Spider-webb: Spatially Resolved Evidence of Inside-out Quenching in the Spiderweb Protocluster at z ∼ 2

Laishram, Ronaldo; Koyama, Yusei; Naufal, Abdurrahman; Kodama, Tadayuki; Shimakawa, Rhythm; Daikuhara, Kazuki; Dannerbauer, Helmut; Pérez-Martínez, Jose Manuel; Pérez-González, Pablo G.
Referencia bibliográfica

The Astrophysical Journal

Fecha de publicación:
2
2026
Número de autores
9
Número de autores del IAC
2
Número de citas
0
Número de citas referidas
0
Descripción
We present a spatially resolved analysis of galaxy quenching within the Spiderweb Protocluster at z ∼ 2.16, combining deep imaging from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Hubble Space Telescope. Utilizing pixel-by-pixel spectral energy distribution fitting, we derive maps of stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR), specific SFR (sSFR), and rest-frame UVJ colors. Quiescent galaxies, predominantly found at log(M*/M⊙)≥10.5 , exhibit clear mass-dependent inside-out quenching, with central sSFR approximately an order of magnitude lower than outer regions, while lower-mass star-forming galaxies show flat sSFR profiles. Central star formation activity fundamentally anticorrelates with Sérsic index, indicating reduced activity in bulge-dominated systems. Spatially resolved UVJ colors reveal heterogeneous internal star formation, distinguishing star-forming regions in quiescent hosts from those in globally star-forming systems. These findings demonstrate that quenching mechanisms were effectively operating by z ∼ 2, with the observed inside-out patterns and morphological correlations consistent with active galactic nuclei-driven feedback processes. Our study provides key observational constraints on galaxy evolution during this critical epoch.