2026ApJ...998..239J -
Astrophys. J., 998, 239 (2026/February-3)
JADES: Rest-frame UV-to-NIR Size Evolution of Massive Quiescent Galaxies from Redshift z = 5 to z = 0.5.
JI Z., WILLIAMS C.C., SUESS K.A., TACCHELLA S., JOHNSON B.D., ROBERTSON B., ALBERTS S., BAKER W.M., BAUM S., BHATAWDEKAR R., BONAVENTURA N., BOYETT K., BUNKER A.J., CARNIANI S., CHARLOT S., CHEN Z., CHEVALLARD J., CURTIS-LAKE E., D'EUGENIO F., DE GRAAFF A., DECOURSEY C., EGAMI E., EISENSTEIN D.J., HAINLINE K., HAUSEN R., HELTON J.M., LOOSER T.J., LYU J., MAIOLINO R., MASEDA M.V., NELSON E., RIEKE G., RIEKE M., RIX H.-W., SANDLES L., SUN F., UBLER H., WILLMER C.N.A., WILLOTT C. and WITSTOK J.
Abstract (from CDS):
We present the UV-to-near-IR (NIR) size evolution of a sample of 161 quiescent galaxies with M* > 1010M⊙over 0.5 < z < 5. With deep multiband NIRCam images in GOODS-South from JADES, we measure the effective radii (Re) of the galaxies at rest-frame 0.3, 0.5, and 1 μm. On average, we find that quiescent galaxies are 45% (15%) more compact at rest-frame 1 μm than they are at 0.3 μm (0.5 μm). Regardless of wavelengths, the Re of quiescent galaxies strongly evolves with redshift, and this evolution depends on stellar mass. For lower-mass quiescent galaxies with M* = 1010-1010.6M⊙, the evolution follows Re ∝ (1 + z)–1.1, whereas it becomes steeper, following Re ∝ (1 + z)–1.7, for higher-mass quiescent galaxies with M* > 1010.6M⊙. To constrain the physical mechanisms driving the apparent size evolution, we study the relationship between Re and the formation redshift (zform) of quiescent galaxies. For lower-mass quiescent galaxies, this relationship is broadly consistent with ${R}_{e}\propto {(1+{z}_{{\rm{form}}})}^{-1}$, in line with the expectation of the progenitor effect. For higher-mass quiescent galaxies, the relationship between Re and zform depends on stellar age. Older quiescent galaxies have a steeper relationship between Re and zform than that expected from the progenitor effect alone, suggesting that mergers and/or post-quenching continuous gas accretion drive additional size growth in very massive systems. We find that the z > 3 quiescent galaxies in our sample are very compact, with mass surface densities Σe ≳ 1010M⊙ kpc–2, and their Re are possibly even smaller than anticipated from the size evolution measured for lower-redshift quiescent galaxies. Finally, we take a close look at the structure of GS-9209, one of the earliest confirmed massive quiescent galaxies at zspec ∼ 4.7. From UV to NIR, GS-9209 becomes increasingly compact, and its light profile becomes more spheroidal, showing that the color gradient is already present in this earliest massive quiescent galaxy.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Galaxy formation - Galaxy evolution - Galaxy structure - High-redshift galaxies
Simbad objects:
4
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