The JWST discoveries versus the LambdaCDM HBB Cosmology

Introduction. Because of the wealth of data emerging from the JWST, this chapter focuses on the data and results of significance for testing cosmological theories in a time of paradigmatic discussion. The papers and their data are summarized in brief and laid out in chronological sequence, essentially in scrapbook fashion. (See the Livescience popular summary: "James Webb Space Telescope: Origins, design and mission objectives" (link). Also available is the DAWN JWST Archive (DJA), a database of deep sky objects observed by the JWST: https://dawn-cph.github.io/dja/index.html.

As in the early days of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, the technological advance of the telescope, Galileo's scope, helped bring the Old Ptolemaic system or world-view into a paradigmatic crisis (Kuhnian sense), so the anomalies which have been for decades accumulating in the New Ptolemaic system of the HBBC are being brought into paradigmatic crisis by the JWST, building upon the results of the HST. Science is often fundamentally conservative when it comes to established paradigms, but the influx of data rapidly increased by JWST and other modern instruments is accelerating that paradigmatic crisis. The comparison is apt, and we explore this developing crisis in this chapter. The popular science journalism is recognizing the paradigmatic situation also, even if in limited terms dealing with the 'Hubble tension' (discussed in detail in chapter VII), &c., using the rather melodramatic title: "After 2 years in space, the James Webb telescope has broken cosmology. Can it be fixed?" (Livescience link).

The telescopes versus established cosmologies of their times: The Old & the New Ptolemaic Systems


The Old Ptolemaic System geocentric cosmology	The New Ptolemaic System cosmology: The ΛCDM HBBC

Paradigm-bursting telescopes.

Provisional Contents:

JWST Diary begins: 12 July 2022, Tuesday, 10:30 am EDT / 14:30 UTC, JWST Day 1.
Happy Birthday, JWST (12 July 2023).

12 July 2022, Tuesday, 10:30 am EDT / 14:30 UTC, JWST Day 1.

Excursus on Stellar Evolution and Stellar Ages.
Hubble Spitzer Galaxy morphology classification.

Before 12 July 2022.

Unfolding the JWST Results. [Overall section within which JWST Diary entries appear].

14 July 2022 (Thursday). [And we don't list here every entry]....

An Excursus on the Tolman (1930, 1934) test applied to GALEX & HUDF.

Metallicity in high redshift objects.

[JWST Diary entries under development, continuing....]

Part of the Carina Nebula, NGC 3324: A star forming region (longest nebular protrusions are about 7 light-years long).

NGC 7317, NGC 7318A / 7318B, NGC 7319, and NGC 7320, or Stephan's Quintet of galaxies (also known as Hickson Compact Group 92; HCG 92). More about this enigmatic group in the pages linked below.

NGC 3132, Southern Ring Nebula ~2,500 light-years distant, a planetary nebula of gas and dust shed away by a dying star (<5 solar masses), which after swelling into a red giant, has blown away the shells of gas and dust, leaving a white dwarf, for the first time revealed as swaddled in dust (taken by two JWST cameras). Note the distant galaxy, edge-on at about 10 o'clock.

Representation of a spectrum (taken by JWST) indicating the presence of an H₂O absorption spectrum on a hot gas giant planet (~0.48 Jupiter masses) called WASP 96b (found in 2013 by the Wide Angle Search for Planets) which is only 0.0453 AU (astronomical units, ~93 million miles, Sun-Earth distance) from its star, WASP 92, with an orbital period of only about 3.4 days (link).

Happy Birthday, JWST (12 July 2023). On the first anniversary, the JWST gallery released the following image of the birth of Sun-like stars

(link).

An Excursus on Stellar Evolution & Stellar Ages in Cosmology
(This section will ultimately be re-located to chapter III, but is temporarily for reference here).

The Hertzsprung-Russell classification of stars by spectral type and luminosity (as absolute magnitudes were determined using established distances through Sun-Earth parallax calculations).

Start brightness vs temperature (top axis), stellar surface temperature in Kelvins (bottom axis), brightness in absolute magnitude (left vertical axis), and luminosity in solar units (right vertical axis); from https://www.thinglink.com/scene/713103122389532674 (also has linked nearby constellation examples of various ones of these stellar types).

An excellent primer on stellar evolution and star life-cycle processes including a brief introduction to chemical nucleosynthesis in stars may be found at the British Faulkes Telescope Educational Guide (https://www.le.ac.uk/ph/faulkes/web/stars/r_st_evolution.html). For more on stellar spectra and spectroscopy, see Sky & Telescope's "Essential Guide to Astronomy" on the subject of spectral classification of stars (https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/the-spectral-types-of-stars/). The use of spectral color on the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram allows us to do isochrone dating of stars and star populations. ESA's Gaia mission has also provided a rich data base and far more information on spectral classes and their internal stellar physics. Stellar metallicities (elemental fusion above He) provide another proxy for age evolution of star populations. (See this blogspot for a simple introduction).

Use of stellar isochrone (&c.) dating in the Hertsprung-Russell (HRD) and Color-Magnitude (CMD) Diagrams:

(link; link).	22,000 stars from the Hipparcos Catalogue along with 1000 nearby stars from the Gliese Catalogue (link).
	Figures 1.6 and 1.7 from Elizabete da Cunha, 2008, 2010. Modélisation des Distributions Spectrales d'énergie des Galaxies de l'Ultraviolet à l'Infrarouge. Ph.D. Dissertation. Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS (UMR 7095), Universite Pierre & Marie Curie; 185 pp. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/41053015.
Casanellas, J. & Lopes, I. 2011. Signatures of dark matter burning in nuclear star clusters. ApJL 733 (2), L51.https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2041-8205/733/2/L51. Note the isochrones, even though put in the context of supposed unknown 'dark matter' (DM).	Ekstrom et al. 2012. Grids of stellar models with rotation. I. Models from 0.8 to 120 M_⊙ at solar metallicity (Z = 0.014). A&A 537, A146. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201117751.
Bressan et al. 2012. PARSEC: stellar tracks and isochrones with the PAdova and TRieste Stellar Evolution Code. MNRAS 427 (1), 127. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21948.x. Cf. Bressan et al. 2013. Red Giant evolution and specific problems. 40th Liege International Astrophysical Colloquium. Ageing Low Mass Stars: From Red Giants to White Dwarfs. EPJ Web of Conferences 43, 03001. https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20134303001, and Meyner & Maeder, 2000. Stellar evolution with rotation V: Changes in all the outputs of massive star models. https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0006404v1.	June Murcell (2014) on stellar counts between color magnitude diagram (CMD) and star formation history (SFH) slideshare.
Greggio, L., Falomo, R., & Uslenghi, M. 2015. Studying stellar halos with future facilities. In A. Bragaglia, M. Arnaboldi, M. Rejkuba & D. Romano, eds. Proceedings IAU Symposium 11, S317. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282844079.	Choi et al. 2016. MESA isochrones and stellar tracks (MIST). I. Solar-scaled models. ApJ 823 (2), 102. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-637X/823/2/102.
Choi et al. 2016. MESA isochrones and stellar tracks (MIST). I. Solar-scaled models. ApJ 823 (2), 102. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-637X/823/2/102.	Marigo et al. 2017. A new generation of PARSEC-COLIBRI stellar isochrones including the TP-AGB phase. ApJ 835 (1), 77. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/835/1/77.
Chiba, R. & Schonrich, R. 2021. Tree-ring structure of Galactic bar resonance. MNRAS 505 (2), 2412. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab1094.	Imig et al. 2022. SDSS-IV MaStar: Data-driven parameter derivation for the MaStar Stellar Library. AJ 163 (2), 56. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ac3ca7.
Working from their own 2015 model, Angus et al. 2019. Toward precise stellar ages: Combining isochrone fitting with empirical gyrochronology. AJ 158 (5), 173. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ab3c53, provided a hierarchical Baysian statistical package, Stardate (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2712419), for combining isochrones of the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram (HRD) and the Color-Magnitude Diagram (CMD) with rotational behavior of stars, gyrochronology to model and predict the difficult ages of subgiant and low mass main sequence stars (FGKM), calibrated by known stars.	It is important to note that since M dwarf stars (as pointed out) are difficult to precisely date for many reasons doubtless, so their dates can definitely be greater than sometimes found in HBBC-constrained estimates. This suggests possible tests for other cosmological models not limited by the HBBC time-frame. For example, in the QSSC and kindred old / eternal Universe cosmologies, the highly stable, long-lived ~0.7 M_☉ M stars could have ages on the order of ~15 - ~25 Gya, far beyond the HBBC time constraints. The existence of such stars is again a potentially-testable cosmological prediction for data in stellar evolution, especially if modelers don't rule them out a priori for paradigmatic reasons. The Milky Way satellite galaxy, the stars of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) in the HST data σ(V-I) < 0.02 in the Color-Magnitude Diagram (CMD), cited in J. V. Narlikar's talk, "The case for an alternative cosmology" (link), given in a colloquium at the Copernicus Center for Indisciplinary Studies, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland (link).

Databases & Resources: "PARSEC stellar evolution code" (https://people.sissa.it/~sbressan/parsec.html); CMD 3.7: web interface for stellar isochrones and their derivatives (http://stev.oapd.inaf.it/cgi-bin/cmd); cf. older Padova database of stellar evolutionary tracks and isochrones (https://pleiadi.oapd.inaf.it/); also cf. Gerardi & Marigo presentation on updating the Padova database of stellar tracks and isochrones (https://www.astro.rug.nl/~sctrager/FTSPM/Girardi.pdf).

In light of the data discussed throughout this history of cosmology, the evolution of stellar ages of open, globular clusters, and of the galaxies and other extra-galactic objects with stars are key to examining the assumptions and testing any hypotheses which underlie any cosmology postulating a cosmos of finite duration. Stellar ages greater than (>) or much greater (>>) ~14 Gya should not be ruled out a priori.

As we prepare to critically examine the JWST data, as well as reminding ourselves about stellar ages, it is important to review the advances made in galaxy morphology classification beyond the simple Hubble Tuning-Fork (chapter III and referenced elsewhere). This can be done in a pre-JWST setting by reference to advances in galactic morphology classification from other orbiting observatories, such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST; link) and the Spitzer (infrared) Space Telescope (link; cf. searchable repository: https://sha.ipac.caltech.edu/applications/Spitzer/SHA/), particularly in the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) Hubble Tuning-Fork classification (database: https://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/data/SPITZER/SINGS/; cf. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Fine-tuning_galaxies_with_Herschel_and_Spitzer); primary papers search on arXiv (results) and on the Harvard astrophysical data system (results): Warning in this false-color image set: Old stars are made to appear as blue when they should be RED (Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram); young stars made to appear as red when they should be BLUE (Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram); lumpy knots of green and red are supposed to be new stars in their nebulae of gas and dust. This switch may have been inadvertent, but it unfortunately has the effect of misleading people about the relative stellar ages represented by each morphotype.

(Sadly, the original URL seems to be gone: https://sings.stsci.edu/; so here is an image link).

Cosmology model test. Galaxy morphology (as well as stellar population ages) are vital in light of consideration of observational tests for cosmological models which empirically compare the prevalent galaxy morphologies between the local Universe populations of galaxies and the high redshift or high-z Universe populations of galaxies. Readers, whether amateur astronomers, professional scientists, or anyone interested, should examine the images and make comparisons for themselves.

Before 12 July 2022. In 2021, Ricardo Scarpa and Eric Lerner published a paper asking, Will LCDM cosmology survive the James Webb Space Telescope? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361208585. Over the years during the development and building of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Science Working Group (SWG) and other scientists Space wrote a variety of 'white papers' on "Potential Science with JWST" with advice for the telescope builders on the capabilities to be included, collected by the Telescope Science Institute (STScI). The builders of JWST fully expected that JWST would confirm and consolidate the ΛCDM version of the hot Big Bang model, being tasked among other objectives certain goals of cosmological model scope including with

Revealing the formation and assembly of galaxies in the early cosmos.
Probing the end of the 'dark ages' before star formation and the re-ionization epoch after the Big Bang.
Galaxy evolution across cosmic time.
Elucidating the nature of 'dark energy' as hypothesized to explain the SNIa results since 1998.
Primordial stellar populations, including the hypothetical 'population III' stars.
And of course many more local topics such as extrasolar planets, solar system observations, astrobiology, & more.

Scarpa & Lerner (2021) predicted that JWST will not thus confirm the ΛCDM. The JWST data they hold will spark a revolution in cosmology, astronomy, and fundamental physics. JWST is expected to look farther out and farther back in time into the Universe than any human instrument before.

Scarpa and Lerner (2021) closed in the first version of their paper by correctly pointing out a possible parallel in that the old Ptolemaic System did not survive Galileo Galilei's telescope, and asking if the ΛCDM version of the HBB Cosmology, what we here have called the New Ptolemaic System, in its current form, can survive another telescope, the JWST?

Scarpa & Lerner (2021) made very specific and falsifiable predictions based on cosmological models. Let us summarize here in these select areas. Using a default Euclidean cosmos model as a null test for the expected values under the ΛCDM paradigm.

Comparing the predictions of the ΛCDM (with specific free parameter settings) with the Euclidean predictions for type Ia supernovae. These predictions are indistinguishable out to z > 1. As JWST pushes those z-values to higher levels, then Scarpa & Lerner (2021) expect that a divergence between the ΛCDM and Euclidean Universe predictions will become more sharply differentiated for hypothesis-testing.

Scarpa & Lerner (2021) predict, that while there is rough congruence for distance modulus (μ = m - M, where m is the apparent magnitude, and M is the absolute magnitude = apparent magnitude at 10 parsecs) at different redshifts or z-values between the WMAP values and the Euclidean, up to about z ~ 5, at higher redshifts, there will be a divergence between the ΛCDM-interpreted WMAP results and the Euclidean predictions. They forecast that the Euclidean predictions will be borne out by the JWST data instead of the ΛCDM-dependent predictions.

Scarpa & Lerner (2022) point out that for galaxies with similar UV luminosities, size is parametrized to evolve as (1 + z)^α, with a range of -0.75 < α < -1.4. However, in a Euclidean space up to a redshift of z = 15, this parameter α = -1.5, well beyond and removed from the ΛCDM paradigm of the HBBC expectations.

According to the ΛCDM Big Bang, galaxies grow over the course of the BB cosmos by accretion and merging of smaller galaxies of the order of 𝑀 ≃ 10⁴𝑀_⊙, so there is supposed to be a size evolution, with small, irregular galaxies common in the cosmic past. However, in a Euclidean cosmos, there is not a size evolution. Shibuya et al. (2019 & the references they cite). Morphologies of ∼190,000 galaxies at z = 0-10 revealed with HST legacy data. III. Continuum profile and size evolution of Lyα Emitters. ApJ 871 (2), 164. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aaf64b, found using the model-independent Sersic index of brightness intensity distribution. Lyman-α emitting galaxies (LAEs), star-forming galaxies (SFGs), and Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) with their data curves are shown here compared with Euclidean predictions (heavy white line) where there is no size evolution and the trend follows (1 + z)^-1.5, such as would be expected in an infinite, eternal Euclidean Universe, rather than a dimming ~ (1 + z)^-3 with size evolution which is not observed, requiring a free parameter adjusted reformulation to keep it in harmony with the ΛCDM Big Bang model, r_e ∝ (1 + z)^{-1.37 +/-
0.65} (which by the way, includes the Euclidean prediction of (1 + z)^-1.5 to approximate the data. See the parameter α discussion with Fig. 3. It should be noted that the size-luminosity relation of the LAEs decreases monotonically toward higher z-values, but Shibuya et al. (2019) claim otherwise for the SFGs and LBGs which evolve according to r_e ∝ (1 + z)^{-1.37 +/-
0.65}, which includes the (1 + z)^-1.5 prediction for a Euclidean model, claiming that this may mean that LAEs "are probably biased to faint sources at low redshift" showing that they have not really grappled with the implications of their data.

They point out that in the local Universe, large spiral galaxies have characteristic velocity rotation profiles leveling off at around 280 km s^-1, as one moves outward from the core by several kpc. It is this which is supposed to be an indication of 'dark matter' under standard gravitation or requiring MOND to explain. Under the HBBC ΛCDM paradigm, galaxies are supposed to be much smaller in the past, so this is a test for whether ΛCDM or Euclidean predictions are met. Already in Rizzo et al. (2020) cited, the spiral galaxy SPT0418-47 at z = 4.2, with the angular radius chosen by Rizzo et al. (2020), there is a linear radius of ~19 kpc and a 𝑉2/𝑟 = 1.4 x 10^-8 cm s^-2, which agrees with the local Universe values, i.e., no evolution there. In other words, it seems that this spiral galaxy is like our spiral Milky Way, except located at z = 4.2! What would be expected in steady state or Euclidean model. The JWST will tell us whether this trend continues to higher redshift values.

Without all of the ΛCDM free parameter fitting and adjusting, the Euclidean model predicts the scatter in QSO redshifts just as well as or just as poorly (they add) as the ΛCDM must have just to remain viable at all, with all of the parameter-fitting.

See the discussion of the data of Resaliti & Luzzo (2019) in chapter VII, "Unexpected Redshifts."

The chemical evolution found in even very distant QSOs shows that there is plenty of metallicity as indicated by distant quasar ULAS J1120+0641, with a redshift of z = 7.09, i.e., a calculated look-back time of 12.964 Gya (supposedly 0.758 Gyr post-BB). This high metallicity is surprising and not expected for a quasar, let alone a quasar of that redshift, under the HBBC ΛCDM paradigm. Citing the Mortlock, D., Warren, S., Venemans, B. et al. 2011. A luminous quasar at a redshift of z = 7.085. Nature 474, 616. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10159, Scarpa & Lerner (2022) point out that quasars are self-similar at all redshifts, indicating that they should have minimal physical or chemical evolution, however, as ULAS J1120+0641 illustrates, there is plenty of chemical evolution and metallicity in this high redshift quasar.

Scarpa &. Lerner (2020) conclude in their own words, "We have presented a short list of cases - other[s] could have been included, though we believe we made our point clear - in which data probing the distant Universe have been interpreted differently from what is usually done. This alternative interpretation rests on the assumption there is no expansion of space and the linear Hubble law is valid to arbitrarily large redshifts. In this framework, distant galaxies are found to be similar to local galaxies, indicating nothing special is happening at the largest probed z. Quasars do suggest the same. All this show there are little indications that observations are actually approaching the beginning of the Universe.... Our main conclusion is that the JWST will fail to probe the Dark Age, because there never was one." They then hope for these advances in data to inspire a new vision of the Universe and a revolution in physics.

For further pre-JWST details of the observational data and pre-JWST predictions of departures from the ΛCDM paradigm, please see Lerner et al. (2014) and Lerner (2018) discussed below, under An excursus on the Tolman (1930, 1934) test applied to GALEX & HUDF. Other papers with their data may be added here as they are relevant to cosmological tests inherent in the data emerging from the unfolding saga of JWST below.

NASA / ESA illustration of gravitational lensing (2011): https://sci.esa.int/web/hubble/-/48616-gravitational-lensing-in-action.

Redshift (z)	Look-back times....
z = 1.09	8.166 Gya
z = 1.38	9.092 Gya
z = 1.425	9.214 Gya
z = 1.73	9.918 Gya
z = 1.81	10.074 Gya
z = 1.9914	10.391 Gya
z = 2.04	10.468 Gya
z = 2.12	10.589 Gya
z = 2.31	10.849 Gya
z = 2.60	11.183 Gya
z = 2.88	11.449 Gya
z = 3.01	11.558 Gya
z = 3.93	12.130 Gya
z = 5.17	12.584 Gya
z = 14.39	13.434 Gya

Note the faint magnitudes captured at the 5σ depth with JWST across the wavelength bands in this Table 1.

The top part of Figure 1 remained uninverted and the bottom part was inverted, both for clarity.

Comments:

In Figure 1 (across above right), note that (as discussed with the data of Yan et al. 2002, and other papers cited in this chapter), the high redshift galaxy, GLASS-z12 at z = 12.2, is closely associated with a 'quiescent' lower redshift galaxy at z = 3.5. These two galaxies, one high-z and one lower-z occur in the same angular location in the sky, and have had their respective redshifts statistically confirmed.
In Figure 2 (across), also note that like GLASS-z12, high redshift galaxy, GLASS-z10 at z ~ 10.39 (avg of z-values according to the EAZY and Prospector analyses), is likewise closely associated with a 'quiescent' lower redshift galaxy at z = 2.5; also with respective redshifts statistically confirmed.

There are comparable, proportional spreads in z-units, respectively
between the high z galaxies and the low z galaxies.

Galaxies	GLASS-z12	GLASS-z10
High z	12.2	~10.39
Low z	3.5	2.5
Ratio (z_L / z_H)	(3.5 / 12.2) ~0.287	(2.5 / ~10.39) ~0.241

A footnote question: Is this proportionality, (or similar ones in other
'deep field' high z / low z distributions), possibly significant?

The top part of Figure 2 remained uninverted and the bottom part was inverted, both for clarity.

In Figure 4, note the disk-like morphology of one of these high-z galaxies!

On the bottom panel, the angularly-larger galaxy below, assaying its z-value would be of interest.

Figure 6{a} Top

Figure 6{a}

Figure 6{b} Bottom

Figure 6{b}

Castellano et al. (2022) Figure 1 shows the detection of a selection of high redshift galaxies in different color channels, including large bright galaxies (LBGs) in the z ~ 9-11 range, with look-back times ranging from 13.170 Gya (supposedly 0.552 Gyr post-BB) to 13.303 Gya (supposedly 0.419 Gyr post-BB) and also in the z ~ 9-15 range, again with look-back times from 13.170 Gya (supposedly 0.552 Gyr post-BB) to 13.450 Gya (supposedly 0.272 Gyr post-BB). m

Below, two very bright and high quality redshift galaxies (LGBs), GHZ1 and GHZ2.

Below, fainter high redshift galaxy candidates, 3 of them equivocal with a non-negligible probability of being lower redshift (GHZ3, GHZ5, GHZ6), while GHZ4 has a high probability of being a high redshift galaxy, but in the fainter magnitude range,

These galaxies (in Fig. 3) appear 2-3 times smaller than expected from HST observations, again indicating that there is not the expansion effect magnification predicted by the Big Bang.

Ferreira et al. (2022) unraveled some of, or shall we say, a few of the implications of their early findings, involving examining the morphology of galaxies in the 1.5 < z < 3 range or 9.405 Gya (supposedly 4.317 Gyr post-BB) < z < 11.550 Gya (supposedly 2.172 Gyr post-BB), where HST neither had the depth nor resolution to correctly decipher galaxy morphology. They classified 280 galaxies as spheroid, disk, and peculiar / irregular in the 1.5 < z < 8 range or up to 13.076 Gya (supposedly 0.646 Gyr post-BB), at rest-frame optical wavelengths for JWST. Then they ran quantitative parametric and nonparametric morphology tests on these selected galaxies. Their findings:

i) Within the HBBC paradigm, they concluded that galaxy morpho-types evolve more slowly than previously believed (on BB terms), based on the limitations of HST imaging and resolution, i.e., these preliminary JWST results suggest formation of 'normal galaxy structure much earlier than previously thought.'
ii) They discovered that disk galaxies are common at the z ~ 3-6 range, making up ~50% of the galaxy cohort (subject to JWST depth and resolution limitations), that is, >10x as high as suggested by observations under the strictures of HST's capabilities. They point out that this z-interval is "surprisingly full of disk galaxies," i.e., only surprising in HBBC paradigmatic terms, given their apparent 'irregularities' under the limitations of the HST. They don't ask whether their expectations rather than being a prediction of the paradigm are actually just the depth and resolution limitations of the telescopes at hand, namely, HST and now, JWST, which unlike HST can probe the near IR part of the spectrum.
iii) Distant galaxies in optical rest-frame at z > 3, at UV spectral region which was all that HST could see at those high redshifts, seemed much more irregular in morphology, than they actually are when the actual mass and morphology can be assayed by JWST in the near IR spectral region.

What became very apparent with the unexpected mass presence of disk galaxies is that galaxy evolution is expected to take a long time, just like the Milky Way galaxy has been the essential barred spiral that it is for ~10 Gy. The Hubble-de Vaucouleurs morphological classification of galaxy evolution illustrates, when they were expected to start very small and grow through mergers and ragged, but when large, smooth spirals and elliptical galaxies are present from when they shouldn't be present, they suggest that the Universe was old then as now with fully mature and very distant from us galaxies:

(Wiki Commons link).

Adams et al. (2022b).

The additional figures of Yan et al. (2022), Appendix I.

Fig B1-a. 6-bands of NIRCam

Figure B1-b 6-band

Fig. B1-c 6-band

Fig. B1-d (cont.) 6-band

Fig. B1-e. 6-band

Fig. B1-f. 6-band

Fig. B2-a. 6-band.

Fig. B2-b 6-band

Fig. B2-c 6-band

Fig. B2-d F277 band

End of Yan et al. (2022) Appendix Figure B.

All the cutout images of distant galaxies in each of 6 wavelength bands assayed by JWST show differing levels of visible resolution, in ways dependent on the wavelength. Furthermore, in many of the bands the images are near, at, or just beyond the level of JWST resolution. The same may be said in general about the galaxy images in aggregate across the bands. The "chain of five" galaxies are in regular Figure 3, and are not included in this collection of Appendix collection of cutout images.

The limits of resolution at these wavelength can be visualized in the Figure B collages, as well as in the magnitudes of these remote galaxies in the wavelength bands summarized in Yan et al. (2022) Appendix Table 1:

Yan et al. (2022) Table 1.

These faint magnitudes lay out a range of the near limits of the JWST resolution across these wavelength bands available.

Fig. C1-a. Band F150 SED (spectral energy distribution)-fitting using Le Phare [see Ilbert, O., Arnouts, S., McCracken, H. J., et al. 2006. Accurate photometric redshifts for the CFHT legacy surveycalibrated using the VIMOS VLT deep survey. A&A 457 (3), 841. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20065138]. The ubiquitous PDF stands for "probability distribution function."

Fig. C1-b. Band F150. Again, coincident low and high redshift NIR sources. Lots of them called 'contamination' by BBers but astronomer should let the data speak on their own terms:

Fig. C1-c.

Fig. C1-d. Band F150. More 'coincident contamination' of close-angular proximity low and high redshift galaxies in the remote JWST field views of the Universe.

Fig. C1-e. Band F150.

Fig. C1-f. Band F150.

Fig. C2-a. Band F200.

Fig. C2-b. Band F200.

Fig. D1-a. Band F150 SED (spectral energy distribution)-fitting using the EAZY-py package with templates including emission lines (https://github.com/gbrammer/eazy-py) modified to assay upper flux limits. We leave the images very large in order to show the redshift values near the likely current limits of JWST resolution. The little cyan circle-dots are the synthesized flux densities based on best-fit models.

Fig. D1-b. Band F150.

Fig. D1-c. Band F150 (legend).

Fig. D1-d. Band F150.

Fig. D1-e. Band F150.

Fig. D1-F150 cont.

Fig. D2-a. Band F200.

Fig. D1-b. Band F200 (legend).

Yan et al. (2022).

Appendix Figure C Le Phare SED analyses 74 total	Double z spectra 59 / 74 ~ 80%	Very Close high z_ph values (~1-2 z units) 16 / 59 ~ 22% Low z & high z 'coincident' (multiple z units) (59 - 16): 43 / 74 ~ 58%
"	Single z spectra secondary PDF peaks (74 - 59): 10 / 15 ~ 67%	Tertiary peaks 46 / 59 ~ 78%
Appendix Figure D EAZY-py SED analyses 74 total	Secondary p(z) =/> 0.80 peaks, including broad peaks topping threshold 25 / 74 ~ 34%	Secondary & Tertiary peaks (any number) 61 / 74 ~ 82%

Yan et al. (2022) SED spectra summary.

Atek et al. (2022).

Under these parameters, these redshift ranges may be inferred (Wright, 2006):

z ~ 9: Look-back of 12.928 Gya (supposedly 0.536 Gyr post-BB)
z ~ 11: Look-back of 13.056 Gya (supposedly 0.407 Gyr post-BB)
z ~ 15: Look-back of 13.199 Gya (supposedly 0.264 Gyr post-BB)
z ~ 16: Look-back of 13.222 Gya (supposedly 0.241 Gyr post-BB)
z ~ 21: Look-back of 13.300 Gya (supposedly 0.164 Gyr post-BB)

Note

Atek et al. (2002) Appendix Figures A1, A2.

Atek et al. (2002) Appendix Figures B1-2, C1-4.

Atek et al. (2002).

Lerner et al. (2014).

Lerner et al. (2014).

In short, Lerner et al. (2014) showed that, based on the GALEX and HST data, the surface luminosity of both low and high redshift galaxies exhibit that our observable Universe exhibits Euclidean and steady state properties.






	Findings & Conclusions: None of the galaxy growth models such as (a) the 'puffing up' scenario from early quasi-stellar winds, (b) the 'major axis' mergers, and (c) the 'minor axis' mergers, can account for why these data sets do not fit the expanding cosmos models, other than its just by a sheer and massive coincidence. However, the predictions of the SEU are met in that disk & elliptic galaxy radii are z-independent. The SEU does not venture an explanatory mechanism for the linear z-distance relation within a non-expanding Euclidean Universe. These conclusions apply only to the z-radial size relation. These data are empirically consistent to great statistical strengths with an SEU, and robustly inconsistent with any standard expanding cosmos scenarios.
In terms of cosmology, a Euclidean Universe would exhibit an angular-size / redshift relation such that θ = l / d, where θ = angular size in milliarcseconds (mas), l = linear size l, and d = distance from Earth. Characteristic angular size in mas and redshift in logarithmic scales (https://universe-review.ca/R15-17-relativity12.htm linked from https://universe-review.ca/index.htm). It is important to note that the data have advanced far beyond this diagram above, since the highest redshift here represented by data is z ~ 4.	Once an expanding Universe is introduced, then the distance from Earth becomes a function of redshift such that, d = (c/H₀) {q₀z + (q₀ - 1)[(1 + 2q_₀z)^1/2 - 1]} / [q₀²(1 + z)²], where q_₀ = (4πG ^ρ / 3) / H₀² is the deceleration parameter derived in an equation of standard cosmology (link). In order to achieve this with a negative q_₀ deceleration parameter such as q_₀ = -1, one should either turn to a Euclidean non-expanding Universe, or conjure up all of the epicycles and invisible entities of the standard ΛCDM concordance cosmology, which still does not reconcile the data. The only expanding universe cosmological approach that even comes close to the actual data discussed here, minus a multitude of epicycles and adjustable parameters, are the classic steady state cosmologies (CSSC, or a variant of the same) which directly predict a q_₀ = -1, as discussed in chapter III, "The Hubble Relation and the expanding Universe: 'The War of the World-Views'." However, one does not need the CSSC or variant either. It is critical to note that the Hoyle-Narlikar Machian theory (Hoyle & Narlikar, 1962, 1964a-e, 1966, and 1974, &c.) need not have the constraints of either the HBBC, the CSSC, or the QSSC, but simply may be Euclidean in a steady-state or episodic steady-state exhibiting the Ambartsumian-Arp cosmogony with redshift periodicities (see chapter IX), and still be in harmony with these data and observations cited in this Lerner (2018) paper. Another factor in all of these data sets and their implications are the limits of resolution of the telescope / observatory utilized. Additional data sets from the JWST can take us farther than the HDF, the SDSS, and the GALEX data sets. Prediction: Even the JWST will have similar resolution limitations which will still not bring us to a beginning, especially if we indeed live in an eternal Universe.

Lerner (2018).

SED = spectral energy distribution, in this case of 4 chosen representative high redshift galaxies.

The UV LF refers to the UV luminosity function.

Contrary to the claims of Oesch et al. (2018), the so-called 'halo evolution model' (related to the star formation rate) did not drop off, but 'followed a steady, exponential decline,' as expected we might say, in an eternal Universe.

Even the highest redshift galaxy in this study, CEERS-93316, followed a SED of a normal galaxy, and there were no primordial Population III stars found.

For comparison we see the Arp 220 and M82 systems:

The Arp 220 System

Arp 220

Arp 220 with its putative ejected companions (see Chapter IX. Jets.html).

The M82 System

The M82 (link) system has multiple putative ejected higher redshift QSOs associated with it (see Chapter IX. Jets.html).

JWST NEPTD Field main image (link).

(link).

JWST NEPTD Field clean image (link).

JWST NEPTD Field annotated image (link).

Bunker et al. (2023)

The C III / He II vs C III / C IV ratios cannot commit this galaxy to either photoionization by AGNs (active galactic nuclei) nor SFG (star-formation galaxy) suggest that both may be the case.

The redshift offset of Lyα versus the Balmer Hγ emissions suggest that there is possibly an outflow of neutral hydrogen from the AGN, as one explanation.

Bunker et al. (2023).






	In short, this galaxy Gz9p3 exhibits heavy mass, advanced stellar populations, and a higher metallicity than paradigmatically-expected ~0.5 Gy after the Big Bang, including metallic emission and absorption lines. The authors argue for rapid buildup through mergers, but one only has to assume drastic and rapid properties if one insists on the immediacy of the Big Bang model. Prediction. Such massive, high metallicity galaxies with maturing stellar populations will continue to be found as JWST and other telescopes continue to probe deeper into the range of higher redshift distant galaxies.

Boyett et al. (2023).

Disk galaxies with ancient, mature, mixed stellar populations, are the result of galactic morphological evolution, and long stellar evolution.

Disk galaxies considered to be the result of long processes and they are more common than expected in the standard Big Bang cosmology (link).

All of the galaxies were submitted through a software-based data analysis classification pipeline deciding between the following shape categories:

(1) unclassifiable: unresolved, not visible, too faint / artifactual,
(2) point sources: smaller in angular size than the Gaussian full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the point-spread function (PSF_FWHM) such that the resolution is consistent with point sources, without extended components,
(3) disks: resolved with an outer area of lower surface brightness regularly increasing toward the center, not dependent on whether there is a spiral or bar pattern present,
(4) spheroid: resolved, symmetrically and centrally-concentrated with smooth profile, round or elliptical in shape,
(5) peculiar: well-resolved, where peculiarity or disturbance dominates over any smooth components.

Notice how steady the stellar mass threshold near the mean stellar mass of the stellar mass-redshift distribution is across the redshift bins, even while the resolution declines with greater distance / look-back times.

Rest-frame optical galactic sources representative of the 3 of the categories of samples in the Ferreira et al. (2023) study.

Figure 4 shows 3 measures of the three galaxy morphologies considered: (top) effective radius (R_n); (middle) axis ratio (a/b); and (bottom) information entropy. Figure 6 compares log asymmetry vs. log spirality for a larger mass bin. Figure 8 shows the Sersic index or profile (link) of the mathematical relation of how intensity (I) varies with radius (R) from the center of a galaxy.

Figure 5 shows the concentrations of asymmetry in morphologies across various redshift bins. There seems to be very little change, except related to perhaps declining resolution with greater redshifts.

Figure 7 shows the non-radial asymmetry in a Cartesian to polar coordinate transformation representation of three of the categorized galaxy morphologies studied.

Figure 9 shows the morphology fractions for two mass bins across redshifts of z < 2 to z > 6.

Figure 10 shows the morphology fractions per specific star formation rates (sSFRs) across various redshift bins.

Figures 11 and 12 show morphology fractions (f_m) per total stellar mass & redshift, as well as per star formation rate (f_SMR) & redshift, respectively. Compare with the Ferreira et al. 2022 equivalent figures below.

Ferreira et al. 2023 Figures 11 & 12.

Ferreira et al. 2022 (arXiv) Figures 10 and 11 show morphology fractions (f_m) per total stellar mass & redshift, as well as per star formation rate (f_SMR) & redshift, respectively. Note, that similar to the HST images, the JWST image resolutions also decline as expected with higher redshift and distance.

Ferreira et al. 2022 Figures 10 & 11 (arXiv).

Figure 13 shows estimated fractions of spheroid and disk morphology galaxies out into distance obscurity beyond z > 6, with the more expansive z > 8 in Ferreira et al. 2022 (arXiv version). Note the adjustments made between the October 2023 version (Left) and the more expansive October 2022 version from arXiv (Right).

Ferreira et al. 2023. Figure 13.

Ferreira et al. 2022. Figure 12 (arXiv).

Figure 14 shows representative comparisons between select galaxies assayed for morphology between the HST and the JWST. Many features are very clearly visible in JWST imagery, while sometimes only the core of the galaxy is visible in HST imagery (see Fig. 14 legend). This is illustrative of how the limiting factor is the telescopic resolution, not supposedly evolutionary features in these distant galaxies.

In summary, what can be safely said of significance is what the authors note: "For galaxies with higher masses M* > 10⁹ M_☉, the fractions of disks / spheroids / peculiars appear to be roughly constant at 1.5 < z < 6.5." To this we may add from the more expansive Ferreira et al. 2022 (arXiv version) that not only do we have the full Hubble-de Vaucouleurs galaxy morphology series present for redshift distances z > 6, which translates to look-back times >12.951 Gly (supposedly ~0.771 Gy post-BB), but also in the Ferreira et al. 2022 version on arXiv we have the full Hubble-de Vaucouleurs galaxy morphology series going out to z < 8, i.e., look-back times 13.076 Gly, supposedly 0.646 Gyr post-BB. The evolution of Milky Way like spiral galaxies and the entire Hubble sequence of galaxy morphologies was present very early, and perhaps the only limiting factor is the resolution limits of the JWST. If we were to let galaxy formation and star formation rates speak for themselves, there were mature stellar galaxies of various masses >12 Gly distant, which is actually >13 Gly.

A not-very-daring prediction: Larger telescopes with higher resolutions at these same wavelengths as JWST will continue to show the ongoing pattern of an ever present full Hubble-de Vaucouleurs morphology series out into distance obscurity at the limits of that larger observatory's resolution:

The Hubble-de Vaucouleurs galaxy morphology classification (link).

13 September 2023 released: The paper of Frye, B. L. et al. 2023. The JWST discovery of the triply-imaged Type Ia 'Supernova H0pe' and observations of the galaxy cluster PLCK G165.7+67.0. https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.07326 occasioned some breathless excitement about resolving the most pressing 'crisis in cosmology' question according to HBBC proponents, and that is the rate of expansion of the cosmos." JWST's first triple-image supernova could save the Universe" (link) exclaimed one science news outlet.

(link).

The examination of the fortuitously gravitationally-lensed Type Ia supernova in PLCK G165.7+67.0 may help refine the value of the H₀ in forthcoming papers, which may decrease the 'Hubble tension' or at least that is the hope, hence the quaint name, 'Supernova H0pe'—not much more of paradigmatic importance than that so far.

More evidence has come in with 2024 on the finding on mature, massive galaxies with high redshifts. Back in 2016, the Four Star Galaxy Evolution Survey (ZFOURGE) of over >70,000 galaxies resulting in ~60,000 with redshifts of z > 1 (look-back times >7.818 Gya, supposedly 5.904 Gy post-BB: https://zfourge.tamu.edu/#), using the Four Star infrared camera on the Magellan Baade 6.5 m telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory (Chile). These galaxies were surveyed in the HST legacy fields of CDFS, COSMOS, and UDS (https://zfourge.tamu.edu/data/), which can be visually explored as well. This survey was published in Straatman, C. M. S., et al. 2016. The FourStar Galaxy Evolution Survey (ZFOURGE): ultraviolet to far-infrared catalogs, medium-bandwidth photometric redshifts with improved accuracy, stellar masses, and confirmation of quiescent galaxies to z ~ 3.5. arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1608.07579. ApJ 830 (1), 51. https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/830/1/51, and including the 2017 Data Release (link). z ~ 3.5; lookback time of ~11.898 Gya (supposedly ~1.824 Gy post-BB).

Animation of a sample of the ZFOURGE database galaxy spectral energy distributions (SEDs) across several redshifts.

(https://zfourge.tamu.edu/#).

Straatman et al. 2016

SFR = star formation rate vs. solar mass in solar units M_⊙.

Notice the rather steady fractions across redshift values of sigma z-value errors and especially fractions of magnitudes (Fig. 16, first & second rows) and in blue star formation rates (Fig. 16, 3rd row) and red star formation rates (Fig. 16, 4th row). The redshift bins go from z ~ 0.5 (look-back time ~ 5.093 Gya, supposedly 8.629 Gy post-BB) up through z ~ 4 (look-back time ~12.163 Gya, supposedly ~1.559 Gy post-BB).

It is important to notice the broad variation or scatter in magnitudes (Fig. 23) and also in stellar masses (Fig. 24). It is very likely that the limiting factor here is the instrumental limits in detection, not an actual paucity of representatives of the galaxy categories at the higher redshifts.

With the advent of JWST operation, papers began to come out furthering the work on old, massive, quiescent galaxies, which of course are signs of galaxy age and maturity.

09 November 2023 (Thursday) released (JWST). In the quest to find distant time-varying transients, objects which vary in brightness over shorter intervals, in the medium deep fields, JWST returned to a field exposure done by the HST. Combined the HST and JWST provided some of the most colorful deep images of the Universe ("NASA's Webb, Hubble Combine to Create Most Colorful View of Universe," link). In the process of searching for transients, the two space telescopes provided a combined colored image of galaxies with different colored stellar populations and ages, where colors represent wavelengths / frequencies:

(Image with wavelength coloration from both HST and JWST filters; link).

The transients were reported in Yan et al. (2023). JWST's PEARLS: Transients in the MACS J0416.1-2403 field. v2. https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.07579, and in Diego et al. (2023). JWST’s PEARLS: Mothra, a new kaiju star at z = 2.091 extremely magnified by MACS0416, and implications for dark matter models. (arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.10363). A&A 679, A31. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202347556.

09 January 2024 released, published. Veteran distance ladder calibrator and Nobel laureate, Adam Riess and colleagues did further work to resolve the Hubble tension between standard Cepheid variable and the CMB-derived values of the H₀ constant: Riess, A. G., et al. 2024. JWST observations reject unrecognized crowding of Cepheid photometry as an explanation for the Hubble Tension at 8σ confidence. (arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.04773). ApJ Letters 962 (1), L17. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad1ddd. The model-dependent CMB-derived results are introduced and discussed in Chapter IV. The CMB radiation: From Where and Whence. We turn to these remarkable results next, which have a bearing on the data indicating a 'Hubble tension' in the measurements of H₀ as introduced with discussion in chapter VII. Unexpected Galactic Redshifts. This study is a follow up based on JWST data from the November of 2022 paper, Yuan et al. 2022. A first look at Cepheids in Type Ia supernova host with JWST. ApJ Letters 940, L17. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac9b27, which showed no JWST resolution of the 'Hubble tension' between the HST and the JWST preliminary results on the nearby galaxy NGC 1365.

Riess and colleagues measured >1000 Cepheid variables in the distance ladder anchor galaxy NGC 4258, also known as the beautiful M106, as well as in 5 host galaxies with 8 SN Ia supernovae, with >150 Cepheids for each galaxy assayed. NGC 4258 / M106, located about 23 Mly from Earth, is a fascinating AGN galaxy which is of cosmological significance in testing cosmological and cosmogonical models. Although classified first among the Seyfert galaxies (which have quasar-like nuclei surrounded by a discernible galaxy structure; link), NGC 4258 / M106 is actually a LINER (low-emission nuclear emission-line region) type of galaxy (link); see discussion in Burbidge & Burbidge (1997). Ejection of matter and energy from NGC 4258. ApJ 477, L13-L15. https://doi.org/10.1086/310517. The NGC 4258 / M106 system is acutely significant in cosmology because it has apparently ejected angularly-equidistant X-ray loud QSOs along its minor axes with their comparable redshifts both higher than the central galaxy (see discussion discussion in Chapter IX. Vast jets and galactic ejection phenomena; temporarily unavailable during updates; and referenced in Chapter VIII. Radiogalaxies: Strange powerhouses of intergalactic space-time). NGC 4258 / M106 is also bright in the radio, X-ray, and infrared wavelengths (see composite below). Now on to the data, the analyses, and the results of Riess et al. (2024).

The NGC 4258 / M106 system.

NGC 4258 / M106 (Anne's Astronomy news link; cf. HST Messier catalogue entry; M106 wikipedia link).

M106 in composite with optical (blue & yellow from Hubble), X-rays (blue from Chandra), radio waves (purple from the VLA), and infrared (red from Spitzer). Notice the two anomalous arms which are optically invisible but evident in X-ray (blue) and radio (purple) emissions (Chandra link).

Above left: Among the distant 'smudges' of light espied in Canes Venatici within Plate 7 of Johann Elert Bode's [ˈboːdə, with o as in 'story'] 1801 Uranographia (link) with zoomed detail (lower left); above right: IAU map of Canes Venatici (link); lower right: M106 classification as a spiral between SAb and SAc spirals (https://theskylive.com/sky/deepsky/messier-106-object).

Before this study, the state of the 'Hubble tension' cited for Cepheids and SN Ia data is that of H₀ = 73.0 ± 1.0 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ based on the Leavitt period-luminosity (P-L) law-relation for Cepheid variables (Leavitt, H. S. & Pickering, E. C. 1912. Periods of 25 variable stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Harvard College Observatory Circular 173, 1-3. https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1912HarCi.173....1L; see discussion and context in Chapter III. The Hubble relation and the expanding Universe) from the SH0ES collaboration of Riess, A. G., et al. 2022. A comprehensive measurement of the local value of the Hubble constant with 1 km/s/Mpc uncertainty from the Hubble Space Telescope and the SH0ES team. (arXiv release v1 on 08 Dec 2021; v3 on 18 Jul 2022: https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.04510). 2022. A comprehensive measurement of the local value of the Hubble constant with 1 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ uncertainty from the Hubble Space Telescope and the SH0ES team. ApJL 934 (1), L7. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac5c5b.

By contrast, according to the CMB data (under assumptions of the 6-parameter spatially-flat ΛCDM model) from the Planck Collaboration et al. 2020. Planck 2018 results. VI. Cosmological parameters. A&A 641, A6. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833910 (erratum: https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833910e), the value of H₀ = 67.4 ± 0.5 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹. This 'Hubble tension' is real to a robust >5σ difference between the H₀ values derived from the Cepheid P-L calibrated distance ladder data and the ΛCDM model-dependent CMB determination.

In summary paraphrase, Riess et al. (2022) made the following conclusions at that stage:

Using a Cepheid-only calibration of 42 SNe Ia data, they made a baseline determination of H₀ = 73.04 ± 1.04 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹. Combining Cepheid with TRGB (tip of the red giant branch) for a total of 46 SNe Ia calibrators, H₀ = 72.53 ± 0.99 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹.
This Cepheid-calibrated SNe determination of H₀ is greater than the Planck+ΛCDM H₀ determination by >5σ (< 1 / 3.5 million), "making it implausible to reconcile the two by chance."
No significant inconsistencies of measurement or other sources of unrecognized error including 67 variants of analyses were found in the study. Included as a additional uncertainty factor, the dispersion of the 59 NIR variants is only 0.3 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹, while the mean H₀ of the variants is 73.25 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹, a mere 0.2 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ above the baseline determination.
Dispersion between the 42 SNe Ia and Cepheid relative distance measures is σ = 0.130 mag, comparable to the σ = 0.135 mag dispersion of SNe Ia found in the Hubble-flow sample, thus yielding no evidence of excess noise in Cepheid distance measurements.
The SNe and TRGB distances measures are consistent when starting and ending with the same host galaxies (i.e., between the 1st and 2nd rungs in Fig. 1 below). Between measurements by two groups the location of the tip in NGC 4258 and the resulting calibration of the TRGB (using the mean of both) there's a net difference of 1.3 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ (or 0.04 ± 0.02 mag). There is a net 1 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ (0.03 mag) higher value of H₀ from the tripling of the SN calibrator sample, consistent with the ± 0.05 mag shot noise of the subsamples.
Each of the three independent geometric anchors is consistent with the distance predicted by its Cepheids and the other two anchors. This conclusion is further tightened by improvements in the calibration of the metallicity dependence of the Cepheid P-L relation.
The SNe data between the 2nd and 3rd rungs of the ladder (Figure 1 below) are hosted by galaxies of the same late-evolved spiral type with the same or similar mean star-formation rate (SFR) and mass, with highly consistent color and shape distributions. The calibrator data set contains a complete sample of all suitably quality SNe Ia data at z < 0.011 over the last four decades. The authors found no indication of differences between the mean properties of the samples’ host galaxies, nor any factor with matched selection that would alter H₀.
Extragalactic Cepheids appear to have a uniform P-L relation consistent with a single slope and the fine structure in their light curves resembles those in the Milky Way at a comparable period of morphological evolution (that is, the 'Hertzsprung progression' or the changes in light curve shape with period).
The distance ladder presented provides constraint which is well-approximated by the derived value of H₀, except in models introducing rapid, unexpected, late-time changes in H(z) compared with either ΛCDM, low-order fits to H(z), or perhaps some forms of new physics. For such models, the authors suggest replacing H₀ with the absolute SN Ia host distances derived from the first two rungs (Fig. 1), the set of SNe Ia standardized magnitudes in these host galaxies, the SNe Ia magnitudes in the Hubble flow, and their covariance. They provide an example that yields a joint constraint of H₀ = 73.30 ± 1.04 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ and a q₀ = −0.51 ± 0.024.
Accordingly, Riess et al. frankly conclude, "The source of this long-standing, significant discrepancy between the local and cosmological routes to determining the Hubble constant remains unknown."

Riess et al. (2022) data:

The foundation of the 'distance ladder formalism' is the Hubble constant (H₀) or the present relation between redshift (z) and distance: cz = H₀D: (1) parallax and maser-based geometric distance measurements (to standardized Cepheid variables), (2) standardized Cepheids and colocated SNe Ia in nearby galaxies, such as NGC 4258, and (3) SNe Ia in the Hubble flow or putative expansion of the cosmos.
	The basic equations of cz = H₀D may be expanded to take in the variables into matrices, where y = a vector of magnitude measurements, and C = the covariance matrix of standard errors of the magnitude measurements
L being the equation matrix, including metallicities of anchor galaxies hosting Cepheids:	And q being the vector of various free parameters, as in the model Lq:




In astrophysics, the Wesenheit (German for 'essence' or 'nature') function (at a star's passband magnitudes) is a correction for distance and reddening by dust to determine visual apparent magnitude (Wesenheit magnitude). The function (link) was developed for Cepheid variable period-luminosity relations using a color index and serves as a period-luminosity-color relation for calibrating the Cepheid P-L relation (see also paper's Appendix D, Use and misuse of Wesenheit magnitudes; pp. 48-50, including the literature citations).

Riess et al. (2022).

A followup paper by the Riess team came with further data on anchor galaxies NGC 4258 and NGC 5584: Riess, A. et al. 2023. Crowded no more: The accuracy of the Hubble constant tested with high-resolution observations of cepheids by JWST. (arXiv release 28 July 2023: https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.15806). ApJ Letters 956, L18. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acf769. They examined >320 Cepheids in these two anchor galaxies across two observational epochs with the JWST NIRCAM, at a median distance in the HST SH0ES data set to determine if there had been a photometric bias with the HST data set. JWST with its far superior source separation resolution was able to largely rule out source-crowding confusion in the HST data set while achieving a >2.5X reduction in dispersion of Cepheid period-luminosity (P-L) relations from 0.45 to 0.17 mag, yielding an increased individual Cepheid precision from 20% to 7%. The JWST-HST differences in P–L relation intercepts are slight with 0.00 ± 0.03 mag for NGC 4258 and 0.02 ± 0.03 mag for NGC 5584. The JWST-HST difference in determination of H₀ from these intercepts at 0.02 ± 0.04 mag is robustly insensitive to JWST zero-points and count rate nonlinearity (CRNL) because of error cancellation between the rungs of the distance ladder with the data sets. Furthermore, a series of analysis variants (including passband combinations, phase corrections, measured detector offsets, and crowding levels) show that the baseline determinations of H₀ are robust.

The 'Hubble tension' between the local Type Ia supernovae (SNeIa) data calibrated by Cepheid variables determination of H₀ = 73.0 ± 1.0 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ (Riess et al. 2022) and the Cosmic Microwave Background ΛCDM model-based determination (Planck Collaboration et al. 2020) of H₀ = 67.4 ± 0.5 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ is again shown not to be the result of systematic errors in HST Cepheid photometry.

Riess et al. (2023) data




.... [For the full multi-page Riess et al. (2023) Table 2, please consult the reference links]....

Riess et al. (2023).

In October 2023, a review paper discussed progress being made, including with red giant distance-calibration measurements and analyses, in direct measurements of H₀: Freedman, W. L. & Madore, B. F. (2023; November). Progress in direct measurements of the Hubble constant. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (JCAP) 2023, 1-35. JCAP11(2023)050. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1475-7516/2023/11/050/pdf; https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2023/11/050.

Suppose that Freedman and colleagues had indeed succeeded in doing away entirely with the 'Hubble tension' between direct stellar distance ladder measurements and calibrations of H₀ and the indirect CMB cosmological model-driven determinations of H₀ (which they do not claim), then what? Does that solve the redshift-based questions in cosmological models? It still does not, even for the empirical category of extragalactic redshifts:

I. There still exist evident distance-discordant redshift phenomena as described in this chapter (V), and in other chapters:

A. Galaxy-morphology-dependent excess / intrinsic anomalous redshifts, including the galaxy-morphology bias in the 'fingers of god' phenomenon in galaxy surveys: Referenced and discussed within chapter VI. Unexpected Large-Scale Structures & Violations of Homogeneity and Isotropy;
B. Apparent distance-discordant redshifts between galaxies which seem to be 'interacting' and / or ejection of higher redshift objects from central AGN galaxy systems: Referenced and / or discussed within this chapter (V) and in chapters VII. Unexpected galactic redshifts; VIII. Radio galaxies: Strange powerhouses of intergalactic space-time; IX. Vast jets and galactic ejection phenomena: Mass origin-ejection?; X. Multiple galactic alignments: Ejections and galaxy clusters?; and even in XII. Infinite Universe at large & at small?, which discusses the apparent connections between ultra high energy (UHE) cosmic rays and these ejection phenomena.

II. The widely-documented, decades long, stubbornly-persistent phenomena of periodicity of extragalactic and quasar redshifts: Discussed in detail in chapters VII. Unexpected galactic redshifts and further in IX. Vast jets and galactic ejection phenomena: Mass origin-ejection?.

Now, let's examine the Freedman team review of results, their methodology, and their conclusions (which made a splash of interest at the American Physical Society or APS meetings in March of 2024: https://march.aps.org/). They begin by reviewing the growing accuracy in direct astrophysical measurements of the local H₀ values, through overcoming of systematic uncertainties, and how that compares with the local H₀ determined from indirect, model-dependent measurements of the temperature and polarization fluctuations of the CMB, as data-fitted by the ΛCDM model; i.e., the 'Hubble tension.' They also found it critical to show that the local Universe measurements are 'convincingly free of residual systematic errors in measurement.' The 'Hubble tension' or 'the inconsistency between the local value of the Hubble constant and the cosmologically[-]modeled value could be interpreted as an inadequacy in the theory,' the authors assert, thus 'begging the questions':

'Is cosmology in a crisis?'
'And is our current model of the universe now in need of new physics?'

The authors wisely suggest that the answers will emerge by gathering data and improving our techniques for eliminating both statistical and systematic errors in the data sets used for the distance scale in measuring H₀.

They then review the definite improvements made in statistical and systematic precision in three methodological areas of data collection to calibrate the supernovae (SNe Ia) distance data, editorializing: "The past 20 years have been referred to as the era of 'precision cosmology'. We must now ensure that we have convincingly entered the era of 'accurate cosmology'."

(a) the measurement of the Cepheid period-luminosity Leavitt (L-P) function (2001-2023), starting with such programs as the HST Key Project (2001) H₀ = 72 ± 3 (stat) ± 7 (sys) km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹, wending with increasing precision, through data sets from Hipparcos, HST, Gaia, Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3), SH0ES, and of course, the JWST results . See their Figures below (and also Fig. 5 from Freedman, W. L. & Madore, B. F. 2023. The Cepheid extragalactic distance scale: Past, present, and future. In Richard de Grijs, Patricia Whitelock, and Marcio Catelan, (eds.). Proceedings of IAU Symposium 376. arXiv release (Aug 2023): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2308.02474. Far from illustrating the advancing convergent harmonization of the H₀ values from diverse data sets, the increasing precision of each reveals the divergence of the 'Hubble tension' (summary Fig. 6).

Fig. 6; Freedman & Madore (2023; August).

(b) The Tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB) stars on the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) related color magnitude diagram (CMD) as distance ladder markers, which can be calibrated with Cepheid variables. The astrophysical theory as to why TRGB may conceivably serve as excellent standard candles is because they are low mass stars (M ≲ 2 M_⊙) which as they evolve up the red giant branch of the H-R diagram burn / fuse H above a degenerate He core. Whatever the initial mass of the star, when the core reaches a standard threshold of ~0.5 M_⊙, while in the degenerate He core which cannot expand, the temperature careens upward. Upon reaching about ~10⁸ K at a density of 10⁵ g cm⁻³, a helium-burning / fusing thermonuclear process ignites and goes exponential via the triple-α (⁴He or 2N⁰2P⁺ x 3) nuclear fusion process, generating a 'helium flash' marking a special, statistically-robust plateau on the H-R CMD with a modest scatter in H₀ determination. (See Figures 6 & 12 below in Freedman & Madore, 2023; November).

Energetics and overview of common nuclear processes, including the triple-α process, which involves
the fusion of two ⁴He into ⁸Be and then with another ⁴He —> a high energy, spinless, resonant state of ¹²C on an energetic tightrope decay to stable ¹²C,
called the 'Hoyle state' after Sir Fred Hoyle's remarkable prediction of the state and its binding energy (~7.7 MeV) in 1954, since confirmed.

	Note: In Sun-like stars in the H-R main sequence, the temperatures only rise to the extent activating PP and CNO fusion cycles, however at higher temperatures....
	In low mass red giants with degenerate He cores, (at ~10⁸ K and a density of 10⁵ g cm⁻³), the triple-α process takes off exponentially yielding a 'helium flash.' This 'He flash' characteristic of TRGB stars is the astrophysical, empirical manifestation of the 'Hoyle state' (cf. figure link).

Triple alpha nuclear fusion processes (link).

As Fig. 5 of Freedman & Madore [2023; August] shows, the TRGB correlates and corroborates well with the Cepheid variable Leavitt PL relation in showing distance, and calibrating the measurement of H₀ especially at lower values of z. Furthermore, unlike the Cepheid variable supergiants, the metallicity of these low mass red giants at the He flashpoint does not affect the precision of the results, although the scatter for TRGB is ultimately higher than for Cepheids (see final Figure 14 below). Furthermore, the TRGB stars can be observed in galactic halos, away from dust reddening obscuration and crowding such as is common, they claimed, in the younger Cepheid supergiant variables, which are more likely to be within the main body of the distant galaxy. The use of RGB stars in scale distance will continue to improve in precision and reduced scatter as more data is collected, the authors affirm.

Fig. 5 compares the difference in Cepheid-TRGB distances with the TRGB distance modulus; Freedman & Madore (2023; August).

(c) A refined technique for distance scale for the red giant branch is the J-Region Asymptotic Giant Branch (JAGB) astronomical method in which J-band luminosity has been corrected and enhanced between 2001 and 2023. This approach is summarized in Abigail Lee's paper: Lee, A. J. 2023. (arXiv releases v1 April 2023, v2 August 2023: https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.02453). Carbon stars as standard candles: An empirical test for the reddening, metallicity, and age sensitivity of the J-region asymptotic giant branch (JAGB) method. ApJ 956 (1), 15. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acee69. In addition to having a distinctively narrow near-IR in the J-band region of the spectrum where they have a low intrinsic luminosity dispersion (±0.2 mag), have clear coloration distinctions ('O-rich AGB stars to the blue and extreme AGB stars to the red'), the AGB carbon stars are robust to metallicity, have an intermediate mass (2-5 M_⊙), and are present in most galaxies with intermediate ages in their stellar populations. Their peak magnitude also yields their apparent magnitude (m_JAGB), making them a standard candle, after a variety of methodological caveats. Freedman & Madore (2023; November) point out that the AGB carbon star luminosity is so well constrained because (1) the younger, more massive and hotter AGB stars fuse their carbon at 'the bottom of a convective envelope' while (2) in the oldest, less massive AGB stars, there's no deep convective phase. (For relevant data, see Freedman & Madore (2023; November) Figures 9 and 13 below).

The anchors for all Cepheid, TRGB, and JAGB stars on the distance scale in the study are (i) the Milky Way (MW), (ii) the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), (iii) the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), and (iv) NGC 4258 / M106 (~7.6 Mpc, a galaxy which as discussed below has an AGN with anomalous high redshift objects evidently ejected along the minor axis, and at similar angular distances from the nucleus as the halo red giants utilized in this study; see Fig. 3 below).

Freedman & Madore (2023) review data:

	The Wesenheit function (at a star's passband magnitudes) is a correction for distance and reddening by dust to determine visual apparent magnitude (Wesenheit magnitude), as noted above with the summary of Riess et al. (2022).



For more on the JAGB / Carbon stars, see Abigail Lee's (2023) paper referenced above: (arXiv v2 release August 2023: https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.02453). Carbon stars as standard candles: An empirical test for the reddening, metallicity, and age sensitivity of the J-region asymptotic giant branch (JAGB) method. ApJ 956 (1), 15. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acee69. .

	Note: Even if one sets aside the wide scatters within each of the results, except for the model-dependent and derived Planck results (2018), the distribution peaks of each of the studies' determinations of H₀ forms a wide scatter all their own. The so-called 'Hubble tension' seem not bi-polar but multi-polar in causation.

Freedman & Madore (2023; November) data.

In their review, Freedman & Madore (2023; November) averred that a weakness of Cepheid photometry for applying the Leavitt PL relation in scale distance to calculate the value of H₀ is the 'crowding' of Cepheids in the HST data, which should be corrected with the 10X higher resolving power in the JWST data.

Therefore, the authors in Riess et al. (2024), set out to extend the scope of previous JWST Cepheid photometry building on the data of SNe Ia in the nearby host galaxy NGC 4484, including utilizing the distance anchor galaxy NGC 4258 / M106 data, cited above and recorded in Riess, A. G., et al. 2023. (arXiv release 28 Jul 2023: https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.15806). Crowded no more: The accuracy of the Hubble constant tested with high-resolution observations of Cepheids by JWST. ApJL 956 (1), L18. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2307.15806. In so doing, they confirmed the basic accuracy (even with more scatter) of the Cepheid photometry results of HST, showing that the 'Hubble tension' does NOT result from crowding in HST Cepheid photometric data, to a massive accuracy of >8σ, actually >8.2σ! The cause therefore of the 'Hubble tension' must arise from somewhere else! Note: We suggest that finding the causes of the 'Hubble tension' is more likely by critically re-examining the assumptions of the ΛCDM model of the hot Big Bang cosmology (HBBC) in the light of all of the multiform data available.

Riess et al. (2024) data:

Riess et al. (2024).

As is evident, from the careful work done by many (including both the Riess and the Freedman teams using different approaches), the 'Hubble tension' definitely continues to remain unresolved. Licia Verde, Nils Schöneberg, & Héctor Gil-Marín in their review paper on the status and meaning of the 'Hubble tension' and attempts to measure and account for it in the quest for a precision cosmology: Verde et al. 2023. A tale of many H₀. https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.13305; https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2311.13305. This 'Hubble tension' is summarized in the upper left of their Figure 1 (from their review covered at greater length in Chapter VII. Unexpected Redshifts):

Fig. 1; Verde et al. (2023).

Verde et al. (2023).

The persisting 'Hubble tension' may well cause consideration of venturing a tentative 'yes' to the 'begged questions' of Freedman & Madore (2023):

'Is cosmology in a crisis?'
'And is our current model of the universe now in need of new physics?'

Furthermore, it should not escape our notice that the NGC 4258 / M106 system, used as an anchor distance galaxy in Riess et al. (2022, 2024) and in Freedman & Madore (2023), is also a case study in the putative Ambartsumian-Vorontsov-Vel'yaminov-Arp (AVVA) galactic ejection cosmogony (as will be discussed more fully in Chapter IX. Vast jets and galactic ejection phenomena). Suffice it is to show in brief for now some of the data inferring the ejection of higher redshift compact galactic objects out of such nearby AGN systems as NGC 4258 / M106:

Ambartsumian-Vorontsov-Vel'yaminov-Arp (AVVA) cosmogony-style ejection of compact higher-z objects from nearby AGN galaxies:

(Arp, 2003 volume, cited in homepage).	Image: http://www.haltonarp.com/?Page=Images (Arp, 2003 volume, cited in homepage).
Irida Observatory image.	Cf. Burbidge, E. M. & Burbidge, G. 1997. Ejection of matter and energy from NGC 4258. ApJ 477 (1), L13. https://doi.org/10.1086/310517; 1996 preprint, Fig. 1.

For a longer and more theoretical discussion of this system and other putative galactic ejection systems, please see chapter IX. Vast jets and galactic ejection phenomena.

14 February 2024 v3 released (submitted 22 Dec 2022): Another paper on distant, faint and quiescent galaxies was Nanayakkara, T., Glazebrook, K., et al. 2024. A population of faint, old, and massive quiescent galaxies at 3 < z < 4 revealed by JWST NIRSpec Spectroscopy. arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.11638. Sci Rep 14, 3724 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52585-4. The redshifts examined in this subset of massive, quiescent galaxies varied from z > 3 (look-back times >11.550 Gya, supposedly >2.172 Gy post-BB) up to z ~ 4 (look-back time ~12.163 Gya, supposedly ~0.559 Gy post-BB). Of surprise to the authors was the 'rapid' massiveness of the galaxy set assayed: ~0.1 - 1.2 × 10¹¹ M_⊙, the oldest one being ~1.0 × 10¹¹ M_⊙.

Raw and reduced spectral data from the galaxies.

MOSFIRE = mult-object spectrometer for infra-red exploration
at the Keck Observatory, while of course, JWST / NIRSpec = Near infrared spectrometer.

Look-back times and supposed times post-BB for the galaxies assayed.

What is evident is that the galaxies with high redshifts can also be old, quiescent, massive, and have low luminosity. This result is not surprising, unless one is trying to shoe horn all galactic and stellar evolution into the time straitjacket of the HBBC.

14 February 2024 released (submitted 10 Aug 2023). The paper by Glazebrook, K., et al. 2024. A massive galaxy that formed its stars at z ~ 11. arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.05606. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07191-9, has also been popularly heralded as the "James Webb telescope finds ancient galaxy larger than our Milky Way, and it's threatening to upend cosmology" (Livescience link). We turn next to these remarkable results. Adopting a cosmology of Ω_m = 0.3, Ω_Λ = 0.7, H₀ = 70 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹, the authors show that this distant galaxy ZF-UDS-7329 has features of a quiescent massive post-starburst galaxy nearby, with older stellar populations with evidences of higher metallicity than expected in the ΛCDM model. With this cosmology, ZF-UDS-7329 has a look-back time of 13.056 Gya, supposedly 0.407 Gy post-BB.

Galaxy ZF-UDS-7329, z ~ 11 (link).

An important first observation is that the ZF-UDS-7329 galaxy morphology is quite mature and regular, showing morphological maturity as well as stellar population maturity. The spectral data are central. And remember that this galaxy has a redshift of z ~ 11, suggesting a look-back time of 13.056 Gya, at the supposed model age of 0.407 Gy post-BB.

If this mature and ancient galaxy nearing some of the limits of JWST is present and observed, it is suggestive that there are other such mature and very high redshift galaxies out there / back there as well.

03 April 2024 released. JWST imaging of the active and starburst galaxy M82 was released, and compared with that of HST (link).

Of cosmological significance connected with this nearby starburst / AGN galaxy, we have reports of associated high density objects since 1998 with Dahlem, M. et al. 1998. An X-ray minisurvey of nearby edge-on starburst galaxies. I. The data. ApJS 118 (2), 401. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/313137. On Table 6, one finds the energies assayed.

A wider angular view of M81 (left) and M82 (right):

M81 & the smaller, more condensed M82 (http://www.star.ucl.ac.uk/%7Eapod/apod/image/0002/m81m82_gendler_big.jpg).

(http://www.aip.de/gallery/galaxies/index.html).

The cosmological significance for ejection cosmogony in terms of the QSSC was cited in the Hoyle et al. (2000) book A Different Approach to Cosmology: From a Static Universe through the Big Bang towards Reality. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. 414 pp. In this volume, the authors call attention to the optical quasars associated with M82.

From Hoyle et al. (2000):

M82 (NGC 3034) with 4 QSOs in the quadrant with most of the ejected gas: Numbers 1-4 respectively correspond with these redishifts:
z_Q = 2.053, 2.058, 2.033, and 0.85 (Hoyle et al. 2000).

By 2003, a detailed report on the higher redshift objects apparently ejected out of M82 was published: Burbidge, E. M., Burbidge, G., Arp, H. C., & Zibetti, S. 2003. QSOs associated with Messier 82. (arXiv 28 Mar 2003. https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0303625). ApJ 591 (2), 690. https://doi.org/10.1086/375411.

Burbidge & Burbidge et al. (2003):

Burbidge & Burbidge et al. (2003).

The categories of galactic ejection phenomena which suggest a different cosmology and cosmogony of galaxy origins and evolution are Chapters IX. Vast jets and galactic ejection phenomena: Mass origin-ejection? and X. Multiple galactic alignments: Ejections and galaxy clusters? The phenomena documented from the literature in these chapters are suggestive of new directions in cosmology.

26 August 2024 released. The Space Telescope Institute announced that 'Webb finds early galaxies weren't too big for their britches after all' (https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-134.html) in reply to earlier announced results that the mass growth of high-z galaxies by JWST was in conflict with standard HBB cosmology. Based on an another Cosmic Evolution Early Release Survey (CEERS) study, the authors maintain that the unexpected early presence of massive galaxies at high observed redshifts indicated that there was rapid gas motion from overly large supermassive blackholes which increased brightness beyond what would be predicted from ordinary stellar populations. The remaining early galaxies then would not be too massive to fit into standard cosmology, the announcement claims. Study co-author Steven Finkelstein (UT Austin) asserts, "So, the bottom line is there is no crisis in terms of the standard model of cosmology" while the lead author, Katherine Cworowsky, opines, "Maybe in the early universe, galaxies were better at turning gas into stars." The customary confidence is on display in press releases for the public. The College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas (Austin) had their own announcement (link).

A deep JWST NIRcam galaxy field image to go with the story (link), cropped from a wider field image (link).

This JWST announcement was based on an earlier submitted study: Chworowsky et al. 2023. (arXiv submission 24 November 2023: https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.14804). 2024. Evidence for a shallow evolution in the volume densities of massive galaxies at z = 4-8 from CEERS. AJ 168 (3), 113. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad57c1. Also https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ad57c1. As usual the peer-reviewed paper is more modest in its claims than the press releases for public consumption, but betrays its reliance on HBBC assumptions. An important service provided by this paper is that it lays out the dilemma for cosmologists trying to model the gain of galaxy mass in cosmic time, given the assumptions of the HBBC. Chworowsky and colleagues first point out that a series of studies pre-JWST (in chronological order) have attempted to model galaxy gain of mass: Muzzin et al. 2013; Duncan et al. 2014; Kelvin et al. 2014; Tomczak et al. 2014; Moffett et al. 2016; Song et al. 2016; Wright et al. 2017; Bhatawdekar et al. 2019; Leja et al. 2020; Adams et al. 2021; McLeod et al. 2021; Stefanon et al. 2021; Weaver et al. 2022a. These studies modeled according to the following:

(i) Method: Infer stellar mass of a galaxy

by modeling rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) emissions
through a near-infrared (NIR) spectral energy distribution (SED)

(ii) Assumptions: "which necessarily relies on" importing assumptions about

a galaxies star formation history (SFH),
metal enrichment history,
dust attenuation (bound up with metallicity assumptions),

In other words, import the estimated HBBC paradigmatic assumptions in galaxy formation, and then model from there, instead of a more empirically-straightforward set of measurements. As we shall see, in this paper, a further method step was added:

only choose galaxies fitting further narrowly defined criteria, and eliminate the other galaxies in the chosen deep sky field from the study.

Elimination of multiple galaxies with high, broad z_phot values and close proximity to other galaxies (in other words the very galaxies of interest and under discussion in Adams et al. 2022b and the earlier Yan et al. 2022 and Antek et al. 2022, cited above). See the very low average of the z_phot and the very few z_spec values in Table 1.

HBB ΛCDM cosmology assumed: H₀ = 70 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹, Ω_m = 0.3, Ω_∧ = 0.7, and a baryonic density parameter of Ω₂b² = 0.02237 (Planck Collaboration et al. 2016).

With the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) with its wavelength coverage of ~0.5-1.8 μm, studies using the above could only yield 'the most accurate galaxy stellar mass estimates out' to a redshift of z ~ 5. As the z values get higher, only UV-luminous galaxies are detectable. Of course, ultraluminous galaxies are often associated with active galactic nuclei (AGNs), anomalous redshifts, jetting, and galactic object ejections, such phenomena suggesting a different galactic cosmogony, as discussed and alluded to from different angles in chapters VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X. The Spitzer space telescope with its Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) probed longer wavelength data from space, but with a spatial resolution of only ~2" and a lower light-collecting area, accurately distinguishing and attributing observed emissions to particular sources was hindered because 'observations were often blended with neighboring sources' (Song et al. 2016; Bhatawdekar et al. 2019; Morishita, 2021; Tacchella et al. 2022). With the launch of JWST, there was 'a huge leap forward' in IR emission collection and resolution (Gardner et al. 2023), which included the longer wavelengths accessible to NIRCam (Rieke et al. 2023), the rest-frame optical emissions, including the putatively SFH-sensitive ~4000 Å break, of galaxies out to z ~ 10. The problem arose that there was an excess of UV-luminous (and massive) galaxies too early in the Universe at z >/~ 8 compared to many recent model predictions (e.g., Castellano et al. 2022; Finkelstein et al. 2022, 2023, 2024; Naidu et al. 2022; Adams et al. 2024; Bouwens et al. 2023; Casey et al. 2024; Franco et al. 2023; Harikane et al. 2023; Leung et al. 2023). Chworowsky et al. (2023) muse that "this population of galaxies indicate evidence for different star formation and stellar feedback physics in the early Universe, leading to the earlier, more rapid formation of massive and luminous galaxies than previously thought possible" (Dekel et al. 2023; Ferrara et al. 2023; Mason et al. 2023; Pallottini & Ferrara, 2023; Shen et al. 2023; Yung et al. 2023a). The 'tension with direct observables,' the simulation-based models inferring UV-luminosities 'are very sensitive to the assumed IMFs, dust, and active galactic nucleus (AGN) contamination,' again, AGNs being connected with anomalous redshift and ejection phenomena. Some studies with JWST found evidence at high redshifts of very massive galaxies, with log₁₀ (M_* / M_⊙) > 11 (e.g., e.g., Labbé et al. 2023; Xiao et al. 2023), suggesting either more efficient star formation at higher redshifts for some reason, and / or the need for a revision of the ΛCDM model (cit. Boylan-Kolchin, 2023).

Given the earlier reports that JWST was finding too many evolved galaxies too massive at high redshifts too early in the Universe (!), Chworowsky and colleagues sought to investigate the evolution of massive (log₁₀[M_*/M_☉] > 10) galaxies at the modestly high redshift values of z ~ 4-8 selected from JWST Cosmic Evolution Early Release Survey (CEERS) data. They used spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting with the software 'dense basis' to select a group of 'high redshift' massive galaxies, including 18 galaxies covered by MIRI photometrics and 28 galaxies with spectroscopic confirmation by NIRSpec and NIRCam WFSS. Using their model, they sampled the SED-fitted recovered posteriors on solar mass 'to infer volume densities of massive galaxies across cosmic time', making corrections for AGN contamination of galaxies. Based on this highly selected sub-sample with a statistically-small N number, they found that across the modest z ~ 4-8 values perused that their evolving galaxy masses fit expectations for 'a constant baryon conversion efficiency in dark matter halos' i.e., importing the predictions of the ΛCDM model in their parameter-fitting. Next they frankly admit that at higher z values than their modest selection, their simple 'dark matter' model cannot account for the 'excess abundance' of high mass galaxies, but overall the effect yields 'a shallower decline of observed volume densities of massive galaxies.' At this point our authors speculate hopefully that 'These higher abundances can be explained by modest changes to star formation physics and/or the ef!ciencies with which star formation occurs in massive dark matter halos, and are not in tension with modern cosmology.'

Here are their data:

Chworowsky et al. (2024)

Table 1. Fails to include multiple high z galaxies with photometry and spectroscopy of interest.

Some thoughts:

(i) Method: After eliminating most of the high redshift galaxies which which would have been of interest in a study about the rate of massive galaxy formation, such as z_phot and z_spec values above >8 and >10, which JWST can detect, and not even fulfilling their title promise of discussing galaxies between z = 4 - 8, the authors stuck with a majority of carefully pipeline-vetted and visually-vetted galaxies, the majority hovering between z = 4-5.
(ii) Assumptions: After importing ΛCDM-safe and carefully-tailored assumptions about

a galaxies star formation history (SFH),
metal enrichment history,
dust attenuation (bound up with metallicity assumptions),
elimination of AGN 'contamination',

The authors concluded that within the CEER dataset,

(a) the volume densities in massive galaxies follow a constant efficiency baryon-to-star conversion ratio of ε ~ 0.14 prevails at z > 4 up until about z ~ 5(!), the where the efficiencies climb
(b) even with vetting, the number of z > 4 massive galaxies exceeds theoretical predictions,
(c) but still is consistent with ΛCDM (the authors insist) as long as we posit an unexplained global redshift-dependent increase in baryon conversion efficiency in massive 'dark matter' haloes,
(d) 'or a change in mass-to-light ratios of galaxies' stellar populations' perhaps due to (redshift-dependent) variations in the IMF, &c.

At this point, it is evident that the authors cannot explain the results, even in their carefully downsized sample, and have resorted to arm-waving speculation.

Thoughts on the Chworowsky et al. (2024) study.

And so the quest of the JWST goes on.