Accelerated quenching and chemical enhancement of massive galaxies in a z ≈ 4 gas-rich halo

Journal article

Stars in galaxies form when baryons radiatively cool down and fall into gravitational wells whose mass is dominated by dark matter. Eventually, star formation quenches as gas is depleted and/or perturbed by feedback processes, no longer being able to collapse and condense. We report the first spatially resolved spectroscopic observations, using the JWST/NIRSpec IFU, of a massive, completely quiescent galaxy (Jekyll) and its neighborhood at z = 3.714, when the Universe age was 10% of today’s. Jekyll resides in a massive dark matter halo (with mass MDM > 1012 M→) and forms a galaxy pair with Hyde, which shows very intense dust-enshrouded star formation (star formation rate → 300 M→ yr↑1). We find large amounts of kinematically perturbed ionized and neutral gas in the circumgalactic medium around the pair. Despite this large gas reservoir, Jekyll, which formed 1011 M→ in stars and chemically enriched early (first billion years of the Universe) and quickly (200–300 Myr), has remained quiescent for over 500 Myr. The properties of the gas found around the two galaxies are consistent with intense, AGN-induced photoionization, or intense shocks. However, with the current data no obscured or unobscured AGN is detected in the central galaxy (Jekyll) nor in the very active and dust rich star-forming galaxy (Hyde).

Authors: Pérez-González, PG; D’Eugenio, F; Rodríguez del Pino, B; Perna, M; Übler, H

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer Nature
• Journal: Nature Astronomy
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 1240-1255
• Publication date: 2025-07-21
• Acceptance date: 2025-05-15
• DOI: 10.1038/s41550-025-02586-8
• EISSN: 2397-3366
• Language: English
• Keywords: massive galaxies; galaxy groups; cosmological paradigm; JWST; Universe enrichment; early Universe