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The high-redshift Universe with Spitzer

Nature Astronomy volume 4, pages 478–485 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

When did galaxies start forming stars? What is the role of distant galaxies in galaxy formation models and the epoch of reionization? What are the conditions in typical star-forming galaxies at redshifts ≳4? Why is galaxy evolution dependent on environment? The Spitzer Space Telescope has been a crucial tool for addressing these questions. Accurate knowledge of stellar masses, ages and star formation rates requires measuring rest-frame optical (and ultraviolet) light, which only Spitzer can probe at high redshifts for a sufficiently large sample of typical galaxies. Many of these science goals are the main science drivers for the James Webb Space Telescope, and Spitzer afforded us their first exploration.

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Fig. 1: Sensitivities and area of Spitzer surveys.
Fig. 2: Spitzer data are crucial for determining stellar ages.
Fig. 3: High-redshift galaxies detected in Spitzer images.
Fig. 4: Spitzer data can be used to measure (combined) strengths of several prominent optical lines.
Fig. 5: MACS1149-JD is the best example with evidence of an old stellar population at z ≈ 9.
Fig. 6: Spitzer data have been very effective in searching for and characterizing z > 1 galaxy clusters and protoclusters.

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Acknowledgements

This Review is based on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA. Support for this work was provided by NASA through ADAP grant 80NSSC18K0945, NSF grant AST 1815458 and through an award issued by JPL/Caltech. I thank B. Lemaux and V. Strait for their help with the manuscript.

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    Maruša Bradač

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Bradač, M. The high-redshift Universe with Spitzer. Nat Astron 4, 478–485 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-1104-5

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