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This research aims to refine measurements of the ages of galaxies observed with JWST at high redshifts.

January 20, 2026Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society0 citationsOpen Access

Improved measurements of the age of JWST galaxies at z = 6 − 10

Key Points

This research aims to refine measurements of the ages of galaxies observed with JWST at high redshifts.
Selected 31 galaxies with an average redshift of 7.3 from JWST surveys.
Used both photometry (HST, JWST-NIRCam, and JWST-MIRI) and spectra (JWST-NIRSpec) for analysis.
Conducted spectroscopical analyses including Balmer lines, break features, and extinction complexities.
Average age of the 31 galaxies is estimated at 0.61 ± 0.31 Gyr, closely aligned with the age of the ΛCDM universe at 0.70 Gyr.
The study indicates that AGN contributions are minimal on average, despite being significant for a few galaxies.
Some galaxies showed ages so large they are incompatible with being younger than the Universe, suggesting the need for further model refinement.

Abstract

Abstract From JWST surveys, 31 galaxies with average redshift 7.3 are selected containing large Balmer break, Lyman-α break (V-shaped SED vs. λ). Apart from HST and JWST-NIRCam photometry for these galaxies, there are JWST-NIRSpec spectra for 13 galaxies and mid-infrared photometry (mostly JWST-MIRI) for 15 of them. Spectroscopical analyses included Balmer emission lines, Balmer+4000 Åbreaks or CaII lines. Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) fitting with photometry include old and young stellar populations, emission lines associated to HII regions, AGN, interstellar dust extinction and intergalactic extinction from neutral hydrogen. By adopting realistic extinction curves and taking into account the V-shaped SED and low emission at near infrared at rest, the analyses show that AGN contribution in these galaxies (’little red dots’ most of them) should be small on average in the reddest wavelengths, though important for few of the 31 galaxies. Average age of the 31 galaxies: 0.61 ± 0.31(95% CL) Gyr, while the average age of the ΛCDM universe is 0.70 Gyr. This corresponds to a formation epoch zform. 11.2(97.5% CL). Reddest galaxies present largest ages. One of these very red galaxies gets an age incompatible to be younger than the age of the Universe within 4.7σ. TP-AGB effect cannot explain this tension. Nonetheless, there may be other uncertainties in the models, so this tension is a provisional result and further research is needed to confirm it.

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