20.500.12556/RUL-162514 The rate and contribution of mergers to mass assembly from NIRCam observations of galaxy candidates up to 13.3 billion years ago We present an analysis of the galaxy merger rate in the redshift range 4.0 < z < 9.0 (i.e. about 1.5 to 0.5 Gyr after the big bang) based on visually identified galaxy mergers from morphological parameter analysis. Our data set is based on high-resolution NIRCam JWST data (a combination of F150W and F2000W broad-band filters) in the low-to-moderate magnification (μ < 2) regions of the Abell 2744 cluster field. From a parent set of 675 galaxies (MU ∈ [−26.6, −17.9]), we identify 64 merger candidates from the Gini, M20 and asymmetry morphological parameters, leading to a merger fraction fm = 0.11 ± 0.04. There is no evidence of redshift evolution of fm even at the highest redshift considered, thus extending well into the epoch of reionization the constant trend seen previously at z < 6. Furthermore, we investigate any potential redshift-dependent differences in the specific star formation rates between mergers and non-mergers. Our analysis reveals no significant correlation in this regard, with deviations in the studied redshift range typically falling within (1 − 1.5)σ from the null hypothesis that can be attributed to sample variance and measurement errors. Finally, we also demonstrate that the classification of a merging system is robust with respect to the observed (and equivalently rest frame) wavelength of the high-quality JWST broad-band images used. This preliminary study highlights the potential for progress in quantifying galaxy assembly through mergers during the epoch of reionization, with significant sample size growth expected from upcoming large JWST infrared imaging data sets. galaxies formation star formation high-redshift galaxies true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2024-09-24 16:08:56 2024-09-24 16:08:58 2025-12-05 11:25:27 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2024 0 0 13 str. iss. 4 Vol. 533 2024 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 524.8 1365-2966 10.1093/mnras/stae2064 208384259 stae2064.pdf stae2064.pdf 1 0D457E400F1213007878E3C9461A5EF5 4620e0cdfe3a4420a464b53c7ebe6199ef395539d585b48237e6d7c4384b1d36 53f2f09c-7a7f-11ef-b232-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=191859 https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/533/4/4472/7748756 0 6cb5ca7c-7a7e-11ef-b232-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=191858 Fakulteta za matematiko in fiziko 0 0 0