Morpheus Reveals Distant Disk Galaxy Morphologies with JWST: The First AI/ML Analysis of JWST Images

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The dramatic first images with James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) demonstrated its power to provide unprecedented spatial detail for galaxies in the high-redshift universe.

• Here, we leverage the resolution and depth of the JWST Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS) data in the Extended Groth Strip (EGS) to perform pixel-level morphological classifications of galaxies in JWST F150W imaging using the Morpheus deep learning framework for astronomical image analysis.
• By cross-referencing with existing photometric redshift catalogs from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) CANDELS survey, we show that JWST images indicate the emergence of disk morphologies before z~2 and with candidates appearing as early as z~5.
• By modeling the light profile of each object and accounting for the JWST point-spread function, we find the high-redshift disk candidates have exponential surface brightness profiles with an average Sersic (1968) index n=1.04 and >90% displaying &#34;disky&#34; profiles (n<2).