A Census of Sub-kiloparsec Resolution Metallicity Gradients in Star-forming Galaxies at Cosmic Noon from HST Slitless Spectroscopy

Wang, Xin; Jones, Tucker; Treu, Tommaso; Daddi, E.; Brammer, Gabriel; Sharon, Keren; Morishita, Takahiro; Abramson, Louis E.; Colbert, James; Henry, Alaina; Hopkins, Philip F.; Malkan, Matthew A.; Schmidt, Kasper B.; Teplitz, Harry I.; Vulcani, Benedetta

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abacce

Cited by 39 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…In this way, we can take advantage of Hγ and Hδ detections, or upper limits, while accounting for (or marginalizing over) stellar absorption and the contamination of Hα by [N II] and Hγ by [O III] λ4363. Our method is similar to the approaches used previously for grism spectra by Jones et al (2015b) and Wang et al (2017Wang et al ( , 2020.…”

Section: Appendix C Bayesian Inference Of Metallicity and Dust Extinctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mass–Metallicity Relation at z ∼ 1–2 and Its Dependence on the Star Formation Rate

Henry

Rafelski

Sunnquist

et al. 2021

ApJ

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We present a new measurement of the gas-phase mass-metallicity relation (MZR) and its dependence on star formation rates (SFRs) at 1.3 < z < 2.3. Our sample comprises 1056 galaxies with a mean redshift of z = 1.9, identified from the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) grism spectroscopy in the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Survey and the WFC3 Infrared Spectroscopic Parallel Survey. This sample is four times larger than previous metallicity surveys at z ∼ 2 and reaches an order of magnitude lower in stellar mass (10 8 M e ). Using stacked spectra, we find that the MZR evolves by 0.3 dex relative to z ∼ 0.1. Additionally, we identify a subset of 49 galaxies with high signal-to-noise (S/N) spectra and redshifts between 1.3 < z < 1.5, where Hα emission is observed along with [O III] and [O II]. With accurate measurements of SFR in these objects, we confirm the existence of a mass-metallicity-SFR (M-Z-SFR) relation at high redshifts. These galaxies show systematic differences from the local M-Z-SFR relation, which vary depending on the adopted measurement of the local relation. However, it remains difficult to ascertain whether these differences could be due to redshift evolution, as the local M-Z-SFR relation is poorly constrained at the masses and SFRs of our sample. Lastly, we reproduced our sample selection in the IllustrisTNG hydrodynamical simulation, demonstrating that our line flux limit lowers the normalization of the simulated MZR by 0.2 dex. We show that the M-Z-SFR relation in IllustrisTNG has an SFR dependence that is too steep by a factor of around 3.

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Section: Appendix C Bayesian Inference Of Metallicity and Dust Extinctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mass–Metallicity Relation at z ∼ 1–2 and Its Dependence on the Star Formation Rate

Henry

Rafelski

Sunnquist

et al. 2021

ApJ

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“…There have also been a number of observational studies of metallicity profiles at higher redshift recently (e.g. Troncoso et al 2014;Stott et al 2014;Leethochawalit et al 2016;Curti et al 2020b;Wang et al 2020;Gillman et al 2021). In general, these studies suggest that (a) profiles are rather flat at all redshifts back to ∼ 2.5, albeit with a wide spread in Δ( g ) (see Hemler et al 2020), and (b) strong, metal-rich galactic outflows are required in order to explain this.…”

Section: The Evolution Of Metallicity Profilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

L-GALAXIES 2020: The evolution of radial metallicity profiles and global metallicities in disc galaxies

Yates

Henriques

et al. 2021

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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We present a modified version of the L-Galaxies 2020 semi-analytic model of galaxy evolution, which includes significantly increased direct metal enrichment of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) by supernovae (SNe). These more metal-rich outflows do not require increased mass-loading factors, in contrast to some other galaxy evolution models. This modified L-Galaxies 2020 model is able to simultaneously reproduce the gas-phase metallicity (Zg) and stellar metallicity (Z*) radial profiles observed in nearby disc galaxies by MaNGA and MUSE, as well as the observed mass – metallicity relations for gas and stars at z = 0 and their evolution back to z ∼ 2 − 3. A direct CGM enrichment fraction of ∼90 per cent for SNe-II is preferred. We find that massive disc galaxies have slightly flatter Zg profiles than their lower-mass counterparts in L-Galaxies 2020, due to more efficient enrichment of their outskirts via inside-out growth and metal-rich accretion. Such a weak, positive correlation between stellar mass and Zg profile slope is also seen in our MaNGA-DR15 sample of 571 star-forming disc galaxies, although below ${\rm log}_{10}{(M_{*}/{\rm M_\odot} )}{}\sim {}10.0$ this observational result is strongly dependent on the metallicity diagnostic and morphological selection chosen. In addition, a lowered maximum SN-II progenitor mass of 25 M⊙, reflecting recent theoretical and observational estimates, can also provide a good match to observed Zg and Z* profiles at z = 0 in L-Galaxies 2020. However, this model version fails to reproduce an evolution in Zg at fixed mass over cosmic time, or the magnesium abundances observed in the intracluster medium (ICM).

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“…Such information can provide considerable insight into the earliest phases of galaxy assembly, for example regarding in situ growth versus hierarchical merging. Distinguishing mergers from disk galaxies can be challenging even with high-quality kinematic data (e.g., Simons et al 2019), while resolved metallicity can be a powerful discriminant (e.g., Wang et al 2017Wang et al , 2020. For in situ galaxy growth, spatial variations in Notes.…”

Section: Spatially Resolved Metallicitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mass–Metallicity Relation at z ≃ 8: Direct-method Metallicity Constraints and Near-future Prospects

Jones

Roberts-Borsani

Ellis

et al. 2020

ApJ

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Physical properties of galaxies at z>7 are of interest for understanding both the early phases of star formation and the process of cosmic reionization. Chemical abundance measurements offer valuable information on the integrated star formation history, and hence ionizing photon production, as well as the rapid gas accretion expected at such high redshifts. We use reported measurements of [OIII]88 μm emission and star formation rate to estimate gasphase oxygen abundances in five galaxies at z=7.1-9.1 using the direct T e method. We find typical abundances + 12 log O H ( )=7.9 (∼0.2 times the solar value) and an evolution of 0.9±0.5 dex in oxygen abundance at fixed stellar mass from z;8 to 0. These results are compatible with theoretical predictions, albeit with large (conservative) uncertainties in both mass and metallicity. We assess both statistical and systematic uncertainties to identify promising means of improvement with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In particular we highlight [OIII]52 μm as a valuable feature for robust metallicity measurements. Precision of 0.1-0.2 dex in T e -based O/H abundance can be reasonably achieved for galaxies at z≈5-8 by combining [OIII]52 μm with rest-frame optical strong lines. It will also be possible to probe gas mixing and mergers via resolved T e -based abundances on kiloparsec scales. With ALMA and JWST, direct metallicity measurements will thus be remarkably accessible in the reionization epoch.

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A Census of Sub-kiloparsec Resolution Metallicity Gradients in Star-forming Galaxies at Cosmic Noon from HST Slitless Spectroscopy

Cited by 39 publications

References 70 publications

The Mass–Metallicity Relation at z ∼ 1–2 and Its Dependence on the Star Formation Rate

The Mass–Metallicity Relation at z ∼ 1–2 and Its Dependence on the Star Formation Rate

L-GALAXIES 2020: The evolution of radial metallicity profiles and global metallicities in disc galaxies

The Mass–Metallicity Relation at z ≃ 8: Direct-method Metallicity Constraints and Near-future Prospects

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