JADES NIRSpec Spectroscopy of GN-z11: Lyman-alpha emission and possible enhanced nitrogen abundance in a z = 10.60 luminous galaxy

By A. Bunker, A. Saxena, A. Cameron, C. Willott, E. Curtis-Lake, P. Jakobsen, S. Carniani, R. Smit, R. Maiolino, J. Witstok and 52 more. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2023

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We present JADES JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy of GN-z11, the most luminous candidate $z>10$ Lyman break galaxy in the GOODS-North field with $M_{UV}=-21.5$. We derive a redshift of $z=10.603$ (lower than previous determinations) based on multiple emission lines in our low and medium resolution spectra over $0.8-5.3 \mu$m. We significantly detect the continuum and measure a blue rest-UV spectral slope of $\beta=-2.4$. Remarkably, we see spatially-extended Lyman-$\alpha$ in emission (despite the highly-neutral IGM expected at this early epoch), offset 555 km s$^{-1}$ redward of the systemic redshift. From our measurements of collisionally-excited lines of both low- and high-ionization (including [O II]$\lambda3727$, [Ne III]$\lambda 3869$ and C III]$\lambda1909$) we infer a high ionization parameter ($\log U\sim -2$). We detect the rarely-seen N IV]$\lambda1486$ and N III]$\lambda1748$ lines in both our low and medium resolution spectra, with other high ionization lines seen in the low resolution spectrum such as He II (blended with O III]) and C IV (with a possible P-Cygni profile). Based on the observed rest-UV line ratios, we cannot conclusively rule out photoionization from AGN, although the high C III]/He II and N III]/He II ratios are compatible with a star-formation explanation. If the observed emission lines are powered by star formation, then the strong N III]$\lambda1748$ observed may imply an unusually high $N/O$ abundance. Balmer emission lines (H$\gamma$, H$\delta$) are also detected, and if powered by star formation rather than an AGN we infer a star formation rate of $\sim 20-30 M_{\odot} yr^{-1}$ (depending on the IMF) and low dust attenuation. Our NIRSpec spectroscopy confirms that GN-z11 is a remarkable galaxy with extreme properties seen 430 Myr after the Big Bang.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/7e2f7fb6ff2ec394ce63b7b8f39d61978c6d011f

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