The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is revolutionizing our comprehension of the distant and faint universe. In particular, the Near-infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) is unveiling unprecedented details on supermassive black holes (BHs) and stellar complexes at the so-called “cosmic dawn”, that is, when the universe was less than one billion years old and early stages of galaxies and BHs growth took place. A careful data processing is essential to obtain robust results about distant objects located in this far-flung epoch.

In this talk, I will provide an outlook on two GO Cycle 1 NIRSpec/IFU programs targeting objects at cosmic dawn. First, I will present the rest-frame optical spectrum of a z ~ 6.2 quasar, detected at superb signal-to-noise. As shown by previous ALMA, HST and MUSE data, the quasar presents two companion galaxies and lies within a prominent Ly-alpha halo. I will discuss the quasar properties and the extended gas emission of this complex system inferred from the NIRSpec data. I will then present the findings on a lensed Population III - candidate stellar complex at z ~ 6.6, which can be the most metal-poor star-forming region currently known in the reionization era. Both datasets offer a deep insight into the assembly and early growth of the first massive black holes and stellar complexes.

For Zoom connection information, please contact Emanuele Paolo Farina (emanuele.farina_at_noirlab.edu).

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