The First Photometric Evidence of a Transient/Variable Source at z>5 with JWST

Christa DeCoursey; Eiichi Egami; Fengwu Sun; Arshia Akhtarkavan; Rachana Bhatawdekar; Andrew J. Bunker; David A. Coulter; Michael Engesser; Ori D. Fox; Sebastian Gomez; Kohei Inayoshi; Benjamin D. Johnson; Mitchell Karmen; Conor Larison; Xiaojing Lin; Jianwei Lyu; Seppo Mattila; Takashi J. Moriya; Justin D. R. Pierel; Dávid Puskás; Armin Rest; George H. Rieke; Brant Robertson; Sepehr Salamat; Louis-Gregory Strolger; Sandro Tacchella; Christian Vassallo; Christina C. Williams; Yossef Zenati; Junyu Zhang

arXiv · 2504.17007

The First Photometric Evidence of a Transient/Variable Source at z>5 with JWST

View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) discovered 79 transients out to $z$$\sim$4.8 through the JADES Transient Survey (JTS), but the JTS did not find any $z$$>$5 transients. Here, we present the first photometric evidence of a $z$$>$5 transient/variable source with JWST. The source, AT 2023adya, resides in a $z_{\mathrm{spec}}$$=$5.274 galaxy in GOODS-N, which dimmed from $m_{\rm F356W}$$=$26.05$\pm$0.02 mag to 26.24$\pm$0.02 mag in the rest-frame optical over approximately two rest-frame months, producing a clear residual signal in the difference image ($m_{\rm F356W}$$=$28.01$\pm$0.17 mag; SN$_\mathrm{var}$$=$6.09) at the galaxy center. Shorter-wavelength bands (F090W/F115W) show no rest-frame ultraviolet brightness change. Based on its rest-frame V-band absolute magnitude of M$_\mathrm{V}$$=$$-$18.48 mag, AT 2023adya could be any core-collapse supernova (SN) subtype or an SN Ia. However, due to low SN Ia rates at high redshift, the SN Ia scenario is unlikely. Alternatively, AT 2023adya may be a variable active galactic nucleus (AGN). However, the JWST NIRCam/Grism spectrum shows no broad H$α$ emission line (FWHM$=$130$\pm$26 km s$^{-1}$), disfavoring the variable AGN scenario. It is also unlikely that AT 2023adya is a tidal disruption event (TDE) because the TDE models matching the observed brightness changes have low event rates. Although it is not possible to determine AT 2023adya's nature based on the two-epoch single-band photometry alone, this discovery indicates that JWST can push the frontier of transient/variable science past $z$$=$5 and towards the epoch of reionization.

Explore related subjects

astro-ph.HE astro-ph.GA

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Christa DeCoursey, Eiichi Egami, Fengwu Sun, Arshia Akhtarkavan, Rachana Bhatawdekar, Andrew J. Bunker, David A. Coulter, Michael Engesser, Ori D. Fox, Sebastian Gomez, Kohei Inayoshi, Benjamin D. Johnson, Mitchell Karmen, Conor Larison, Xiaojing Lin, Jianwei Lyu, Seppo Mattila, Takashi J. Moriya, Justin D. R. Pierel, Dávid Puskás, Armin Rest, George H. Rieke, Brant Robertson, Sepehr Salamat, Louis-Gregory Strolger, Sandro Tacchella, Christian Vassallo, Christina C. Williams, Yossef Zenati, Junyu Zhang. 2025-07-31. The First Photometric Evidence of a Transient/Variable Source at z>5 with JWST. https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.17007

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Magnetic Eruption and Nucleosynthesis in GRνMHD Simulations of Spinning Neutron Star Mergers

We present three-dimensional general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics simulations of equal-mass binary neutron star mergers with varied neutron star spin configurations and second-moment neutrino transport, following the formation and early evolution of long-lived remnants. We compare a fiducial irrotational binary with binaries having spins that are aligned or antialigned with the orbital angular momentum, and examime how spin affects the merger dynamics, magnetic field evolution, outflows, and nucleosynthesis. Compared to the fiducial case, the aligned spin configuration releases more cold, neutron-rich tidal ejecta in the equatorial plane, which enables the development of a more tightly collimated polar outflow erupting from the remnant and inner accretion disk. Conversely, the case with spins antialigned with the orbit experiences a more violent collision at merger, disrupting magnetic amplification, loading the environment with debris, and impeding the propagation of magnetically driven winds. Strong neutrino reprocessing of the polar outflow in the irrotational and aligned spin cases produces $2.4\times 10^{-3}\,M_\odot$ of proton-rich ($Y_e \geq 0.49$) material, resulting in the synthesis of light r-process elements, whose subsequent decay potentially sends a unique electromagnetic signal from long-lived remnants. However, the outflows remain too dense and slow to be consistent with typical short gamma-ray bursts.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

A Multi-Mission Detection Framework for High-Energy Transients: Application to a 13-year Fermi/GBM and Swift/BAT Sample

The detection of faint high-energy transients is becoming increasingly important in time-domain and multi-messenger astronomy, particularly for identifying electromagnetic counterparts to binary neutron star mergers, high-energy neutrino events, and other weak transient phenomena. At present, the sensitivity of gamma-ray and hard X-ray searches is often limited by the detection threshold of individual instruments, leaving a population of faint transients inaccessible to single-mission analyses. To address this limitation, we develop a joint detection framework that combines trigger information from multiple detectors and assigns each candidate a joint association probability, $p_{\text{joint}}$, as a function of the individual detector signal-to-noise ratios. We apply this framework to archival Fermi/GBM and Swift/BAT rates data from 2013-2025. The method effectively separates coincident signals from accidental background associations, suppressing inconsistent coincidences while enhancing the significance of faint events observed by both instruments. We find that, under optimal conditions, a two-mission search can increase the accessible volume for short gamma-ray bursts by up to $60\%$. This framework provides a practical foundation for generalized multi-mission searches, enabling more sensitive exploration of the faint high-energy transient sky and improving the prospects for future multi-messenger discoveries.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

A Brief Review on the Statistical Properties of Fast Radio Bursts

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration radio transients of extragalactic origin, whose emission mechanisms and progenitors remain unresolved. Statistical analyses of the rapidly growing samples provide a promising means to constrain the underlying physics. In this review, we synthesize the statistical properties derived from current FRB catalogs, encompassing constraints on dispersion measure, redshift, energy/luminosity functions, repetition rate, and host-galaxy demographics. For repeating FRBs, we examine the statistics of energy, fluence/flux, waiting time, and discuss time-series analyses that reveal memory effects and chaotic dynamics. We further discuss the observational discovery and theoretical interpretation of periodic activity, and survey polarization properties that probe the magneto-ionic environments of FRB sources. Throughout, we emphasize robust empirical trends, account for observational biases and selection effects, and outline outstanding open questions regarding the physical origin of these enigmatic bursts.

astro-ph.HE↗