presence of turbulent, metal-poor gas fueling star formation.

Abstract

Recent observations revealed that distant galaxies have bursty star formation histories, regulated by stellar or active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback and gas inflows. According to theoretical models, feedback preferentially removes metal-rich gas, while subsequent starbursts are triggered by mergers and newly-accreted gas that is generally less enriched than the galaxy interstellar medium (ISM). Therefore, gas-phase metallicity holds key insights into the baryonic processes shaping early galaxies. We present the first NIRSpec/IFU study of spatially resolved ISM properties in the MACS0647-JD system ($z=10.17$). The system consists of two stellar components detected in NIRSpec/IFU and NIRCam photometry. The main component ($\log (M_{\ast}/M_{\odot}) =7.77 \pm 0.09$; $12+ \log(O/H)=7.89 \pm 0.11$) is more massive and significantly more metal-rich compared to its companion ($\log (M_{\ast}/M_{\odot}) =7.42 \pm 0.07$; $12+ \log(O/H)=7.47 \pm 0.14$), suggesting an older stellar population and a prolonged chemical enrichment history. We find that the H$\gamma$ line emission centroid is offset by $0.1^{\prime \prime}$ (150 pc in the source plane) from the stellar continuum centroid; the latter coincides with the location of the main stellar component. This offset provides possible evidence of a merger-driven starburst in this system. By comparing the spatial distribution of the metallicity, velocity dispersion, and the burstiness of star formation history, we infer the presence of turbulent, metal-poor gas outside the stellar components. This metal-poor, dynamically unstable gas is likely responsible for the increase in the recent star formation in the north-east region of the system.