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Galaxies SIG Seminar

Galaxies Science Interest Group

Galaxies SIG about Galaxies SIG Seminar

Location

Virtual

Dates

4 February 2026
1:00pm ET

Community

Galaxies SIG

Type

Seminar

Monsters in the Dark: Searching Far and Wide for Ultra-Luminous Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn

Speaker

John Weaver

Abstract

The first galaxies (z > 10) appear to have formed faster and more efficiently than predicted by standard models, but they are difficult to study and few in number. Studying the brightest analogues at more accessible redshifts (z ~ 7 – 9) is the next best option. I will present the most luminous galaxies yet identified in the epoch of reionization (MUV = –24), 10 times brighter than GNz-11. Unearthed from 50 deg2 of Euclid's Deep Fields, these exceptionally rare and luminous galaxies present the first constraints on the very tip of the UV LF where currently degenerate models can finally be tested. I will preview these systems by presenting the morphologies, assembly histories, and spatially-resolved properties of one of the most luminous z ~ 8 galaxies observed by NIRSpec/IFU. I will show how these results underscore the need for spatially-resolved spectroscopy to accurately interpret the thousands of these remarkable galaxies that will be discovered by Euclid and Roman.

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Angled from the upper left corner to the lower right corner is a cone-shaped orange-red cloud known as Herbig-Haro 49/50. This feature takes up about three-fourths of the length of this angle. The upper left end of this feature has a translucent, rounded end. The conical feature widens slightly from the rounded end at the upper right down to the lower right. Along the cone there are additional rounded edges, like edges of a wave, and intricate foamy-like details, as well as a clearer view of the black background of space. In the upper left, overlapping with the rounded end of Herbig-Haro 49/50, is a background spiral galaxy with a concentrated blue center that fades outward to blend with red spiral arms. The background of space is speckled with some white stars and smaller, more numerous, fainter white galaxies throughout.