{
  "abstract": "Lyman-$α$ emitters (LAEs) are frequently proposed as analogs of the low-mass, metal-poor galaxies thought to dominate cosmic reionization. In particular, galaxies with large Ly$α$ equivalent widths (EWs) are expected to have not experienced significant chemical enrichment. We test this hypothesis using a sample of 88 LAEs at $2 \\lesssim z\\lesssim 7$, selected from MUSE observations that are undetected in deep HST imaging and subsequently followed up with JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy. Despite the unprecedented sensitivity of JWST, only 50 of the LAEs exhibit secure counterparts in available deep NIRCam imaging reaching typical 3$σ$ depths of $m_\\text{AB}\\sim30.3$ mag, highlighting the intrinsically faint nature of the population. Gas-phase metallicities are inferred by fitting optical emission lines with a grid of BPASS+cloudy photoionization models, while stellar masses are derived from NIRCam photometry through SED fitting. The final sample with secure stellar masses and gas-phase metallicities encompasses only 16 LAEs, occupying regions of standard emission-line diagnostic diagrams consistent with low-metallicity star-forming systems. Although the strong-line metallicity diagnostic R3 appears to decrease with increasing EW, we find no compelling evidence for a strong monotonic relation between EW and gas-phase metallicity when metallicities are inferred through full emission-line fitting. However, galaxies with stronger Ly$α$ emission tend to lie below the average mass-metallicity relation at fixed stellar masses, suggesting that they are preferentially less chemically evolved than typical galaxies of the same mass. We conclude that high-EW LAEs provide useful, though imperfect, analogs of the galaxies thought to drive cosmic reionization, and combining EW with stellar mass may provide a more effective route for identifying the most chemically primitive galaxies.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.21232",
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Lena Pless"
    },
    {
      "name": "Themiya Nanayakkara"
    },
    {
      "name": "Karl Glazebrook"
    },
    {
      "name": "Michael Maseda"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jarle Brinchmann"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tanya Urrutia"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d0h02h3qfcpxa.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.21232",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "d0h02h3qfcpxa",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.21232",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.GA"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222458098",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.21232",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-15",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d0h02h3qfcpxa.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:29:50Z",
      "native_id": "2610.21232",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.21232"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.GA",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Are High-EW LAEs good analogs for the earliest galaxies? A study on the ionizing conditions and gas properties of LAEs at $2\\lesssim z\\lesssim7",
  "title_text": "Are High-EW LAEs good analogs for the earliest galaxies? A study on the ionizing conditions and gas properties of LAEs at $2\\lesssim z\\lesssim7",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:29:50Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d0h02h3qfcpxa",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}