Does the fundamental metallicity relation evolve with redshift? I: the correlation between offsets from the mass-metallicity relation and star formation rate

Author:

Garcia Alex M1ORCID,Torrey Paul1ORCID,Ellison Sara2ORCID,Grasha Kathryn345ORCID,Hernquist Lars6,Zovaro Henry R M34ORCID,Chen Qian-Hui34ORCID,Hemler Z S7ORCID,Kewley Lisa J6,Nelson Erica J8,Wright Ruby J9ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904 , USA

2. Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Victoria , Finnerty Road, Victoria, British Columbia, V8P 1A1 , Canada

3. Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Australian National University , Canberra 2611 , Australia

4. ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) , Australia

5. Visiting Fellow, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 , USA

6. Institute for Theory and Computation, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics , Cambridge, MA 02138 , USA

7. Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544 , USA

8. Department for Astrophysical and Planetary Science, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO 80309 , USA

9. Department of Physics, University of Helsinki , Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, FI-00014 Helsinki , Finland

Abstract

ABSTRACT The scatter about the mass-metallicity relation (MZR) has a correlation with the star formation rate (SFR) of galaxies. The lack of evidence of evolution in correlated scatter at z ≲ 2.5 leads many to refer to the relationship between mass, metallicity, and SFR as the Fundamental Metallicity Relation (FMR). Yet, recent high-redshift (z > 3) JWST observations have challenged the fundamental (i.e. redshift-invariant) nature of the FMR. In this work, we show that the cosmological simulations Illustris, IllustrisTNG, and Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environment (EAGLE) all predict MZRs that exhibit scatter with a secondary dependence on SFR up to z = 8. We introduce the concept of a ‘strong’ FMR, where the strength of correlated scatter does not evolve with time, and a ‘weak’ FMR, where there is some time evolution. We find that each simulation analysed has a statistically significant weak FMR – there is non-negligible evolution in the strength of the correlation with SFR. Furthermore, we show that the scatter is reduced an additional ∼10–40 per cent at z ≳ 3 when using a weak FMR, compared to assuming a strong FMR. These results highlight the importance of avoiding coarse redshift binning when assessing the FMR.

Funder

NSF

AST

Australian Research Council

Australian Government

European Research Council

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

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