The MAGPI survey: The interdependence of the mass, star formation rate, and metallicity in galaxies at
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Aims. Star formation rates (SFRs), gas-phase metallicities, and stellar masses are crucial for studying galaxy evolution. The different relations resulting from these properties give insights into the complex interplay of gas inside galaxies and their evolutionary trajectory and current characteristics. We aim to characterize these relations at z ∼ 0.3, corresponding to a 3–4 Gyr lookback time, to gather insight into the galaxies’ redshift evolution. Methods. We utilized optical integral field spectroscopy data from 65 emission-line galaxies from the MUSE large program MAGPI at a redshift of 0.28 < z < 0.35 (average redshift of z ∼ 0.3) and spanning a total stellar mass range of 8.2 < log(M*/M⊙) < 11.4. We measured emission line fluxes and stellar masses, allowing us to determine spatially resolved SFRs, gas-phase metallicities, and stellar mass surface densities. We derived the resolved star formation main sequence (rSFMS), resolved mass metallicity relation (rMZR), and resolved fundamental metallicity relation (rFMR) at z ∼ 0.3, and compared them to results for the local Universe. Results. We find a relatively shallow rSFMS slope of ∼0.425 ± 0.014 compared to the expected slope at this redshift for an ordinary least square (OLS) fitting routine. For an orthogonal distance regression (ODR) routine, a much steeper slope of ∼1.162 ± 0.022 is measured. We confirm the existence of an rMZR at z ∼ 0.3 with an average metallicity located ∼0.03 dex above the local Universe’s metallicity. Via partial correlation coefficients, evidence is found that the local metallicity is predominantly determined by the stellar mass surface density and has a weak secondary (inverse) dependence on the SFR surface density ΣSFR. Additionally, a significant dependence of the local metallicity on the total stellar mass M* is found. Furthermore, we find that the stellar mass surface density Σ* and M* have a significant influence in determining the strength with which ΣSFR correlates with the local metallicity. We observe that at lower stellar masses, there is a tighter correlation between ΣSFR and the gas-phase metallicity, resulting in a more pronounced rFMR.
Authors: M. Koller, B. Ziegler, B. I. Ciocan, S. Thater, J. T. Mendel, E. Wisnioski, A. J. Battisti, K. E. Harborne, C. Foster, C. Lagos, S. M. Croom, K. Grasha, P. Papaderos, R. S. Remus, G. Sharma, S. M. Sweet, L. M. Valenzuela, G. van de Ven, T. Zafar
Institutions: University of Vienna, Lyon 1 Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon, The University of Western Australia, ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, UNSW Sydney, The University of Sydney, Universidade do Porto, Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences, Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, The University of Queensland, Macquarie University
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1011896320, Understanding diversity: chemical and kinematic tracers of galaxy evolution, G1998765129, Stars and Galaxies: The chemical abundance breakthrough, Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, “Beacons in the Night” unveiling how galaxies light up dark matter, Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Time takes its toll: understanding why galaxies slow down as they get older, G7915199406
OpenAlex ID: W6922084151
FWCI:
Cites:
Cited by:
Related to: