JWST and ALMA data provide the earliest direct evidence of ram-pressure stripping in a post-starburst galaxy at z=3.06, implying the process can quench star formation in nascent groups at z>3.
Ram-Pressure Stripping Caught in Action in a Forming Cluster at $z \sim 2.5$
4 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.
abstract
Galaxy clusters in the local Universe are dominated by massive quiescent galaxies with old ages, formed at high redshifts. Whether their quenching is driven by internal processes or environmental effects is a matter of debate that has been challenging to resolve due to the lack of observations during their peak formation epoch. Here we report clear evidence from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array of extended and elongated gas tails in five galaxies in a forming cluster at z = 2.51. The single-tailed gas distributions, which extend notably beyond the stellar emission probed by JWST in galaxies that are relatively isolated and lack signatures of mergers or interactions (features that are very uncommon in the field), provide evidence of ram-pressure stripping. These very distant confirmed cases of ram-pressure stripping highlight the critical role of environmental effects in gas removal at high redshifts, an often-overlooked quenching pathway.
fields
astro-ph.GA 4years
2026 4verdicts
UNVERDICTED 4representative citing papers
ALMA and JWST data reveal an extreme ram-pressure stripping event removing most cold gas from a massive galaxy in a z=4.3 protocluster core.
Quiescent fractions reach ~50% in hot-accretion high-z groups and ~0% in cold-accretion ones, supporting accretion-mode driven quenching via inside-out starvation.
First ALMA [CII] observations of high-redshift quiescent galaxies reveal gas fractions from 0.1% to 25%, dust temperatures of 40-50 K, strong [CII] deficits, and merger-like features, suggesting merger-driven quenching with non-stellar dust heating.
citing papers explorer
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A Post-starburst Galaxy Undergoing Ram-pressure Stripping at Redshift 3.06
JWST and ALMA data provide the earliest direct evidence of ram-pressure stripping in a post-starburst galaxy at z=3.06, implying the process can quench star formation in nascent groups at z>3.
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An extreme ram-pressure stripping event in a protocluster at redshift 4.3
ALMA and JWST data reveal an extreme ram-pressure stripping event removing most cold gas from a massive galaxy in a z=4.3 protocluster core.
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Quiescent fractions in high-redshift galaxy groups reflect their hot-or-cold state of gas accretion
Quiescent fractions reach ~50% in hot-accretion high-z groups and ~0% in cold-accretion ones, supporting accretion-mode driven quenching via inside-out starvation.
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A first [CII] view of high-z quiescent galaxies
First ALMA [CII] observations of high-redshift quiescent galaxies reveal gas fractions from 0.1% to 25%, dust temperatures of 40-50 K, strong [CII] deficits, and merger-like features, suggesting merger-driven quenching with non-stellar dust heating.