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A post-starburst pathway for the formation of massive galaxies and black holes at z > 6

Understanding the rapid formation of supermassive black holes in the early Universe requires insights into stellar mass growth in host galaxies. Here we present NIRSpec rest-frame optical spectra and NIRCam imaging from JWST of two galaxies at z > 6, both hosting moderate-luminosity quasars. Thes...

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Main Authors: Onoue, Masafusa (Author) , Ding, Xuheng (Author) , Silverman, John D. (Author) , Matsuoka, Yoshiki (Author) , Izumi, Takuma (Author) , Strauss, Michael A. (Author) , Ward, Charlotte (Author) , Phillips, Camryn L. (Author) , Ito, Kei (Author) , Andika, Irham T. (Author) , Aoki, Kentaro (Author) , Arita, Junya (Author) , Baba, Shunsuke (Author) , Bieri, Rebekka (Author) , Bosman, Sarah (Author) , Eilers, Anna-Christina (Author) , Fujimoto, Seiji (Author) , Habouzit, Melanie (Author) , Haiman, Zoltan (Author) , Imanishi, Masatoshi (Author) , Inayoshi, Kohei (Author) , Iwasawa, Kazushi (Author) , Jahnke, Knud (Author) , Kashikawa, Nobunari (Author) , Kawaguchi, Toshihiro (Author) , Kohno, Kotaro (Author) , Lee, Chien-Hsiu (Author) , Li, Junyao (Author) , Lupi, Alessandro (Author) , Lyu, Jianwei (Author) , Nagao, Tohru (Author) , Overzier, Roderik (Author) , Schindler, Jan-Torge (Author) , Schramm, Malte (Author) , Scoggins, Matthew T. (Author) , Shimasaku, Kazuhiro (Author) , Toba, Yoshiki (Author) , Trakhtenbrot, Benny (Author) , Trebitsch, Maxime (Author) , Treu, Tommaso (Author) , Umehata, Hideki (Author) , Venemans, Bram (Author) , Vestergaard, Marianne (Author) , Volonteri, Marta (Author) , Walter, Fabian (Author) , Wang, Feige (Author) , Yang, Jinyi (Author) , Zhang, Haowen (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: October 2025
In: Nature astronomy
Year: 2025, Volume: 9, Issue: 10, Pages: 1541-1552, [1-10]
ISSN:2397-3366
DOI:10.1038/s41550-025-02628-1
Online Access:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02628-1
Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02628-1
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Author Notes:Masafusa Onoue, Xuheng Ding, John D. Silverman, Yoshiki Matsuoka, Takuma Izumi, Michael A. Strauss, Charlotte Ward, Camryn L. Phillips, Kei Ito, Irham T. Andika, Kentaro Aoki, Junya Arita, Shunsuke Baba, Rebekka Bieri, Sarah E. I. Bosman, Anna-Christina Eilers, Seiji Fujimoto, Melanie Habouzit, Zoltan Haiman, Masatoshi Imanishi, Kohei Inayoshi, Kazushi Iwasawa, Knud Jahnke, Nobunari Kashikawa, Toshihiro Kawaguchi, Kotaro Kohno, Chien-Hsiu Lee, Junyao Li, Alessandro Lupi, Jianwei Lyu, Tohru Nagao, Roderik Overzier, Jan-Torge Schindler, Malte Schramm, Matthew T. Scoggins, Kazuhiro Shimasaku, Yoshiki Toba, Benny Trakhtenbrot, Maxime Trebitsch, Tommaso Treu, Hideki Umehata, Bram Venemans, Marianne Vestergaard, Marta Volonteri, Fabian Walter, Feige Wang, Jinyi Yang & Haowen Zhang
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Summary:Understanding the rapid formation of supermassive black holes in the early Universe requires insights into stellar mass growth in host galaxies. Here we present NIRSpec rest-frame optical spectra and NIRCam imaging from JWST of two galaxies at z > 6, both hosting moderate-luminosity quasars. These galaxies exhibit Balmer absorption lines, like low-redshift post-starburst galaxies. Our analyses of the medium-resolution spectra and multiband photometry show that the bulk of the stellar mass (log(M*/M☉) ≥ 10.6) formed in starburst episodes at redshift 9 and 7. One of the galaxies shows a clear Balmer break and lacks spatially resolved Hα emission. It falls well below the star-formation main sequence at z = 6, indicating quiescence. The other is transitioning to quiescence; together, these massive galaxies are among the most distant post-starburst systems known. The blueshifted wings of the quasar [O iii] emission lines indicate quasar-driven outflow, which possibly influences star formation. Direct stellar velocity dispersion measurements reveal that one galaxy follows the local black hole mass versus σ* relation whereas the other is overmassive. The existence of massive post-starburst galaxies hosting billion-solar-mass black holes in short-lived quasar phases indicates that supermassive black holes and host galaxies played a principal role in each other’s rapid early formation.
Item Description:Online veröffentlicht: 11. August 2025
Gesehen am 22.01.2026
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:2397-3366
DOI:10.1038/s41550-025-02628-1

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