JADES: Insights into the low-mass end of the mass-metallicity-SFR relation at 3 < z < 10 from deep JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy
JADES: Insights into the low-mass end of the mass-metallicity-SFR relation at 3 < z < 10 from deep JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy
Apr 10, 2024·,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Mirko Curti
Roberto Maiolino
Emma Curtis-Lake
Jacopo Chevallard
Stefano Carniani
Francesco D'Eugenio
Tobias J. Looser
Jan Scholtz
Stephane Charlot
Alex Cameron
Hannah Übler
Joris Witstok
Kristian Boyett
Isaac Laseter
Lester Sandles
Santiago Arribas
Andrew Bunker
Giovanna Giardino
Michael v. Maseda
Tim Rawle
Bruno Rodrı́guez Del Pino
Renske Smit
Chris J. Willott
Daniel J. Eisenstein
Ryan Hausen
Benjamin Johnson
Marcia Rieke
Brant Robertson
Sandro Tacchella
Christina C. Williams
Christopher Willmer
William M. Baker
Rachana Bhatawdekar
Eiichi Egami
Jakob M. Helton
Zhiyuan Ji
Nimisha Kumari
Michele Perna
Irene Shivaei
Fengwu Sun
Abstract
We analysed the gas-phase metallicity properties of a sample of low-stellar-mass ($\mathrm{log}_{10}(M_{\ast}/M_{\odot}) \leq 9$
) galaxies at $3 < z < 10$
observed with JWST/NIRSpec as part of the JADES programme in its deep GOODS-S tier. By combining this sample with more massive galaxies at similar redshifts from other programmes, we study the scaling relations between stellar mass ($M_{\ast}$
), oxygen abundance ($\mathrm{O/H}$
), and star-formation rate (SFR) for $146$
galaxies spanning three orders of magnitude in stellar mass and out to the epoch of early galaxy assembly. We find evidence for a shallower slope at the low-mass end of the mass-metallicity relation (MZR), with $12 + \mathrm{log}_{10}(\mathrm{O/H}) = (7.72 \pm 0.02) + (0.17 \pm 0.03)\,\mathrm{log}_{10}(M_{\ast}/10^{8}\,M_{\odot})$
), in good agreement with the MZR probed by local analogues of high-redshift systems, such as the “Green Pea” and “Blueberry” galaxies. The inferred slope is well matched by models including “momentum-driven” supernova (SN) winds, suggesting that feedback mechanisms in dwarf galaxies (and at $\mathrm{high}-z$
) might be different from those in place at higher masses. The evolution in the normalisation is observed to be relatively mild compared to previous determinations of the MZR at $z \sim 3$
($\sim 0.1-0.2\ \mathrm{dex}$
across the explored mass regime). We observe a deviation from the local fundamental metallicity relation (FMR) for our sample at high redshift, especially at $z > 6$
, with galaxies significantly less enriched than predicted given their $M_{\ast}$
and SFR (with a median offset in $\mathrm{log}_{10}(\mathrm{O/H})$
of $\sim 0.5\ \mathrm{dex}$
, significant at $\sim 5\sigma$
). These observations are consistent with an enhanced stochasticity in the gas accretion and star-formation history of high-redshift systems, prompting us to reconsider the nature of the relationship between $M_{\ast}$
, $\mathrm{O/H}$
, and SFR in the early Universe.
Type
Publication
Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 684, id.A75, 22 pages
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