Enhanced Merger Fractions in a Reionization-Era Protocluster
Lorraine C. Marcelin, Jaclyn B. Champagne, Feige Wang, Xiaohui Fan, Maria Pudoka, Wei Leong Tee, Yongda Zhu
arXiv:2505.18262v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Mergers play a critical role in galaxy evolution, but their relationship to their surrounding environments is unexplored at high redshift. We investigate the galaxy merger rate among 124 [OIII] emitters at $5.33sigma$ enhancement of the merger fraction amongst all three overdense structures compared to the field. Eleven galaxies are classified as “active mergers” satisfying both merger criteria, all of which occur within the overdensity samples. We conclude that environment affects the merger rates of galaxies at $z>6$, leading to increased specific star formation at the 4$sigma$ level.arXiv:2505.18262v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Mergers play a critical role in galaxy evolution, but their relationship to their surrounding environments is unexplored at high redshift. We investigate the galaxy merger rate among 124 [OIII] emitters at $5.33sigma$ enhancement of the merger fraction amongst all three overdense structures compared to the field. Eleven galaxies are classified as “active mergers” satisfying both merger criteria, all of which occur within the overdensity samples. We conclude that environment affects the merger rates of galaxies at $z>6$, leading to increased specific star formation at the 4$sigma$ level.