Accurate oxygen abundance of interstellar gas in Mrk 71 from optical and infrared spectra

Chen, Yuguang; Jones, Tucker; Fadda, D.; Sutter, Jessica; Minchin, R. F.; Huntzinger, Erin; Senchyna, Peter; Stark, Daniel P.; Spilker, Justin; Weiner, Benjamin J.; Roberts-Borsani, Guido

doi:10.1038/s41550-023-01953-7

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(59 reference statements)

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“…It is also known that auroral line metallicity samples tend to preferentially select metal-poor galaxies (Kewley & Ellison 2008), and that samples selected to have [O III] λ4363 detections can result in an underestimate of the mass-metallicity relation (Curti et al 2020). Furthermore, the impact of temperature and density inhomogeneities on T e -based metallicity estimates remains an open question at both the H II region and galactic scale (Méndez- Delgado et al 2023aDelgado et al , 2023bChen et al 2023).…”

Section: Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

SAGAbg. I. A Near-unity Mass-loading Factor in Low-mass Galaxies via Their Low-redshift Evolution in Stellar Mass, Oxygen Abundance, and Star Formation Rate

Kado-Fong,

Geha,

Mao

et al. 2024

ApJ

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Measuring the relation between star formation and galactic winds is observationally difficult. In this work we make an indirect measurement of the mass-loading factor (the ratio between the mass outflow rate and star formation rate) in low-mass galaxies using a differential approach to modeling the low-redshift evolution of the star-forming main sequence and mass–metallicity relation. We use Satellites Around Galactic Analogs (SAGA) background galaxies, i.e., spectra observed by the SAGA Survey that are not associated with the main SAGA host galaxies, to construct a sample of 11,925 spectroscopically confirmed low-mass galaxies from 0.01 ≲ z ≤ 0.21 and measure auroral line metallicities for 120 galaxies. The crux of the method is to use the lowest-redshift galaxies as the boundary condition of our model, and to infer a mass-loading factor for the sample by comparing the expected evolution of the low-redshift reference sample in stellar mass, gas-phase metallicity, and star formation rate against the observed properties of the sample at higher redshift. We infer a mass-loading factor of η m = 0.92 − 0.74 + 1.76 , which is in line with direct measurements of the mass-loading factor from the literature despite the drastically different sets of assumptions needed for each approach. While our estimate of the mass-loading factor is in good agreement with recent galaxy simulations that focus on resolving the dynamics of the interstellar medium, it is smaller by over an order of magnitude than the mass-loading factor produced by many contemporary cosmological simulations.

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Section: Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

SAGAbg. I. A Near-unity Mass-loading Factor in Low-mass Galaxies via Their Low-redshift Evolution in Stellar Mass, Oxygen Abundance, and Star Formation Rate

Kado-Fong,

Geha,

Mao

et al. 2024

ApJ

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“…The ratio of [Si III] λ1883 to Si III] λ1892 can be used as an electron density diagnostic. We use PyNeb (Luridiana et al 2015) to derive a value of n e = 7400 ± 3900 cm −3 , adopting an electron temperature T e of 15 000 K (Gonzalez-Delgado et al 1994;Chen et al 2023). This corresponds to a high thermal pressure P/k of ∼2 × 10 8 cm −3 K. Mingozzi et al (2022) show that electron densities derived from the Si III] lines are insensitive to electron temperature.…”

Section: Description Of the Spectramentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Micheva et al (2019) find E(B − V ) = 0.21 mag for Mrk 71-A from the nebular Balmer emission lines. Chen et al (2023) use the Balmer lines to derive E(B − V ) = 0.06 ± 0.03 mag for Mrk 71 overall. We note that these other determinations are based on nebular line ratios and can be higher than the reddening determined from stellar continua for low-metallicity galaxies (Shivaei et al 2020).…”

Section: Dust Attenuationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mrk 71 is a well-studied, low-metallicity, local starburst region in the dwarf galaxy NGC 2366 at a distance of 3.44 Mpc (Tolstoy et al 1995) with 12 log O H 7.89 ( ) + = (Izotov et al 1997;Chen et al 2023) or 0.16 Z e using the solar oxygen abundance of Asplund et al (2009). Micheva et al (2017) suggest that Mrk 71 is a local Green Pea (GP) analog.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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HST FUV Spectroscopy of Super Star Cluster A in the Green Pea Analog Mrk 71: Revealing the Presence of Very Massive Stars

Smith,

Oey,

Hernandez

et al. 2023

ApJ

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Mrk 71 is a low-metallicity (Z = 0.16 Z ☉) starburst region in the local dwarf galaxy NGC 2366, hosting two super star clusters (SSCs A and B), and it is recognized as a Green Pea (GP) analog with SSC A responsible for the GP properties. We present STIS and FOS far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectra of the embedded SSC Mrk 71-A obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. The STIS FUV spectrum shows the characteristic features of very massive stars (VMS; masses >100 M ⊙) and we derive an age of 1 ± 1 Myr by comparison with the Charlot & Bruzual suite of spectral population synthesis models with upper mass limits of 300 and 600 M ⊙. We compare the STIS spectrum with all known SSC spectra exhibiting VMS signatures: NGC 5253-5, R136a, NGC 3125-A1, and the z = 2.37 Sunburst cluster. We find that the cluster mass-loss rates and wind velocities, as characterized by the C iv P Cygni profiles and the He ii emission line strengths, are very similar over Z = 0.16–0.4 Z☉. This agrees with predictions that the optically thick winds of VMS will be enhanced near the Eddington limit and show little metallicity dependence. We find very strong damped Lyα absorption with N(H i) =1022.2 cm−2 associated with Mrk 71-A. We discuss the natal environment of this young SSC in terms of radiatively driven winds, catastrophic cooling, and recent models where the cluster is surrounded by highly pressurized clouds with large neutral columns.

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“…This system is of intense interest since it is a remarkable analog of extreme Green Pea galaxies (Micheva et al 2017), which are the only known class of local Lyman-continuum emitting galaxies (e.g., Izotov et al 2018;Flury et al 2022). At a distance of only 3.4 Mpc (Tolstoy et al 1995) Chen et al 2023), or about 0.16 Z e . The nature of feedback changes dramatically at this low metallicity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nebular C iv λ1550 Imaging of the Metal-poor Starburst Mrk 71: Direct Evidence of Catastrophic Cooling

Oey,

Sawant,

Danehkar

et al. 2023

ApJL

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We use the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys to obtain the first spatially resolved, nebular imaging in the light of C iv λ λ1548, 1551 by using the F150LP and F165LP filters. These observations of the local starburst Mrk 71 in NGC 2366 show emission apparently originating within the interior cavity around the dominant super star cluster (SSC), Knot A. Together with imaging in He ii λ4686 and supporting Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph far-ultraviolet spectroscopy, the morphology and intensity of the C iv nebular surface brightness and the C iv/He ii ratio map provide direct evidence that the mechanical feedback is likely dominated by catastrophic radiative cooling, which strongly disrupts adiabatic superbubble evolution. The implied extreme mass loading and low kinetic efficiency of the cluster wind are reasonably consistent with the wind energy budget, which is probably enhanced by radiation pressure. In contrast, the Knot B SSC lies within a well-defined superbubble with associated soft X-rays and He ii λ1640 emission, which are signatures of adiabatic, energy-driven feedback from a supernova-driven outflow. This system lacks clear evidence of C iv from the limb-brightened shell, as expected for this model, but the observations may not be deep enough to confirm its presence. We also detect a small C iv-emitting object that is likely an embedded compact H ii region. Its C iv emission may indicate the presence of very massive stars (>100 M ⊙) or strongly pressure-confined stellar feedback.

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Accurate oxygen abundance of interstellar gas in Mrk 71 from optical and infrared spectra

Cited by 8 publications

References 53 publications

SAGAbg. I. A Near-unity Mass-loading Factor in Low-mass Galaxies via Their Low-redshift Evolution in Stellar Mass, Oxygen Abundance, and Star Formation Rate

SAGAbg. I. A Near-unity Mass-loading Factor in Low-mass Galaxies via Their Low-redshift Evolution in Stellar Mass, Oxygen Abundance, and Star Formation Rate

HST FUV Spectroscopy of Super Star Cluster A in the Green Pea Analog Mrk 71: Revealing the Presence of Very Massive Stars

Nebular C iv λ1550 Imaging of the Metal-poor Starburst Mrk 71: Direct Evidence of Catastrophic Cooling

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