# JADES Imaging of GN-z11: Revealing the Morphology and Environment of a Luminous Galaxy 430 Myr After the Big Bang

**Authors:** Sandro Tacchella, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Kevin Hainline, Benjamin D. Johnson, William M. Baker, Jakob M. Helton, Brant Robertson, Katherine A. Suess, Zuyi Chen, Erica Nelson, Dávid Puskás, Fengwu Sun, Stacey Alberts, Eiichi Egami, Ryan Hausen, George Rieke, Marcia Rieke, Irene Shivaei, Christina C. Williams, Christopher N. A. Willmer  
**arXiv:** [2302.07234](https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.07234)  
**Date:** 2023-02-14  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/2302.07234v1/

## Key points

- Study investigates luminous galaxy GN-z11 using near-infrared imaging from JWST JADES
- GN-z11 has redshift of 10.6, placing it at a distance of 430 million years after Big Bang
- Spectral energy distribution (SED) consistent with high-redshift galaxy
- Clear blue continuum observed from 1.5 to 4 microns, dropout in F115W
- Core of GN-z11 is extremely compact and well modeled by two-component model
- Low-surface brightness haze located northeast of GN-z11 could be extended component or foreground object
- SED analysis reveals stellar mass of approximately $10^9~M_{\odot}$, star formation rate around $20~M_{\odot}~\mathrm{yr}^{-1}$, and young stellar age of about 20 million years for GN-z11
- Nine galaxies with photometric redshifts consistent with $z=10.6$ found within 5 comoving Mpc from GN-z11, along with one tentative dropout nearby
- Study provides insights into morphology and environment of GN-z11 at early cosmic history

## Summary

In this study, the authors present the results of their investigation into the luminous galaxy GN-z11 using near-infrared imaging from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) of the GOODS-N field. The galaxy GN-z11 has a redshift of 10.6, placing it at a distance of 430 million years after the Big Bang. The researchers find that the spectral energy distribution (SED) of GN-z11 is consistent with what is expected for a high-redshift galaxy. They observe a clear blue continuum from 1.5 to 4 microns, with a complete dropout in F115W. The core of GN-z11 appears extremely compact in JWST imaging and is well modeled by a two-component model consisting of a point source and a S\'{e}rsic profile with a half-light radius of 200 pc and an index $n=0.9$. Additionally, they identify a low-surface brightness haze located about $0.4''$ to the northeast of GN-z11 which could potentially be an extended component of GN-z11 or simply be foreground object. By comparing NIRCam F410M and F444W images which span the Balmer jump and conducting population synthesis modeling without considering light from an active galactic nucleus, they are able to reproduce its SED and determine that GN-z11 has a stellar mass of approximately $10^9~M_{\odot}$, star formation rate around $20~M_{\odot}~\mathrm{yr}^{-1}$, and young stellar age of about 20 million years. Furthermore, they search for faint neighbors within 5 comoving Mpc away from GN-z11 and identify nine galaxies with photometric redshifts consistent with $z=10.6$. A tenth more tentative dropout is also found only $3''$ away from it. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the morphology and environment of the luminous galaxy GN-z11 at an epoch close to cosmic history's beginning. Its detailed analysis contributes to our understanding on galaxy formation and evolution in early universe.