📝 SummarXiv

Abstract

Numerous high-$z$ galaxies have recently been observed with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), providing new insights into early galaxy evolution. Their physical properties are typically derived through spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting, but the reliability of this approach for such early systems remains uncertain. Applying {\sc Bagpipes} on simulated SEDs at $z=6$ from the {\sc Sphinx$^{20}$} cosmological simulation, we examine uncertainties in the recovery of stellar masses, star formation rates (SFR$_{10}$), and stellar metallicities from mock JWST/Near-Infrared Camera photometry. Even without dust or emission lines, fitting the intrinsic stellar continuum overestimates the stellar mass by about 60\% on average (and by up to a factor of five for low-mass galaxies with recent starbursts) and underestimates SFR$_{10}$ by a factor of two, owing to inaccurate star formation histories and age-metallicity degeneracies. The addition of dust and nebular emission further amplifies these biases, yielding offsets of approximately +0.3 and -0.4 dex in stellar mass and SFR$_{10}$, respectively, while leaving stellar metallicities largely unconstrained. Incorporating bands free of strong emission lines, such as F410M, helps mitigate stellar mass overestimation by disentangling line emission from older stellar populations. We also find that best-fit or likelihood-weighted estimates are generally more accurate than median posterior values. Although stellar mass functions are reproduced reasonably well, the slope of the star formation main sequence depends sensitively on the adopted fitting model. Overall, these results underscore the importance of careful modelling when interpreting high-$z$ photometry, particularly for galaxies with recent star formation burst and/or strong emission lines, to minimise systematic biases in derived physical properties.