EPOCHS. II. The Ultraviolet Luminosity Function from 7.5 < z < 13.5 Using 180 arcmin2 of Deep, Blank Fields from the PEARLS Survey and Public JWST Data

Nathan J. Adams, Christopher J. Conselice, Duncan Austin, Thomas Harvey, Leonardo Ferreira, James Trussler, Ignas Juodžbalis, Qiong Li, Rogier Windhorst, Seth H. Cohen, Rolf A. Jansen, Jake Summers, Scott Tompkins, Simon P. Driver, Aaron Robotham, Jordan C.J. D’Silva, Haojing Yan, Dan Coe, Brenda Frye, Norman A. GroginAnton M. Koekemoer, Madeline A. Marshall, Nor Pirzkal, Russell E. Ryan, W. Peter Maksym, Michael J. Rutkowski, Christopher N.A. Willmer, Heidi B. Hammel, Mario Nonino, Rachana Bhatawdekar, Stephen M. Wilkins, Larry D. Bradley, Tom Broadhurst, Cheng Cheng, Hervé Dole, Nimish P. Hathi, Adi Zitrin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We present an analysis of the ultraviolet luminosity function (UV LF) and star formation rate density of distant galaxies (7.5 < z < 13.5) in the “blank” fields of the Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science (PEARLS) survey combined with Early Release Science data from the CEERS, GLASS, and NGDEEP surveys/fields and the first data release of JADES. We use strict quality cuts on EAZY photometric redshifts to obtain a reliable selection and characterization of high-redshift (z > 6.5) galaxies from a consistently processed set of deep, near-infrared imaging. Within an area of 180 arcmin2, we identify 1046 candidate galaxies at redshifts z > 6.5 and we use this sample to study the UV LF in four redshift bins between 7.5 < z < 13.5. The measured number density of galaxies at z = 8 and z = 9 matches those of past observations undertaken by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Our z = 10.5 measurements lie between early James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) results and past HST results, indicating cosmic variance may be the cause of previous high density measurements. However, the number densities of UV-luminous galaxies at z = 12.5 are high compared to predictions from simulations. When examining the star formation rate density of galaxies at this period, our observations are still largely consistent with a constant star formation efficiency, are slightly lower than previous early estimations using JWST, and support galaxy driven reionization at z ≤ 8.

Original languageAmerican English
Article number169
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume965
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 2024

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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