LATED: JWST integral field spectroscopy of a galaxy caught in chemical infancy at z=4.8 behind Abell 2744
Abstract
When Population III (Pop III) star formation ended remains an open question. LATED-1 is an intrinsically faint (MUV=−16.15) Lyα emitter at z=4.80 revealed by VLT/MUSE behind the lensing cluster Abell 2744 (z=0.308). Before any spectroscopic metallicity constraints, it was identified as an extremely metal-poor or metal-free galaxy candidate from JWST imaging by LATED, our novel photometric selection framework. Here we present serendipitous JWST/NIRSpec PRISM integral-field spectroscopy of this target. The spectrum reveals Lyα, Hβ, and Hα at 7.0, 5.6, and 17.7σ, as well as tentative detections of [O III]λλ4959,5007 at 2.9σ, and yields R3=[O III]λ5007/Hβ=0.59+0.27−0.21, upholding the earlier LATED photometric prediction of R3<1.54 (2σ limit). The canonical JWST-based strong-line calibration, extrapolated to low metallicity, implies log (O/H)=6.45+0.17−0.19, or Z/Z⊙=0.58−0.20+0.28%, placing LATED-1 among the most metal-poor galaxies known. Its modest magnification (μ=2.80) leaves the intrinsic properties insensitive to the lens model. LATED-1 is therefore a dwarf galaxy caught in the earliest state of chemical enrichment, and a compelling target for testing whether Pop III star formation can persist to z<5. The result demonstrates that photometric selection, especially through the LATED methodology, can reach below one per cent solar metallicity to identify Pop III galaxy candidates for spectroscopic follow-up.
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BibTeX
@misc{li2026lated,
title = {{LATED: JWST integral field spectroscopy of a galaxy caught in chemical infancy at $z=4.8$ behind Abell 2744}},
author = {Mingyu Li and Roberto Maiolino and Zheng Cai and Hannah Übler and Boyuan Liu and Qiao Duan and Fuyan Bian and Sijia Cai and Francesco D'Eugenio and Eiichi Egami and Bjorn H. C. Emonts and Xiaohui Fan and Yuki Isobe and Lucy R. Ivey and Xihan Ji and Gareth C. Jones and Maria Koller and Xiaojing Lin and Christopher C. Lovell and Kimihiko Nakajima and Masami Ouchi and Robert G. Pascalau and J. Xavier Prochaska and Jan Scholtz and Fengwu Sun and Sandro Tacchella and Yunjing Wu and Fujiang Yu and Zijian Zhang},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.24589},
eprint = {2609.24589},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.24589},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - LATED: JWST integral field spectroscopy of a galaxy caught in chemical infancy at z=4.8 behind Abell 2744
AU - Mingyu Li
AU - Roberto Maiolino
AU - Zheng Cai
AU - Hannah Übler
AU - Boyuan Liu
AU - Qiao Duan
AU - Fuyan Bian
AU - Sijia Cai
AU - Francesco D'Eugenio
AU - Eiichi Egami
AU - Bjorn H. C. Emonts
AU - Xiaohui Fan
AU - Yuki Isobe
AU - Lucy R. Ivey
AU - Xihan Ji
AU - Gareth C. Jones
AU - Maria Koller
AU - Xiaojing Lin
AU - Christopher C. Lovell
AU - Kimihiko Nakajima
AU - Masami Ouchi
AU - Robert G. Pascalau
AU - J. Xavier Prochaska
AU - Jan Scholtz
AU - Fengwu Sun
AU - Sandro Tacchella
AU - Yunjing Wu
AU - Fujiang Yu
AU - Zijian Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.24589
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.24589
AB - When Population III (Pop III) star formation ended remains an open question. LATED-1 is an intrinsically faint (M_UV=−16.15) Lyα emitter at z=4.80 revealed by VLT/MUSE behind the lensing cluster Abell 2744 (z=0.308). Before any spectroscopic metallicity constraints, it was identified as an extremely metal-poor or metal-free galaxy candidate from JWST imaging by LATED, our novel photometric selection framework. Here we present serendipitous JWST/NIRSpec PRISM integral-field spectroscopy of this target. The spectrum reveals Lyα, Hβ, and Hα at 7.0, 5.6, and 17.7σ, as well as tentative detections of [O III]λλ4959,5007 at 2.9σ, and yields R3=[O III]λ5007/Hβ=0.59^+0.27_−0.21, upholding the earlier LATED photometric prediction of R3<1.54 (2σ limit). The canonical JWST-based strong-line calibration, extrapolated to low metallicity, implies log (O/H)=6.45^+0.17_−0.19, or Z/Z_⊙=0.58_−0.20^+0.28%, placing LATED-1 among the most metal-poor galaxies known. Its modest magnification (μ=2.80) leaves the intrinsic properties insensitive to the lens model. LATED-1 is therefore a dwarf galaxy caught in the earliest state of chemical enrichment, and a compelling target for testing whether Pop III star formation can persist to z<5. The result demonstrates that photometric selection, especially through the LATED methodology, can reach below one per cent solar metallicity to identify Pop III galaxy candidates for spectroscopic follow-up.
ER -