The connection between star formation and metallicity evolution in barred spiral galaxies

Martel, Hugo; Kawata, Daisuke; Ellison, Sara L.

doi:10.1093/mnras/stt354

Cited by 34 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(93 reference statements)

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“…A study of 294 galaxies with strong bars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) by Ellison et al (2011) showed that barred galaxies with stellar masses M < 10 10 M also show an increase in central metallicity, but without a corresponding increase in central SFR. One possible explanation is that star formation in the centre of low-mass barred galaxies, which is presumably responsible for the observed higher metallicities, has now ceased, while stars are still forming in the centre of high-mass galaxies (Martel, Kawata & Ellison 2013). Thus, the LMC might also be belonging to this class of objects, where we do detect higher metallicity, but no enhanced star formation.…”

Section: Comparison Of Metallicity Distributionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Photometric metallicity map of the Large Magellanic Cloud

Choudhury

Subramaniam

Cole

2015

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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We have estimated a metallicity map of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using the Magellanic Cloud Photometric Survey (MCPS) and Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE III) photometric data. This is a first of its kind map of metallicity up to a radius of 4• -5• , derived using photometric data and calibrated using spectroscopic data of Red Giant Branch (RGB) stars. We identify the RGB in the V, (V − I) colour-magnitude diagrams of small subregions of varying sizes in both data sets. We use the slope of the RGB as an indicator of the average metallicity of a subregion, and calibrate the RGB slope to metallicity using spectroscopic data for field and cluster red giants in selected subregions. The average metallicity of the LMC is found to be [Fe/H] = −0.37 dex (σ [Fe/H] = 0.12) from MCPS data, and [Fe/H] = −0.39 dex (σ [Fe/H] = 0.10) from OGLE III data. The bar is found to be the most metal-rich region of the LMC. Both the data sets suggest a shallow radial metallicity gradient up to a radius of 4 kpc (−0.049 ± 0.002 dex kpc −1 to −0.066 ± 0.006 dex kpc −1 ). Subregions in which the mean metallicity differs from the surrounding areas do not appear to correlate with previously known features; spectroscopic studies are required in order to assess their physical significance.Key words: stars: abundances -Hertzsprung-Russell and colour-magnitude diagramsgalaxies: abundances -Magellanic Clouds. I N T RO D U C T I O NThe stars and gas in galactic discs have a mean metallicity which depends on the luminosity of the galaxy (e.g. Tremonti et al. 2004) and often shows a radial gradient. A rich literature now exists which confirms these radial abundance trends in spirals (e.g. Simpson et al. 1995;Afflerbach, Churchwell & Werner 1997;Mollá, Hardy & Beauchamp 1999;Kewley et al. 2010;Sánchez-Blázquez et al. 2011). Observations of nearby spiral galaxies show that the inner discs have higher metallicities than their associated outer disc regions; at the present day, typical gradients of ∼−0.05 dex kpc −1 are encountered (Pilkington et al. 2012). A study of a large sample of SDSS galaxies by Tremonti et al. (2004) demonstrates a tight correlation between the stellar mass and the gas-phase oxygen abundance extending over three orders of magnitude in stellar mass and a factor of 10 in oxygen abundance. Kirby et al. (2008) show that the relation between luminosity and metallicity continues down to the faintest known dwarf spheroidal galaxies. In this paper, we have studied the average metallicity and metallicity gradient of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), which is a gas rich, metal poor, actively star-forming, irregular type galaxy with a stellar mass of ∼10 10 M .

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Section: Comparison Of Metallicity Distributionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Photometric metallicity map of the Large Magellanic Cloud

Choudhury

Subramaniam

Cole

2015

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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“…Therefore we attribute the origin of the feature to the bar formation in the earlier epoch, and the bimodality at t = 0.5 Gyr is therefore likely a relic of bar formation. During the bar formation, gas at radii inside R ∼10 kpc falls into the central regions of the disc (Martel et al 2013), where chemical evolution likely proceeds differently from the outer region.…”

Section: Evolution Of the Gas Rmdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of radial migration on stellar and gas radial metallicity distribution

Grand

Kawata

Cropper

2015

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Radial migration is defined as the change in guiding centre radius of stars and gas caused by gains or losses of angular momentum that result from gravitational interaction with non-axisymmetric structure. This has been shown to have significant impact on the metallicity distribution in galactic discs, and therefore affects the interpretation of Galactic archeology. We use a simulation of a Milky Way-sized galaxy to examine the effect of radial migration on the star and gas radial metallicity distribution. We find that both the star and gas component show significant radial migration. The stellar radial metallicity gradient remains almost unchanged but the radial metallicity distribution of the stars is broadened to produce a greater dispersion at all radii. However, the metallicity dispersion of the gas remains narrow. We find that the main drivers of the gas metallicity distribution evolution are metal enrichment and mixing: more efficient metal enrichment in the inner region maintains a negative slope in the radial metallicity distribution, and the metal mixing ensures the tight relationship of the gas metallicity with the radius. The metallicity distribution function reproduces the trend in the age-metallicity relation found from observations for stars younger than 1.0 Gyr in the Milky Way.

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“…Flat gradients can be caused by mergers, but such a flat gradient is expected to only occur in the later stages of a merger (Rupke et al 2010b,a;Kewley et al 2010). The presence of a strong bar complicates the picture, and simulations by Martel et al (2013) show that mixing of gas from the outer regions to the centre through a bar may occur even before star formation is induced.…”

Section: Gas-phase Metallicities and Star Formation Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mice at play in the CALIFA survey

Wild

Rosales-Ortega

Falcón-Barroso

et al. 2014

A&A

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We present optical integral field spectroscopy (IFS) observations of the Mice, a major merger between two massive ( 10 11 M ) gas-rich spirals NGC 4676A and B, observed between first passage and final coalescence. The spectra provide stellar and gas kinematics, ionised gas properties, and stellar population diagnostics, over the full optical extent of both galaxies with ∼1.6 kpc spatial resolution. The Mice galaxies provide a perfect case study that highlights the importance of IFS data for improving our understanding of local galaxies. The impact of first passage on the kinematics of the stars and gas has been significant, with strong bars most likely induced in both galaxies. The barred spiral NGC 4676B exhibits a strong twist in both its stellar and ionised gas disk. The edge-on disk galaxy NGC 4676A appears to be bulge free, with a strong bar causing its "boxy" light profile. On the other hand, the impact of the merger on the stellar populations has been minimal thus far. By combining the IFS data with archival multiwavelength observations we show that star formation induced by the recent close passage has not contributed significantly to the total star formation rate or stellar mass of the galaxies. Both galaxies show bicones of high ionisation gas extending along their minor axes. In NGC 4676A the high gas velocity dispersion and Seyfert-like line ratios at large scaleheight indicate a powerful outflow. Fast shocks (v s ∼ 350 km s −1 ) extend to ∼6.6 kpc above the disk plane. The measured ram pressure (P/k = 4.8 × 10 6 K cm −3 ) and mass outflow rate (∼8−20 M yr −1 ) are similar to superwinds from local ultra-luminous infrared galaxies, although NGC 4676A only has a moderate infrared luminosity of 3 × 10 10 L . Energy beyond what is provided by the mechanical energy of the starburst appears to be required to drive the outflow. Finally, we compare the observations to mock kinematic and stellar population maps extracted from a hydrodynamical merger simulation. The models show little enhancement in star formation during and following first passage, in agreement with the observations. We highlight areas where IFS data could help further constrain the models.

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The connection between star formation and metallicity evolution in barred spiral galaxies

Cited by 34 publications

References 83 publications

Photometric metallicity map of the Large Magellanic Cloud

Photometric metallicity map of the Large Magellanic Cloud

Impact of radial migration on stellar and gas radial metallicity distribution

The Mice at play in the CALIFA survey

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