COSMOS-Web: An Overview of the JWST Cosmic Origins Survey

Subjects: Astronomy >> Astrophysical processes submitted time 2023-02-19

Caitlin M. Casey Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe Nicole E. Drakos Maximilien Franco Santosh Harish Louise Paquereau Olivier Ilbert Caitlin Rose Isabella G. Cox James W. Nightingale Brant E. Robertson John D. Silverman Anton M. Koekemoer Richard Massey Henry Joy McCracken Jason Rhodes Hollis B. Akins Aristeidis Amvrosiadis Rafael C. Arango-Toro Micaela B. Bagley

Abstract： We present the survey design, implementation, and outlook for COSMOS-Web, a 255 hour treasury program conducted by the James Webb Space Telescope in its first cycle of observations. COSMOS-Web is a contiguous 0.54 deg$^2$ NIRCam imaging survey in four filters (F115W, F150W, F277W, and F444W) that will reach 5$\sigma$ point source depths ranging $\sim$27.5-28.2 magnitudes. In parallel, we will obtain 0.19 deg$^2$ of MIRI imaging in one filter (F770W) reaching 5$\sigma$ point source depths of $\sim$25.3-26.0 magnitudes. COSMOS-Web will build on the rich heritage of multiwavelength observations and data products available in the COSMOS field. The design of COSMOS-Web is motivated by three primary science goals: (1) to discover thousands of galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization ($64$ and place constraints on the formation of the Universe's most massive galaxies ($M_\star>10^{10}$\,M$_\odot$), and (3) directly measure the evolution of the stellar mass to halo mass relation using weak gravitational lensing out to $z\sim2.5$ and measure its variance with galaxies' star formation histories and morphologies. In addition, we anticipate COSMOS-Web's legacy value to reach far beyond these scientific goals, touching many other areas of astrophysics, such as the identification of the first direct collapse black hole candidates, ultracool sub-dwarf stars in the Galactic halo, and possibly the identification of $z>10$ pair-instability supernovae. In this paper we provide an overview of the survey's key measurements, specifications, goals, and prospects for new discovery.

Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review

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