A Large Diversity in the Quiescent Fractions of Massive Galaxies in Proto-clusters at z∼4−6 in the FRESCO GOODS fields
Abstract
To constrain the emergence of the first quiescent galaxies (QGs) and their connection to large-scale structure, we search for rare, high-redshift QGs in proto-clusters using spectral energy distribution modeling, multiple rest-frame color diagnostics, and visual inspection. Our sample includes 12 QG candidates with stellar masses log(M*/Msun) ~ 9-11 in four proto-clusters at z ~ 4-6 within GOODS-North (GOODS-N) and GOODS-South (GOODS-S). The selection uses 11 NIRCam filters in GOODS-N and 17 NIRCam plus 2 MIRI filters in GOODS-S, combined with 9 ancillary HST filters, covering 0.4-7.7 microns. We measure an increasing quiescent fraction with stellar mass, with averages of 1.0%(+0.7/-0.4; 5/502), 3.5%(+2.8/-1.7; 4/115), and 33.3%(+22.2/-17.5; 3/9) for log(M*/Msun) = 9 - 9.75, 9.75 - 10.5, 10.5 - 11.25, respectively, across four proto-clusters. Notably, the two GOODS-N proto-clusters at z=4.406 and z=5.194 have a quiescent fraction of 100% (2/2 at z=4.406; 1/1 at z=5.194) in their highest mass bin (log(M*/Msun) > 10.5), whereas the proto-clusters in GOODS-S at similar redshifts have zero massive quiescent galaxies. Contrary to the expectation that massive galaxies occupy cluster centers at z~0, our QGs are found primarily on the outskirts of overdensity peaks. We also find fewer robust QGs at z>5 (1/8) and none in the z=5.384 proto-cluster, consistent with simulations suggesting that efficient quenching mechanisms had not yet matured. Our results highlight the pronounced variations in quiescent fractions across proto-clusters at z>4. The emerging diversity of proto-cluster QG populations calls for a stronger understanding of the role of environment in early galaxy evolution.
Related
- The Role of Environment in Shaping the Assembly Timelines of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at Cosmic Noon
- Where Galaxies Go to Die: The Environments of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at 3 < z < 5
- How Quickly Did the Giants Form? Constraining the Formation Timescales of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at Cosmic Noon Using Chemical Evolution Modelling
- The Size-Mass Relation and Inside-Out Quenching of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at 2<z<3 with JWST PRIMER and MINERVA
- PANORAMIC: The Dawn of Massive Quiescent Galaxies. I. Number Density and Cosmic Variance from 1000 arcmin ² NIRCam Imaging
BibTeX
@misc{lin2026large,
title = {{A Large Diversity in the Quiescent Fractions of Massive Galaxies in Proto-clusters at $z\sim4-6$ in the FRESCO GOODS fields}},
author = {Jamie Lin and Danilo Marchesini and Pascal A. Oesch and Rohan P. Naidu and Alba Covelo-Paz and Gabriel Brammer and Thomas Herard-Demanche and Christian Kragh Jespersen and Andrea Weibel and Kate Whitaker and Mengyuan Xiao},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.37357},
eprint = {2610.37357},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.37357},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A Large Diversity in the Quiescent Fractions of Massive Galaxies in Proto-clusters at z∼4−6 in the FRESCO GOODS fields
AU - Jamie Lin
AU - Danilo Marchesini
AU - Pascal A. Oesch
AU - Rohan P. Naidu
AU - Alba Covelo-Paz
AU - Gabriel Brammer
AU - Thomas Herard-Demanche
AU - Christian Kragh Jespersen
AU - Andrea Weibel
AU - Kate Whitaker
AU - Mengyuan Xiao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.37357
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.37357
AB - To constrain the emergence of the first quiescent galaxies (QGs) and their connection to large-scale structure, we search for rare, high-redshift QGs in proto-clusters using spectral energy distribution modeling, multiple rest-frame color diagnostics, and visual inspection. Our sample includes 12 QG candidates with stellar masses log(M*/Msun) ~ 9-11 in four proto-clusters at z ~ 4-6 within GOODS-North (GOODS-N) and GOODS-South (GOODS-S). The selection uses 11 NIRCam filters in GOODS-N and 17 NIRCam plus 2 MIRI filters in GOODS-S, combined with 9 ancillary HST filters, covering 0.4-7.7 microns. We measure an increasing quiescent fraction with stellar mass, with averages of 1.0%(+0.7/-0.4; 5/502), 3.5%(+2.8/-1.7; 4/115), and 33.3%(+22.2/-17.5; 3/9) for log(M*/Msun) = 9 - 9.75, 9.75 - 10.5, 10.5 - 11.25, respectively, across four proto-clusters. Notably, the two GOODS-N proto-clusters at z=4.406 and z=5.194 have a quiescent fraction of 100% (2/2 at z=4.406; 1/1 at z=5.194) in their highest mass bin (log(M*/Msun) > 10.5), whereas the proto-clusters in GOODS-S at similar redshifts have zero massive quiescent galaxies. Contrary to the expectation that massive galaxies occupy cluster centers at z~0, our QGs are found primarily on the outskirts of overdensity peaks. We also find fewer robust QGs at z>5 (1/8) and none in the z=5.384 proto-cluster, consistent with simulations suggesting that efficient quenching mechanisms had not yet matured. Our results highlight the pronounced variations in quiescent fractions across proto-clusters at z>4. The emerging diversity of proto-cluster QG populations calls for a stronger understanding of the role of environment in early galaxy evolution.
ER -