Spider-Webb: Enhanced star formation in low-mass galaxies within the Spiderweb protocluster revealed by JWST  Paβ narrow-band imaging

Clicks: 1
ID: 313795
2026
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal

Ranked #481 of 897 articles by views in monthly notices of the royal astronomical society

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 897 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Abstract
Abstract Understanding the role of the environment in galaxy evolution is key to revealing the physical processes that regulate galaxy growth. We study the star formation activity of Paβ emitters (PBEs) in the Spiderweb protocluster at z = 2.16 using JWST/NIRCam narrow-band imaging. To investigate the environmental dependence of star formation, we derive star formation rates (SFRs) from the Paβ emission line and compare SFRs in the Spiderweb protocluster with those in the field. Our main finding is that low-mass PBEs (M⋆ < 109 M⊙) in the Spiderweb protocluster exhibit an enhancement in star formation compared to their field counterparts. This excess persists even without applying dust-attenuation corrections, indicating that enhanced star formation in the protocluster is robust regardless of whether a dust correction is applied. In contrast, intermediate- and high-mass PBEs (M⋆ > 109 M⊙) show no significant deviation from the field, revealing a strong mass dependence in the environmental effects on star formation. No clear spatial concentration toward the cluster core of starbursting low-mass galaxies within the protocluster is seen, suggesting that their enhancement is not restricted to the cluster core. We suggest that starbursts in low-mass galaxies are facilitated by environmental processes such as galaxy mergers/interactions, and/or efficient gas supply. While the enhancement at the low-mass end is consistent with trends reported for other protoclusters at similar redshifts, the behaviour of star formation at intermediate masses (109 < M⋆/M⊙ < 1010) is not uniform across protoclusters. Our Paβ-based results in the Spiderweb protocluster indicate that star-formation enhancement at cosmic noon depends on both mass and the dynamical state of the protocluster.
Reference Key
openalex_W7160820629 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Kazuki Daikuhara, Tadayuki Kodama, Yusei Koyama, Rhythm Shimakawa, H. Dannerbauer, Jose Manuel Pérez-Martínez, Pablo G Pérez-González, Mariko Kubo, E. Ibar, P. N. Best, Abdurrahman Naufal, Yuheng Zhang, Ronaldo Laishram
Journal monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/mnras/stag858
URL
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.