TY - JOUR

T1 - The BLUETIDES mock image catalogue

T2 - simulated observations of high-redshift galaxies and predictions for JWST imaging surveys

AU - Marshall, Madeline A.

AU - Watts, Katelyn

AU - Wilkins, Stephen

AU - Di Matteo, Tiziana

AU - Kuusisto, Jussi K.

AU - Roper, William J.

AU - Vijayan, Aswin P.

AU - Ni, Yueying

AU - Feng, Yu

AU - Croft, Rupert A. C.

PY - 2022/9/1

Y1 - 2022/9/1

N2 - We present a mock image catalogue of similar to 100000 M-UV similar or equal to -22.5 to -19.6 mag galaxies at z = 7-12 from the BLUETIDES cosmological simulation. We create mock images of each galaxy with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Hubble, Roman, and Euclid Space Telescopes, as well as Subaru, and VISTA, with a range of near- and mid-infrared filters. We perform photometry on the mock images to estimate the success of these instruments for detecting high-z galaxies. We predict that JWST will have unprecedented power in detecting high-z galaxies, with a 95 per cent completeness limit at least 2.5 mag fainter than VISTA and Subaru, 1.1 mag fainter than Hubble, and 0.9 mag fainter than Roman, for the same wavelength and exposure time. Focusing on JWST, we consider a range of exposure times and filters, and find that the NIRCam F356W and F277W filters will detect the faintest galaxies, with 95 per cent completeness at m similar or equal to 27.4 mag in 10-ks exposures. We also predict the number of high-z galaxies that will be discovered by upcoming JWST imaging surveys. We predict that the COSMOS-Web survey will detect similar to 1000 M-1500 angstrom < -20.1 mag galaxies at 6.5 < z < 7.5, by virtue of its large survey area. JADES-Medium will detect almost 100 per cent of M-1500 angstrom less than or similar to -20 mag galaxies at z < 8.5 due to its significant depth, however, with its smaller survey area it will detect only similar to 100 of these galaxies at 6.5 < z < 7.5. Cosmic variance results in a large range in the number of predicted galaxies each survey will detect, which is more evident in smaller surveys such as CEERS and the PEARLS NEP and GOODS-S fields.

AB - We present a mock image catalogue of similar to 100000 M-UV similar or equal to -22.5 to -19.6 mag galaxies at z = 7-12 from the BLUETIDES cosmological simulation. We create mock images of each galaxy with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Hubble, Roman, and Euclid Space Telescopes, as well as Subaru, and VISTA, with a range of near- and mid-infrared filters. We perform photometry on the mock images to estimate the success of these instruments for detecting high-z galaxies. We predict that JWST will have unprecedented power in detecting high-z galaxies, with a 95 per cent completeness limit at least 2.5 mag fainter than VISTA and Subaru, 1.1 mag fainter than Hubble, and 0.9 mag fainter than Roman, for the same wavelength and exposure time. Focusing on JWST, we consider a range of exposure times and filters, and find that the NIRCam F356W and F277W filters will detect the faintest galaxies, with 95 per cent completeness at m similar or equal to 27.4 mag in 10-ks exposures. We also predict the number of high-z galaxies that will be discovered by upcoming JWST imaging surveys. We predict that the COSMOS-Web survey will detect similar to 1000 M-1500 angstrom < -20.1 mag galaxies at 6.5 < z < 7.5, by virtue of its large survey area. JADES-Medium will detect almost 100 per cent of M-1500 angstrom less than or similar to -20 mag galaxies at z < 8.5 due to its significant depth, however, with its smaller survey area it will detect only similar to 100 of these galaxies at 6.5 < z < 7.5. Cosmic variance results in a large range in the number of predicted galaxies each survey will detect, which is more evident in smaller surveys such as CEERS and the PEARLS NEP and GOODS-S fields.

KW - galaxies: evolution

KW - galaxies: formation

KW - galaxies: high-redshift

KW - UV LUMINOSITY FUNCTIONS

KW - HOST GALAXIES

KW - BLACK-HOLES

KW - 1ST LIGHT

KW - DEEP FIELD

KW - BRIGHT END

KW - EVOLUTION

KW - QUASARS

KW - CANDELS

KW - FLARES

U2 - 10.1093/mnras/stac2111

DO - 10.1093/mnras/stac2111

M3 - Journal article

VL - 516

SP - 1047

EP - 1061

JO - Royal Astronomical Society. Monthly Notices

JF - Royal Astronomical Society. Monthly Notices

SN - 0035-8711

IS - 1

ER -