Low masses and high redshifts: The evolution of the mass-metallicity relation

Henry, A; Scarlata, C; Domínguez, A; Malkan, M; Martin, C; Siana, B; Atek, H; Bedregal, A; Colbert, J; Rafelski, M; Ross, N; Teplitz, H; Bunker, A; Dressler, A; Hathi, N; Masters, D; McCarthy, P; Straughn, A

Journal article

Low masses and high redshifts: The evolution of the mass-metallicity relation

Abstract:: We present the first robust measurement of the high redshift mass-metallicity (MZ) relation at 108 ≲ M/M ⊙ ≲ 1010, obtained by stacking spectra of 83 emission-line galaxies with secure redshifts between 1.3 ≲ z ≲ 2.3. For these redshifts, infrared grism spectroscopy with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 is sensitive to the R 23 metallicity diagnostic: ([O II] λλ3726, 3729 + [O III] λλ4959, 5007)/Hβ. Using spectra stacked in four mass quartiles, we find a MZ relation that declines significantly with decreasing mass, extending from 12+log(O/H) = 8.8 at M = 109.8 M ⊙, to 12+log(O/H) = 8.2 at M = 10 8.2 M ⊙. After correcting for systematic offsets between metallicity indicators, we compare our MZ relation to measurements from the stacked spectra of galaxies with M ≳ 109.5 M ⊙ and z ∼ 2.3. Within the statistical uncertainties, our MZ relation agrees with the z ∼ 2.3 result, particularly since our somewhat higher metallicities (by around 0.1 dex) are qualitatively consistent with the lower mean redshift (z = 1.76) of our sample. For the masses probed by our data, the MZ relation shows a steep slope which is suggestive of feedback from energy-driven winds, and a cosmological downsizing evolution where high mass galaxies reach the local MZ relation at earlier times. In addition, we show that our sample falls on an extrapolation of the star-forming main sequence (the SFR-M * relation) at this redshift. This result indicates that grism emission-line selected samples do not have preferentially high star formation rates (SFRs). Finally, we report no evidence for evolution of the mass-metallicity-SFR plane; our stack-averaged measurements show excellent agreement with the local relation. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

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APA Style

Henry, A., Scarlata, C., Domínguez, A., Malkan, M., Martin, C., Siana, B., Atek, H., Bedregal, A., Colbert, J., Rafelski, M., Ross, N., Teplitz, H., Bunker, A., Dressler, A., Hathi, N., Masters, D., McCarthy, P., & Straughn, A. (2013). Low masses and high redshifts: The evolution of the mass-metallicity relation. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 776(2), L27–L27.

MLA Style

Henry, A, et al. “Low Masses and High Redshifts: The Evolution of the Mass-Metallicity Relation.” Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 776, no. 2, 2013, pp. L27–L27.

Chicago Style

Henry, A, C Scarlata, A Domínguez, et al. 2013. “Low Masses and High Redshifts: The Evolution of the Mass-Metallicity Relation.” Astrophysical Journal Letters 776 (2): L27–L27.
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