The role of cold gas and environment on the stellar mass-metallicity relation of nearby galaxies

Hughes, T. M.; Cortese, Luca; Boselli, A.; Gavazzi, G.; Davies, Jonathan Ivor

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201218822

Cited by 183 publications

(242 citation statements)

References 134 publications

(165 reference statements)

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“…The MZRs of the two subsets are well separated in the lower-mass part, with a mean metallicity offset of 0.5 dex, which is similar to the result found at M * > 10 8.5 M by Ellison et al (2008) in the local Universe. On the contrary, they become very close at higher masses, suggesting that the MZR is independent from the sSFR, which is more in agreement with the results of Hughes et al (2013) and .…”

Section: The Dependence Of the Metallicity On The Stellar Mass And Sfrsupporting

confidence: 89%

Characterization of star-forming dwarf galaxies at 0.1 ≲z ≲ 0.9 in VUDS: probing the low-mass end of the mass-metallicity relation

Calabró

Amorín

Fontana

et al. 2017

A&A

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Context. The study of statistically significant samples of star-forming dwarf galaxies (SFDGs) at different cosmic epochs is essential for the detailed understanding of galaxy assembly and chemical evolution. However, the main properties of this large population of galaxies at intermediate redshift are still poorly known. Aims. We present the discovery and spectrophotometric characterization of a large sample of 164 faint (i AB ∼ 23-25 mag) SFDGs at redshift 0.13 ≤ z ≤ 0.88 selected by the presence of bright optical emission lines in the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS). We investigate their integrated physical properties and ionization conditions, which are used to discuss the low-mass end of the mass-metallicity relation (MZR) and other key scaling relations. Methods. We use optical VUDS spectra in the COSMOS, VVDS-02h, and ECDF-S fields, as well as deep multi-wavelength photometry that includes HST-ACS F814W imaging, to derive stellar masses, extinction-corrected star-formation rates (SFR), and gas-phase metallicities of SFDGs. For the latter, we use the direct method and a T e -consistent approach based on the comparison of a set of observed emission lines ratios with the predictions of detailed photoionization models. Results. The VUDS SFDGs are compact (median r e ∼ 1.2 kpc), low-mass (M * ∼ 10 7 -10 9 M ) galaxies with a wide range of starformation rates (SFR(Hα) ∼ 10 −3 -10 1 M /yr) and morphologies. Overall, they show a broad range of subsolar metallicities (12 + log(O/H) = 7.26-8.7; 0.04 < ∼ Z/Z < ∼ 1). Nearly half of the sample are extreme emission-line galaxies (EELGs) characterized by high equivalent widths and emission line ratios indicative of higher excitation and ionization conditions. The MZR of SFDGs shows a flatter slope compared to previous studies of galaxies in the same mass range and redshift. We find the scatter of the MZR is partly explained in the low mass range by varying specific SFRs and gas fractions amongst the galaxies in our sample. In agreement with recent studies, we find the subclass of EELGs to be systematically offset to lower metallicity compared to SFDGs at a given stellar mass and SFR, suggesting a younger starburst phase. Compared with simple chemical evolution models we find that most SFDGs do not follow the predictions of a "closed-box" model, but those from a gas-regulating model in which gas flows are considered. While strong stellar feedback may produce large-scale outflows favoring the cessation of vigorous star formation and promoting the removal of metals, younger and more metal-poor dwarfs may have recently accreted large amounts of fresh, very metal-poor gas, that is used to fuel current star formation.

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Section: The Dependence Of the Metallicity On The Stellar Mass And Sfrsupporting

confidence: 89%

Characterization of star-forming dwarf galaxies at 0.1 ≲z ≲ 0.9 in VUDS: probing the low-mass end of the mass-metallicity relation

Calabró

Amorín

Fontana

et al. 2017

A&A

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“…A similar anti-correlation between HI mass excess and metallicity has been found by Robertson et al (2013). Hughes et al (2013) also find the anti-correlation between metallicity and gas mass at fixed stellar mass in a volume-limited sample of 260 nearby late-type galaxies. Interestingly, the relationship is nearly invariant to the environment when going from clusters to the field.…”

Section: The Stellar Mass-metallicity-sfr Relationshipsupporting

confidence: 83%

Star formation sustained by gas accretion

Alméida

Elmegreen

Muñoz–Tuñón

et al. 2014

Astron Astrophys Rev

177

130

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Numerical simulations predict that metal-poor gas accretion from the cosmic web fuels the formation of disk galaxies. This paper discusses how cosmic gas accretion controls star formation, and summarizes the physical properties expected for the cosmic gas accreted by galaxies. The paper also collects observational evidence for gas accretion sustaining star formation. It reviews evidence inferred from neutral and ionized hydrogen, as well as from stars. A number of properties characterizing large samples of star-forming galaxies can be explained by metal-poor gas accretion, in particular, the relationship among stellar mass, metallicity, and star-formation rate (the so-called fundamental metallicity relationship). They are put forward and analyzed. Theory predicts gas accretion to be particularly important at high redshift, so indications based on distant objects are reviewed, including the global star-formation history of the universe, and the gas around galaxies as inferred from absorption features in the spectra of background sources.

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“…Bothwell et al 2013;Hughes et al 2013). De Rossi et al (2015b) obtained that dependence in the case of GIMIC galaxies while Lagos et al (2016) found similar results by performing a principal component analysis over different galaxy properties in the EAGLE Ref-L100N1504 simulation.…”

Section: F U N Da M E N Ta L M E Ta L L I C I T Y R E L At I O N a N mentioning

confidence: 66%

“…Finally, other authors claimed that there is no significant dependence of the observed MZR on the SFR (e.g. Hughes et al 2013;Sánchez et al 2013Sánchez et al , 2017.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Galaxy metallicity scaling relations in the EAGLE simulations

Rossi

Bower

Font

et al. 2017

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

140

136

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Citation for published item:he ossiD w r¡ % imili nd fowerD i h rd qF nd pontD endree F nd h yeD toop nd heunsD om @PHIUA 9q l xy met lli ity s ling rel tions in the ieqvi simul tionsF9D wonthly noti es of the oy l estronomi l o ietyFD RUP @QAF ppF QQSREQQUUF Further information on publisher's website: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. ABSTRACTWe quantify the correlations between gas-phase and stellar metallicities and global properties of galaxies, such as stellar mass, halo mass, age and gas fraction, in the Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. The slope of the correlation between stellar mass and metallicity of star-forming (SF) gas (M * -Z SF,gas relation) depends somewhat on resolution, with the higher resolution run reproducing a steeper slope. This simulation predicts a non-zero metallicity evolution, increasing by ≈0.5 dex at ∼10 9 M since z = 3. The simulated relation between stellar mass, metallicity and star formation rate at z 5 agrees remarkably well with the observed fundamental metallicity relation. At M * 10 10.3 M and fixed stellar mass, higher metallicities are associated with lower specific star formation rates, lower gas fractions and older stellar populations. On the other hand, at higher M * , there is a hint of an inversion of the dependence of metallicity on these parameters. The fundamental parameter that best correlates with the metal content, in the simulations, is the gas fraction. The simulated gas fraction-metallicity relation exhibits small scatter and does not evolve significantly since z = 3. In order to better understand the origin of these correlations, we analyse a set of lower resolution simulations in which feedback parameters are varied. We find that the slope of the simulated M * -Z SF,gas relation is mostly determined by stellar feedback at low stellar masses (M * 10 10 M ), and at high masses (M * 10 10 M ) by the feedback from active galactic nuclei.

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The role of cold gas and environment on the stellar mass-metallicity relation of nearby galaxies

Cited by 183 publications

References 134 publications

Characterization of star-forming dwarf galaxies at 0.1 ≲z ≲ 0.9 in VUDS: probing the low-mass end of the mass-metallicity relation

Characterization of star-forming dwarf galaxies at 0.1 ≲z ≲ 0.9 in VUDS: probing the low-mass end of the mass-metallicity relation

Star formation sustained by gas accretion

Galaxy metallicity scaling relations in the EAGLE simulations

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