Motivation

Image Credit: NASA

New Vision into the Early Universe

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has given scientists the unprecedented ability to observe the early universe. It has taken images and obtained spectroscopic data of galaxies with a redshift z > 8 and more than 20 galaxies with z > 10. Currently the highest confirmed galaxy redshift is z = 14.44+0.02−0.02. This galaxy was discovered by the JWST survey "Mirage of Miracle" (MoM) utilizing the JWST Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam). The previously highest redshift galaxy was discovered by The Hubble Space Telescope at a redshift z = 11.09+0.08−0.12 in 2015.
Image Credit: NASA

JWST Surveys and Findings

The JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) and Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) programs have identified six spectroscopically confirmed galaxies with z > 10.

Spectroscopically Confirmed Galaxies with z > 10

  • GS-z10-0 — z = 10.38 (JADES)
  • GN-z11 — z = 10.60 (JADES)
  • GS-z11-0 — z = 11.58 (JADES)
  • GS-z12-0 — z = 12.63 (JADES)
  • GS-z13-0 — z = 13.20 (JADES)
  • Maisie’s Galaxy — z = 11.44 (CEERS)
Picture of small portion of the GOODS field. Credit: NASA

Insights into Early Star Formation

JWST has observed prolonged production of UV photons in high redshift galaxies, indicating that these early galaxies are the main source of star formation in the young universe. Star clusters within galaxies at z > 6 are thought to be major contributors to the ionizing photon budget responsible for cosmic reionization.

The Renaissance Simulations are the first publicly available synthetic observational database of galaxies within redshifts of z >= 10. The Renaissance Simulations are high resolution, high redshift zoom-in simulations that focus on modeling the first stars and galaxies. By utilizing its unique resolution of the early universe, they capture detailed early galaxy formation with a precision inaccessible to larger-volume, lower-resolution simulations.

This website acts as a catalogue of mock JWST observations of high-redshift galaxies developed from the Renaissance Simulations. The observations, along with their corresponding physical properties, enable direct comparisons between theory and observation. This database allows researchers to test models of early star formation and to predict what JWST may observe in the earliest galaxies.