Abstract

Using JWST to Efficiently Probe Different Epochs of Star Formation through Resolved Stars

Kristen McQuinn (UT at Austin)

Evan Skillman, UMN Arpit Arora, UMN

In the era of HST, star formation histories derived from the resolved stars have helped shape what we know about many epochs of star formation in low-mass galaxies. HST observations have probed the ancient histories of a growing number of local low-mass satellites of the Milky Way and M31, contributing near-field cosmological constraints on the earliest epochs of mass assembly in satellite dwarfs. In the era of JWST, the larger aperture and greater sensitivity holds the promise of potentially reaching photometric depths more efficiently, extending SFH work to greater distances, and allowing us to explore the star formation histories of galaxies in a range of environments and over a wider parameter space. Here, through extensive simulations, we quantify the efficiency of different JWST filter combinations at different photometric depths and compare accuracies of star formation rates at z ~ 5 from resolved stellar populations. These results can be used to help guide observing strategies for resolved stellar populations with the JWST.

Talk