Witnessing the rapid growth of disk galaxies over cosmic time using JWST and HST

Raji, Samane; Montes, Mireia; Trujillo, Ignacio; Buitrago, Fernando; Marrero-de la Rosa, Carlos; Asensio Ramos, Andrés
Bibliographical reference

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Advertised on:
7
2026
Number of authors
6
IAC number of authors
3
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
Measuring galaxy sizes is fundamental to understanding how galaxies grow and evolve. Traditional methods for measuring sizes trace the concentration of light (i.e., the effective radius) better or are limited by the depth of the survey (isophotal methods). With the advent of deep, wide surveys, a new and physically motivated definition of size has arisen: the edge of the galaxy, which is the most distant location where star formation has or is occurring. In this work, we take advantage of the extraordinary depth and spatial resolution of the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes to conduct the most accurate study of galaxy edges at z ∼ 1. Using 22 photometric bands, we derived the radial age and metallicity profiles of two disk galaxies in the GOODS South field with stellar masses of ∼4 × 1010 M⊙. The age profiles display the characteristic U-shape, while the metallicity profiles steadily decrease over galactocentric distance. The turnover of the age profile occurs near the galaxy's edge, suggesting that stellar migration is responsible for the stars beyond the edges of these galaxies. A comparison to z = 0 disk galaxies reveals that z = 1 galaxies grow inside out, with little to no increase in mass in the inner 8 kpc but a significant increase (∼300%) in the outer parts.