Can Supernovae Quench Star Formation in High-z Galaxies?
Viola Gelli, Stefania Salvadori, Andrea Ferrara, A. Pallottini
Abstract
Abstract JWST is providing a unique opportunity to directly study the feedback processes regulating star formation (SF) in early galaxies. The two z > 5 quiescent systems (JADES-GS-z7-01-QU and MACS0417-z5BBG) detected so far show a recent starburst after which SF is suppressed. To clarify whether such quenching is due to supernova (SN) feedback, we have developed a minimal physical model. We derive a condition on the minimum star formation rate, <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>SFR</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>min</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:math> , lasting for a time interval Δ t b , required to quench SF in a galaxy at redshift z , with gas metallicity Z , and hosted by a halo of mass M h . We find that lower ( z , Z , M h ) systems are more easily quenched. We then apply the condition to JADES-GS-z7-01-QU ( z = 7.3, M ⋆ = 10 8.6 M ⊙ ) and MACS0417-z5BBG ( z = 5.2, M ⋆ = 10 7.6 M ⊙ ) and find that SN feedback largely fails to reproduce the observed quenched SF history. Alternatively, we suggest that SF is rapidly suppressed by radiation-driven dusty outflows sustained by the high specific star formation rates (43 and 25 Gyr −1 , respectively) of the two galaxies. Our model provides a simple tool to interpret the SF histories of post-starburst galaxies and unravel quenching mechanisms from incoming JWST data.