EPOCHS-DR2 I: Expanded data release and properties of 6.5<z<16.5 photometrically selected galaxies across NIRCam deep fields covering ∼700 arcmin2 with the galfind software
Abstract
We present the \epochstwo\ sample of $2452$ star forming galaxies at 6.5<zphot<16.5 produced using the \galfind\ photometric pipeline across ∼650−740 arcmin2 in six of the most widely used deep, blank field \jwst/NIRCam imaging surveys. $293$ galaxies are spectroscopically confirmed and a spectroscopic--photometric redshift comparison yields a normalized median absolute deviation, σNMAD=0.017, an η=4.3% outlier rate, and a mean offset ⟨Δz⟩=−0.022. We find $34$ little red dots (LRDs) with ``V--shaped'' SEDs, as well as $69$ L--type, $36$ T--type, and $2$ compact Y--type brown dwarf candidates, which we remove from our sample. The fiducial sample yields a flattening βUV−MUV relation with only moderately blue median βUV(MUV=−19)=−2.32+0.08−0.07 at z≃12.5, implying dust-polluted stellar populations at the highest redshifts. A ``gold'' sample of $62$ sources are identified at zphot>10.5, ∼85% of which are without NIRSpec follow-up, including $15$ candidates at zphot>13.5 across a diverse range of proper sizes 30 pc≲ rc≲1.5 kpc and UV slopes −4.0≲βUV≲−1.5. Two very promising candidates stand out, GS-W-4608 and GN-Med-1881, with βUV≲−3, ≳1.6 mag \lya\ break colors, and F335M and F410M detections which improve their high-redshift solution robustness. Complementary to our high-redshift sample, this public data release provides the community with optical/NIR catalogs, empirical PSFs, and \eazypy, \bagpipes, and \bdfinder\ SED fitting results, enhancing the legacy value of photometric JWST data in the upcoming era of wide-field imaging datasets with Euclid and Roman.
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BibTeX
@misc{austin2026epochsdr2,
title = {{EPOCHS-DR2 I: Expanded data release and properties of $6.5<z<16.5$ photometrically selected galaxies across NIRCam deep fields covering $\sim700\,\rm arcmin^2$ with the galfind software}},
author = {Duncan Austin and Christopher J. Conselice and Thomas Harvey and Nathan J. Adams and Louis Quilley and Jordan C. J. D'Silva and Vadim Rusakov and Qiong Li and Lewi Westcott and Caio Goolsby and James Arcidiacono and Kai Madgwick and William J. Roper and Brenda Frye and Norman A. Grogin and Rafael Ortiz III and Rogier Windhorst},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.24987},
eprint = {2609.24987},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.24987},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - EPOCHS-DR2 I: Expanded data release and properties of 6.5<z<16.5 photometrically selected galaxies across NIRCam deep fields covering ∼700 arcmin^2 with the galfind software
AU - Duncan Austin
AU - Christopher J. Conselice
AU - Thomas Harvey
AU - Nathan J. Adams
AU - Louis Quilley
AU - Jordan C. J. D'Silva
AU - Vadim Rusakov
AU - Qiong Li
AU - Lewi Westcott
AU - Caio Goolsby
AU - James Arcidiacono
AU - Kai Madgwick
AU - William J. Roper
AU - Brenda Frye
AU - Norman A. Grogin
AU - Rafael Ortiz III
AU - Rogier Windhorst
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.24987
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.24987
AB - We present the \epochstwo\ sample of $2452$ star forming galaxies at 6.5<z_phot<16.5 produced using the \galfind\ photometric pipeline across ∼650−740 arcmin^2 in six of the most widely used deep, blank field \jwst/NIRCam imaging surveys. $293$ galaxies are spectroscopically confirmed and a spectroscopic--photometric redshift comparison yields a normalized median absolute deviation, σ_NMAD=0.017, an η=4.3% outlier rate, and a mean offset ⟨Δz⟩=−0.022. We find $34$ little red dots (LRDs) with ``V--shaped'' SEDs, as well as $69$ L--type, $36$ T--type, and $2$ compact Y--type brown dwarf candidates, which we remove from our sample. The fiducial sample yields a flattening β_UV−M_UV relation with only moderately blue median β_UV(M_UV=−19)=−2.32^+0.08_−0.07 at z≃12.5, implying dust-polluted stellar populations at the highest redshifts. A ``gold'' sample of $62$ sources are identified at z_phot>10.5, ∼85% of which are without NIRSpec follow-up, including $15$ candidates at z_phot>13.5 across a diverse range of proper sizes 30 pc≲ r_c≲1.5 kpc and UV slopes −4.0≲β_UV≲−1.5. Two very promising candidates stand out, GS-W-4608 and GN-Med-1881, with β_UV≲−3, ≳1.6 mag \lya\ break colors, and F335M and F410M detections which improve their high-redshift solution robustness. Complementary to our high-redshift sample, this public data release provides the community with optical/NIR catalogs, empirical PSFs, and \eazypy, \bagpipes, and \bdfinder\ SED fitting results, enhancing the legacy value of photometric JWST data in the upcoming era of wide-field imaging datasets with Euclid and Roman.
ER -