Balmer Break Galaxy Candidates at $z \sim 6$: a Potential View on the Star-Formation Activity at $z \gtrsim 14$

Understand

We search for galaxies with a strong Balmer break (Balmer Break Galaxies; BBGs) at $z \sim 6$ over a 0.41 deg$^2$ effective area in the COSMOS field.

• Based on rich imaging data, including data obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), three candidates are identified by their extremely red $K - [3.6]$ colors as well as by non-detection in X-ray, optical, far-infrared (FIR), and radio bands.
• The non-detection in the deep ALMA observations suggests that they are not dusty galaxies but BBGs at $z \sim 6$, although contamination from Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) at $z \sim 0$ cannot be completely ruled out for the moment.
• Our spectral energy distribution (SED) analyses reveal that the BBG candidates at $z \sim 6$ have stellar masses of $\approx 5 \times 10^{10} M_{\odot}$ dominated by old stellar populations with ages of $\gtrsim 700$ Myr.