Itsuki Ogami, Sakurako Okamoto, Annette M. N. Ferguson, Yutaka Komiyama, Masashi Chiba, Jin Koda, Kohei Hayashi, Yoshihisa Suzuki
Published 2026-03-25, 14 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to ApJ
We present the confirmation and characterization of a long stream (S-stream) in the southern part of M83. This feature is revealed using deep wide-field photometric data obtained by the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) mounted on the Subaru Telescope. Using individual red giant branch (RGB) stars, we successfully trace the stream over a large length of $\sim 81$~kpc and a considerable width of $\sim 9$ kpc. With a mean surface brightness of ${\langle μ_{\it V} \rangle} \sim 31.8_{-1.9}^{+1.3}$ mag arcsec$^{-2}$, it is one of the most diffuse extragalactic streams currently known. The mean photometric metallicity of the stream is $\langle[{\rm M/H}]\rangle = -1.23\pm0.02$ dex with a standard deviation of $0.28\pm0.01$ dex, and we estimate the stellar mass to be $(8.5_{-2.8}^{+4.2}) \times 10^6~{\rm M_\odot}$ from the luminosity of RGB stars. Compared to its well-known northern counterpart, the S-stream is slightly more metal-poor, but our large-area RGB map shows compelling evidence that these two features are related, originating from a single low-mass merger event. We identify density variations along the S-stream, which more likely reflect intrinsic density structure within the progenitor rather than the interaction with dark matter subhalos. Similarities between the morphology of the S-stream and some features in the \HI distribution suggest that a minor merger event may have disturbed and redistributed M83's outer \HI gas, leading to triggered star formation and the formation of the XUV disk.
Hannah Übler, Roberto Maiolino, Pablo G. Pérez-González, Yuki Isobe, Gareth C. Jones, Nimisha Kumari, Stéphane Charlot, Elka Rusta, Stefania Salvadori, Kimihiko Nakajima, Michele Perna, Santiago Arribas, Andrew J. Bunker, Stefano Carniani, Francesco D'Eugenio, Bruno Rodríguez Del Pino, Elena Bertola, Torsten Böker, Jacopo Chevallard, Chiara Circosta, Giovanni Cresci, Mirko Curti, Emma Curtis-Lake, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Kevin Hainline, Benjamin D. Johnson, Eleonora Parlanti, Pierluigi Rinaldi, Brant Robertson, Jan Scholtz, Sandro Tacchella, Giacomo Venturi, Joris Witstok, Sandra Zamora
Published 2026-03-20, 6 pages, 4 figures; submitted to A&A; comments welcome
According to the leading cosmological model, a first generation of stars called Population III (PopIII), condensed almost entirely out of hydrogen and helium, must have initiated the creation of all heavier chemical elements. Here we report the detection of ionised hydrogen (H$γ_{4342}$) with $S/N$=5.9 in a region about 3 pkpc (projected) North-East from the z~10.6 galaxy GN-z11, where line emission compatible with doubly ionised helium (HeII$_{1640}$) had been found. Our new JWST/NIRSpec-IFS G395H data confirm the authenticity of the previous detection, at a redshift of $z_{\rm Hγ}$=$10.5862$$\pm$$0.0003$. H$δ$ is marginally detected ($S/N$$\sim$$2$). No metal lines are detected in our observations spanning $λ_{\rm rest}$=$0.25$-$0.45μ$m. We derive a $3σ$ upper limit on the gas phase metallicity of 12+log(O/H)$<$6.96 ($Z_{\rm gas}$$<$$0.019~Z_\odot$). Through comparison with NIRCam imaging, we constrain a lower limit on the equivalent width of EW$_0$(H$γ$)$>$350Å. We compare our emission line constraints to model predictions and find them compatible with photoionization by PopIII stars, possibly intermixed with next-generation (PopII) stars. We infer an upper limit on the dynamical mass of $M_{\rm dyn}$$\lesssim$$3$$\times$$10^8M_\odot$. Our data provide novel support for the presence of PopIII stars nearby GN-z11, 440 Myr after the Big Bang.
Roberto Maiolino, Hannah Übler, Michele Perna, Joris Witstok, Gareth C. Jones, Pablo G. Perez-Gonzalez, Kimihiko Nakajima, Elka Rusta, Stefania Salvadori, Sandro Tacchella, Piero Madau, James A. A. Trussler, Francesco D'Eugenio, Xihan Ji, Jan Scholtz, Stefano Carniani, Yuki Isobe, Harley Katz, Santiago Arribas, William M. Baker, Torsten Böker, Volker Bromm, Andrew J. Bunker, Stephane Charlot, Jacopo Chevallard, Mirko Curti, Emma Curtis-Lake, Daniel Eisenstein, Eiichi Egami, Andrea Ferrara, Luca Graziani, Kevin Hainline, Jakob M. Helton, Lucy Ivey, Benjamin Jonson, Maria Koller, Nimisha Kumari, Alessandro Marconi, Giovanni Mazzolari, Nicolas Laporte, Eleonora Parlanti, Robert Pascalau, Laura Pentericci, Pierluigi Rinaldi, Brant Robertson, Bruno Rodríguez Del Pino, Raffaella Schneider, Alessandra Venditti, Giacomo Venturi, Christopher N. A. Willmer, Callum Witten, Sandra Zamora
Published 2026-03-20, Submitted to MNRAS, 12 pages, 9 figures; updated authors list and references
We report the confirmation of a HeII$λ$1640 emitter located at 3 pkpc from the galaxy GN-z11, at z=10.6. The detection, based on JWST NIRSpec-IFU high-resolution spectroscopy, confirms a previous claim based on medium-resolution spectroscopy. The HeII$λ$1640 identification is further supported by the independent detection of H$γ$ obtained by Übler et al. (2026) at the same location. The HeII emission is spectrally resolved in two components separated by 120 km/s. The Equivalent Width of the HeII emission is extremely high ($>$20 A). No metal lines are detected. Population III stars appear to be the most plausible explanation for the observed HeII emission. We argue that Population III stars are the most plausible explanation for the observed He II emission, with no satisfactory alternative from other classes of sources or mechanisms.