Low [O/Fe] Ratio in a Luminous Galaxy at the Early Cosmic Epoch (z > 10): Signature of Short Delay Time or Bright Hypernovae/Pair-instability Supernovae?

Abstract

We present an [O/Fe] ratio of a luminous galaxy GN-z11 at z = 10.60 derived with the deep public JWST/NIRSpec data. We fit the medium-resolution grating (G140M, G235M, and G395M) data with the model spectra consisting of BPASS-stellar and Cloudy -nebular spectra in the rest-frame UV wavelength ranges with Fe absorption lines, carefully masking the other emission and absorption lines in the same manner as previous studies conducted for lower-redshift ( z ∼ 2–6) galaxies with oxygen abundance measurements. We obtain an Fe-rich abundance ratio [ O / Fe ] = − 0.37 − 0.22 + 0.43 , which is confirmed with the independent deep prism data as well as by the classic 1978 index method. This [O/Fe] measurement is lower than that measured for star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 2–3. Because z = 10.60 is an early epoch after the Big Bang (∼430 Myr) and the first star formation (likely ∼200 Myr), it is difficult to produce Fe by Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), which requires sufficient delay time for white-dwarf formation and gas accretion. The Fe-rich abundance ratio in GN-z11 suggests that the delay time is short or that the major Fe enrichment is not accomplished by SNe Ia but by bright hypernovae (BrHNe) and/or pair-instability supernovae (PISNe), where the yield models of BrHNe and PISNe explain Fe, Ne, and O abundance ratios of GN-z11. The [O/Fe] measurement is not too low to rule out the connection between GN-z11 and globular clusters (GCs) previously suggested by the nitrogen abundance but rather supports the connection with a GC population at high [N/O] if a metal dilution process exists.