Euclid Quick Data Release (Q1): XXXVI. Galaxy shapes and alignments in the cosmic web

Euclid Collaboration

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202554651

Euclid Quick Data Release (Q1): XXXVI. Galaxy shapes and alignments in the cosmic web

Euclid Collaboration

Institut d'astrophysique de Paris
Université Paul Sabatier
Université de Toulouse
Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1
Kyung Hee University
Université de Strasbourg
University of Nottingham
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
National Institute for Astrophysics
Universite de Lille 2
ComUE Paris-Saclay
University of Geneva
Cosmic Dawn Center
University of Copenhagen
LAM
European Space Astronomy Centre
University of Surrey
Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera
Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Bologna
University of Trieste
Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste
National Institute for Nuclear Physics
International School for Advanced Studies
University of Bologna
Astronomical Observatory of Padua
Centre national d'études spatiales
Italian Space Agency
University of Genoa
University of Naples Federico II
Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte
University of Porto
University of Turin
Leiden University
ESTEC
CIEMAT
Port d’Informació Científica
RWTH Aachen University
Osservatorio Astronomico Roma
University of Hawaii
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
University of Edinburgh
Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics
ESRIN - ESA Centre for Earth Observation

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Galaxy morphologies and shape orientations are expected to correlate with their large-scale environments, since they grow by accreting matter from the cosmic web and are subject to interactions with other galaxies. We extracted cosmic filaments in projection from the Euclid Quick Data Release 1 (covering 63.1 deg²) at 0.5 < z < 0.9 in tomographic slices of 170 comoving h ⁻¹ Mpc using photometric redshifts. Galaxy morphologies are accurately retrieved thanks to the excellent imaging resolution of the visible camera (VIS) of Euclid. The distribution of massive galaxies (M_* > 10¹⁰ M_⊙) in the projected cosmic web is analysed as a function of morphology measured from VIS data. Specifically, the 2D alignment of galaxy shapes with large-scale filaments is quantified as a function of Sérsic indices and masses. We find the known trend that more massive galaxies are closer to filament spines. At fixed stellar masses, morphologies correlate both with densities and distances to large-scale filaments. In addition, the large volume of this data set allows us to detect a signal indicating that there is a preferential alignment of the major axis of massive early-type galaxies along projected cosmic filaments. Overall, these results demonstrate our capabilities to carry out detailed studies of galaxy environments with Euclid, which will be extended to higher redshift and lower stellar masses with the future Euclid Deep Survey.

Original language	English
Article number	A36
Journal	Astronomy and Astrophysics
Volume	711
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202554651
Publication status	Published - Jul 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Authors 2026. Open Access article, https://www.edpsciences.org, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This article is published in open access under the https://www.aanda.org/subscribe-to-open-faqs. mailto:[email protected] to support open access publication.

Keywords

galaxies: evolution
galaxies: formation
galaxies: photometry
large-scale structure of Universe

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10.1051/0004-6361/202554651Licence: CC BY

aa54651-25Final published version, 13.7 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{201b9be85ede4662882e2792997ba7a2,

title = "Euclid Quick Data Release (Q1): XXXVI. Galaxy shapes and alignments in the cosmic web",

abstract = "Galaxy morphologies and shape orientations are expected to correlate with their large-scale environments, since they grow by accreting matter from the cosmic web and are subject to interactions with other galaxies. We extracted cosmic filaments in projection from the Euclid Quick Data Release 1 (covering 63.1 deg2) at 0.5 < z < 0.9 in tomographic slices of 170 comoving h −1 Mpc using photometric redshifts. Galaxy morphologies are accurately retrieved thanks to the excellent imaging resolution of the visible camera (VIS) of Euclid. The distribution of massive galaxies (M* > 1010 M⊙) in the projected cosmic web is analysed as a function of morphology measured from VIS data. Specifically, the 2D alignment of galaxy shapes with large-scale filaments is quantified as a function of S{\'e}rsic indices and masses. We find the known trend that more massive galaxies are closer to filament spines. At fixed stellar masses, morphologies correlate both with densities and distances to large-scale filaments. In addition, the large volume of this data set allows us to detect a signal indicating that there is a preferential alignment of the major axis of massive early-type galaxies along projected cosmic filaments. Overall, these results demonstrate our capabilities to carry out detailed studies of galaxy environments with Euclid, which will be extended to higher redshift and lower stellar masses with the future Euclid Deep Survey.",

keywords = "galaxies: evolution, galaxies: formation, galaxies: photometry, large-scale structure of Universe",

author = "\{Euclid Collaboration\} and C. Laigle and C. Gouin and F. Sarron and L. Quilley and C. Pichon and K. Kraljic and F. Durret and Chisari, \{N. E.\} and U. Kuchner and N. Malavasi and M. Magliocchetti and McCracken, \{H. J.\} and Sorce, \{J. G.\} and Y. Kang and McPartland, \{C. J.R.\} and S. Toft and D. Vibert and N. Aghanim and B. Altieri and A. Amara and S. Andreon and N. Auricchio and H. Aussel and C. Baccigalupi and M. Baldi and A. Balestra and S. Bardelli and A. Basset and P. Battaglia and F. Bernardeau and A. Biviano and A. Bonchi and E. Branchini and M. Brescia and J. Brinchmann and S. Camera and G. Ca{\~n}as-Herrera and V. Capobianco and C. Carbone and J. Carretero and S. Casas and M. Castellano and G. Castignani and S. Cavuoti and Chambers, \{K. C.\} and A. Cimatti and C. Colodro-Conde and G. Congedo and Conselice, \{C. J.\} and L. Conversi",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Authors 2026. Open Access article, https://www.edpsciences.org, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This article is published in open access under the https://www.aanda.org/subscribe-to-open-faqs. mailto:[email protected] to support open access publication.",

year = "2026",

month = jul,

doi = "10.1051/0004-6361/202554651",

language = "English",

volume = "711",

journal = "Astronomy and Astrophysics",

issn = "0004-6361",

publisher = "EDP Sciences",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Euclid Quick Data Release (Q1)

T2 - XXXVI. Galaxy shapes and alignments in the cosmic web

AU - Euclid Collaboration

AU - Laigle, C.

AU - Gouin, C.

AU - Sarron, F.

AU - Quilley, L.

AU - Pichon, C.

AU - Kraljic, K.

AU - Durret, F.

AU - Chisari, N. E.

AU - Kuchner, U.

AU - Malavasi, N.

AU - Magliocchetti, M.

AU - McCracken, H. J.

AU - Sorce, J. G.

AU - Kang, Y.

AU - McPartland, C. J.R.

AU - Toft, S.

AU - Vibert, D.

AU - Aghanim, N.

AU - Altieri, B.

AU - Amara, A.

AU - Andreon, S.

AU - Auricchio, N.

AU - Aussel, H.

AU - Baccigalupi, C.

AU - Baldi, M.

AU - Balestra, A.

AU - Bardelli, S.

AU - Basset, A.

AU - Battaglia, P.

AU - Bernardeau, F.

AU - Biviano, A.

AU - Bonchi, A.

AU - Branchini, E.

AU - Brescia, M.

AU - Brinchmann, J.

AU - Camera, S.

AU - Cañas-Herrera, G.

AU - Capobianco, V.

AU - Carbone, C.

AU - Carretero, J.

AU - Casas, S.

AU - Castellano, M.

AU - Castignani, G.

AU - Cavuoti, S.

AU - Chambers, K. C.

AU - Cimatti, A.

AU - Colodro-Conde, C.

AU - Congedo, G.

AU - Conselice, C. J.

AU - Conversi, L.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Authors 2026. Open Access article, https://www.edpsciences.org, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This article is published in open access under the https://www.aanda.org/subscribe-to-open-faqs. mailto:[email protected] to support open access publication.

PY - 2026/7

Y1 - 2026/7

N2 - Galaxy morphologies and shape orientations are expected to correlate with their large-scale environments, since they grow by accreting matter from the cosmic web and are subject to interactions with other galaxies. We extracted cosmic filaments in projection from the Euclid Quick Data Release 1 (covering 63.1 deg2) at 0.5 < z < 0.9 in tomographic slices of 170 comoving h −1 Mpc using photometric redshifts. Galaxy morphologies are accurately retrieved thanks to the excellent imaging resolution of the visible camera (VIS) of Euclid. The distribution of massive galaxies (M* > 1010 M⊙) in the projected cosmic web is analysed as a function of morphology measured from VIS data. Specifically, the 2D alignment of galaxy shapes with large-scale filaments is quantified as a function of Sérsic indices and masses. We find the known trend that more massive galaxies are closer to filament spines. At fixed stellar masses, morphologies correlate both with densities and distances to large-scale filaments. In addition, the large volume of this data set allows us to detect a signal indicating that there is a preferential alignment of the major axis of massive early-type galaxies along projected cosmic filaments. Overall, these results demonstrate our capabilities to carry out detailed studies of galaxy environments with Euclid, which will be extended to higher redshift and lower stellar masses with the future Euclid Deep Survey.

AB - Galaxy morphologies and shape orientations are expected to correlate with their large-scale environments, since they grow by accreting matter from the cosmic web and are subject to interactions with other galaxies. We extracted cosmic filaments in projection from the Euclid Quick Data Release 1 (covering 63.1 deg2) at 0.5 < z < 0.9 in tomographic slices of 170 comoving h −1 Mpc using photometric redshifts. Galaxy morphologies are accurately retrieved thanks to the excellent imaging resolution of the visible camera (VIS) of Euclid. The distribution of massive galaxies (M* > 1010 M⊙) in the projected cosmic web is analysed as a function of morphology measured from VIS data. Specifically, the 2D alignment of galaxy shapes with large-scale filaments is quantified as a function of Sérsic indices and masses. We find the known trend that more massive galaxies are closer to filament spines. At fixed stellar masses, morphologies correlate both with densities and distances to large-scale filaments. In addition, the large volume of this data set allows us to detect a signal indicating that there is a preferential alignment of the major axis of massive early-type galaxies along projected cosmic filaments. Overall, these results demonstrate our capabilities to carry out detailed studies of galaxy environments with Euclid, which will be extended to higher redshift and lower stellar masses with the future Euclid Deep Survey.

KW - galaxies: evolution

KW - galaxies: formation

KW - galaxies: photometry

KW - large-scale structure of Universe

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105043526324

U2 - 10.1051/0004-6361/202554651

DO - 10.1051/0004-6361/202554651

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105043526324

SN - 0004-6361

VL - 711

JO - Astronomy and Astrophysics

JF - Astronomy and Astrophysics

M1 - A36

ER -

Euclid Quick Data Release (Q1): XXXVI. Galaxy shapes and alignments in the cosmic web

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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