The MOSDEF survey: The mass-metallicity relationship and the existence of the FMR at z ∼ 1.5

Authors

• Michael W. Topping, University of California, Los Angeles
• Alice E. Shapley, University of California, Los Angeles
• Ryan L. Sanders, University of California, Davis
• Mariska Kriek, University of California, Berkeley
• Naveen A. Reddy, University of California, Riverside
• Alison L. Coil, University of California, San Diego
• Bahram Mobasher, University of California, Riverside
• Brian Siana, University of California, Riverside
• William R. Freeman, University of California, Riverside
• Irene Shivaei, University of Arizona
• Mojegan Azadi, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
• Sedona H. Price, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
• Gene C.K. Leung, University of California, San Diego
• Tara Fetherolf, University of California, Riverside
• Laura de Groot, The College of Wooster
• Tom Zick, University of California, Berkeley
• Francesca M. Fornasini, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
• Guillermo Barro, University of the PacificFollow
• Jordan N. Runco, University of California, Los Angeles

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Department

Physics

ISSN

13652966

Volume

506

Issue

1

DOI

10.1093/mnras/stab1793

First Page

1237

Last Page

1249

Publication Date

6-26-2021

Abstract

We analyse the rest-optical emission-line ratios of z ∼ 1.5 galaxies drawn from the Multi-Object Spectrometer for Infra-Red Exploration Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey. Using composite spectra, we investigate the mass-metallicity relation (MZR) at z ∼ 1.5 and measure its evolution to z = 0. When using gas-phase metallicities based on the N2 line ratio, we find that the MZR evolution from z ∼ 1.5 to z = 0 depends on stellar mass, evolving by Δlog(O/H) ∼ 0.25 dex at M∗ < 109.75M⊙ down to Δlog(O/H) ∼ 0.05 at M∗ ≳ 1010.5M⊙. In contrast, the O3N2-based MZR shows a constant offset of Δlog(O/H) ∼ 0.30 across all masses, consistent with previous MOSDEF results based on independent metallicity indicators, and suggesting that O3N2 provides a more robust metallicity calibration for our z ∼ 1.5 sample. We investigated the secondary dependence of the MZR on star formation rate (SFR) by measuring correlated scatter about the mean M∗-specific SFR and M∗-log(O3N2) relations. We find an anticorrelation between log(O/H) and sSFR offsets, indicating the presence of a M∗-SFR-Z relation, though with limited significance. Additionally, we find that our z ∼ 1.5 stacks lie along the z = 0 metallicity sequence at fixed μ = log (M∗/M⊙)-0.6 × log(SFR/M⊙ yr-1) suggesting that the z ∼ 1.5 stacks can be described by the z = 0 fundamental metallicity relation (FMR). However, using different calibrations can shift the calculated metallicities off of the local FMR, indicating that appropriate calibrations are essential for understanding metallicity evolution with redshift. Finally, understanding how [NII]/Hα scales with galaxy properties is crucial to accurately describe the effects of blended [N II] and Hα on redshift and Hα fiux measurements in future large surveys utilizing low-resolution spectra such as with Euclid and the Roman Space Telescope.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Topping, Michael W.; Shapley, Alice E.; Sanders, Ryan L.; Kriek, Mariska; Reddy, Naveen A.; Coil, Alison L.; Mobasher, Bahram; Siana, Brian; Freeman, William R.; Shivaei, Irene; Azadi, Mojegan; Price, Sedona H.; Leung, Gene C.K.; Fetherolf, Tara; de Groot, Laura; Zick, Tom; Fornasini, Francesca M.; Barro, Guillermo; and Runco, Jordan N., "The MOSDEF survey: The mass-metallicity relationship and the existence of the FMR at z ∼ 1.5" (2021). Pacific Faculty Work. 299.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/all-faculty/299