Coevolution of metallicity and star formation in galaxies to z ≃ 3.7 - I. A Fundamental Plane
Abstract
With the aim of understanding the coevolution of star formation rate (SFR), stellar mass (M*), and oxygen abundance (O/H) in galaxies up to redshift z ≃ 3.7, we have compiled the largest available data set for studying Metallicity Evolution and Galaxy Assembly (MEGA); it comprises ∼1000 galaxies with a common O/H calibration and spans almost two orders of magnitude in metallicity, a factor of ∼106 in SFR, and a factor of ∼105 in stellar mass. From a principal component analysis, we find that the three-dimensional parameter space reduces to a Fundamental Plane in metallicity (FPZ) given by 12 + log (O/H) = -0.14 log (SFR) + 0.37 log (M*) + 4.82. The mean O/H FPZ residuals are small (0.16 dex) and consistent with trends found in smaller galaxy samples with more limited ranges in M*, SFR, and O/H. Importantly, the FPZ is found to be approximately redshift invariant within the uncertainties. In a companion paper, these results are interpreted with an updated version of the model presented by Dayal, Ferrara & Dunlop.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnras/stw1993
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1608.05417
- Bibcode:
- 2016MNRAS.463.2002H
- Keywords:
-
- galaxies: abundances;
- galaxies: evolution;
- galaxies: high-redshift;
- galaxies: star formation;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
- E-Print:
- 19 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS