{
  "abstract": "We present a systematic study of the faint outer light profiles of star-forming galaxies using deep JWST/NIRCam imaging from the CEERS, JADES, and PRIMER surveys. Our sample consists of 14,812 face-on disk galaxies at $1<z<9$ with $\\log(M_*/M_{\\odot})>8.5$, selected from the DAWN JWST Archive. To characterize the low-surface-brightness outskirts beyond the effective radius ($R_e$), we stack galaxies in bins of stellar mass and redshift, accounting for cosmological surface-brightness dimming, angular-size scaling, and PSF convolution, and estimate residual backgrounds from blank-sky stacks. The color profiles generally become bluer toward larger radii, indicating negative color gradients and supporting an inside-out growth scenario. Galaxies with $\\log(M_*/M_{\\odot}) < 9.5$ at $z>2.5$ exhibit a weak reversal in their outermost regions, suggesting more complex stellar population gradients at early times. The outer light profiles generally exhibit a good exponential decline with radius, and the outer scale lengths measured beyond $2R_e$ show mass and redshift dependences remarkably similar to those of the conventional mass-size relation. This similarity suggests that the extended outer light is closely linked to the same processes governing the growth of the inner galaxy, rather than providing a direct tracer of ex-situ stellar components in the early universe. We also find little wavelength dependence in the outer scale lengths, indicating that dust attenuation likely has a limited impact at these radii. These results provide new constraints on the buildup of extended stellar distributions during cosmic noon and at earlier epochs.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2611.04605",
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Cheng Jia"
    },
    {
      "name": "Enci Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yangyao Chen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Cheqiu Lyu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hongxin Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ziwen Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jinyang Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jie Song"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bojun Tao"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xiaoxuan Chen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Junsheng Li"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6rb5f7ngga4qb.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2611.04605",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "6rb5f7ngga4qb",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.04605",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.GA"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2611.04605",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-03",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6rb5f7ngga4qb.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:21:25Z",
      "native_id": "2611.04605",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.04605"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.GA",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Probing the Faint Outskirts of Star-Forming Galaxies with 1<z<9 Using Stacked Images",
  "title_text": "Probing the Faint Outskirts of Star-Forming Galaxies with 1<z<9 Using Stacked Images",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-06T18:21:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6rb5f7ngga4qb",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}