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Unveiling the Formation of Massive Galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope

Objective

The formation of massive galaxies, and in particular the quenching of their star formation activity, are among the least understood phases in the history of galaxy evolution. It is widely thought that energetic feedback from Active Galactic Nuclei plays a role in galaxy quenching, but it is not clear how this mechanism actually turns off star formation nor whether additional physical processes, such as gas-rich mergers, are involved. Moreover, it is possible that not all galaxies experience the same type of quenching, since recent studies favor the existence of physically distinct fast and slow quenching channels. Leveraging the groundbreaking observations that will soon be obtained by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), I will test the two-channel hypothesis and identify the physical processes responsible for quenching. I am the Principal Investigator of a Cycle-1 JWST program that will obtain spectra with unprecedented depth and wavelength coverage for a representative sample of galaxies at z ~ 2 - 3, a key epoch for quenching. Using this unique spectroscopic data set, in combination with JWST imaging and multi-wavelength follow-up observations, I will: I) derive star formation histories and quenching timescales using advanced spectral fitting techniques; II) characterize the stellar populations, ionized gas, and molecular gas content of galaxies split by quenching timescale, and identify the physical mechanisms involved in fast and slow quenching by comparing these observations to the predictions of theoretical models; III) explore how the quenching processes depend on redshift, mass, and environment using a novel analysis of rest-frame colors measured from large photometric data sets. This project is extremely timely and will take full advantage of the five-year guaranteed lifetime of JWST.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2022-STG

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Host institution

ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 270 668,00
Address
VIA ZAMBONI 33
40126 Bologna
Italy

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Region
Nord-Est Emilia-Romagna Bologna
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 270 668,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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