scholarly journals Galaxy and mass assembly (GAMA): the inferred mass–metallicity relation from z = 0 to 3.5 via forensic SED fitting

2021 ◽  
Vol 503 (3) ◽  
pp. 3309-3325
Author(s):  
Sabine Bellstedt ◽  
Aaron S G Robotham ◽  
Simon P Driver ◽  
Jessica E Thorne ◽  
Luke J M Davies ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We analyse the metallicity histories of ∼4500 galaxies from the GAMA survey at z < 0.06 modelled by the SED-fitting code ProSpect using an evolving metallicity implementation. These metallicity histories, in combination with the associated star formation histories, allow us to analyse the inferred gas-phase mass–metallicity relation. Furthermore, we extract the mass–metallicity relation at a sequence of epochs in cosmic history, to track the evolving mass–metallicity relation with time. Through comparison with observations of gas-phase metallicity over a large range of redshifts, we show that, remarkably, our forensic SED analysis has produced an evolving mass–metallicity relationship that is consistent with observations at all epochs. We additionally analyse the three-dimensional mass–metallicity–SFR space, showing that galaxies occupy a clearly defined plane. This plane is shown to be subtly evolving, displaying an increased tilt with time caused by general enrichment, and also the slowing down of star formation with cosmic time. This evolution is most apparent at lookback times greater than 7 Gyr. The trends in metallicity recovered in this work highlight that the evolving metallicity implementation used within the SED-fitting code ProSpect produces reasonable metallicity results over the history of a galaxy. This is expected to provide a significant improvement to the accuracy of the SED-fitting outputs.

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (4) ◽  
pp. 4937-4957 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Martin ◽  
R A Jackson ◽  
S Kaviraj ◽  
H Choi ◽  
J E G Devriendt ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Dwarf galaxies (M⋆ < 109 M⊙) are key drivers of mass assembly in high-mass galaxies, but relatively little is understood about the assembly of dwarf galaxies themselves. Using the NewHorizon cosmological simulation (∼40 pc spatial resolution), we investigate how mergers and fly-bys drive the mass assembly and structural evolution of around 1000 field and group dwarfs up to z = 0.5. We find that, while dwarf galaxies often exhibit disturbed morphologies (5 and 20 per cent are disturbed at z = 1 and z = 3 respectively), only a small proportion of the morphological disturbances seen in dwarf galaxies are driven by mergers at any redshift (for 109 M⊙, mergers drive under 20 per cent morphological disturbances). They are instead primarily the result of interactions that do not end in a merger (e.g. fly-bys). Given the large fraction of apparently morphologically disturbed dwarf galaxies which are not, in fact, merging, this finding is particularly important to future studies identifying dwarf mergers and post-mergers morphologically at intermediate and high redshifts. Dwarfs typically undergo one major and one minor merger between z = 5 and z = 0.5, accounting for 10 per cent of their total stellar mass. Mergers can also drive moderate star formation enhancements at lower redshifts (3 or 4 times at z = 1), but this accounts for only a few per cent of stellar mass in the dwarf regime given their infrequency. Non-merger interactions drive significantly smaller star formation enhancements (around two times), but their preponderance relative to mergers means they account for around 10 per cent of stellar mass formed in the dwarf regime.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S256) ◽  
pp. 281-286
Author(s):  
Carme Gallart ◽  
Ingrid Meschin ◽  
Antonio Aparicio ◽  
Peter B. Stetson ◽  
Sebastián L. Hidalgo

AbstractBased on the quantitative analysis of a set of wide-field color—magnitude diagrams reaching the old main sequence-turnoffs, we present new LMC star-formation histories, and their variation with galactocentric distance. Some coherent features are found, together with systematic variations of the star-formation history among the three fields analyzed. We find two main episodes of star formation in all three fields, from 1 to 4 and 7 to 13 Gyr ago, with relatively low star formation around ≃ 4–7 Gyr ago. The youngest age in each field gradually increases with galactocentric radius; in the innermost field, LMC 0514–6503, an additional star formation event younger than 1 Gyr is detected, with star formation declining, however, in the last ≃ 200 Myr. The population is found to be older on average toward the outer part of the galaxy, although star formation in all fields seems to have started around 13 Gyr ago.


2019 ◽  
Vol 491 (2) ◽  
pp. 1759-1770
Author(s):  
Nao Fukagawa

ABSTRACT Studying the evolution of dwarf galaxies can provide insights into the characteristics of systems that can act as building blocks of massive galaxies. This paper discusses the history of star formation and gas flows (inflow and outflow) of a dwarf irregular galaxy in the Local Group, NGC 6822, from the viewpoint of gas-phase and stellar chemical abundance. Gas-phase oxygen abundance, stellar metallicity distribution, and gas fraction data are compared to chemical evolution models in which continuous star formation and gas flows are assumed. If the galaxy is assumed to be a closed or an accretion-dominated system where steeper stellar initial mass functions are allowed, the observed gas-phase oxygen abundance and gas fraction can be explained simultaneously; however, metallicity distributions predicted by the models seem to be inconsistent with the observed distribution, which suggests that the star formation, gas flows, and/or chemical enrichment are more complex than assumed by the models. When NGC 6822 is assumed to be a system dominated by outflow, the observed values of gas-phase oxygen abundance and gas fraction can be explained, and the metallicity distributions predicted by some of the models are also roughly consistent with the observed distribution in the metallicity range of −2.0 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ −0.5. It should be noted that this result does not necessarily mean that the accretion of gas is completely ruled out. More observables, such as chemical abundance ratios, and detailed modelling may provide deeper insight into the evolution of the system.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (S344) ◽  
pp. 29-37
Author(s):  
Andrew A. Cole

AbstractLocal Group dwarf galaxies are a unique astrophysical laboratory because they are the only objects in which we can reliably and precisely characterize the star formation histories of low-mass galaxies going back to the epoch of reionization. There are of order 100 known galaxies less massive than the Small Magellanic Cloud within ~1 Megaparsec of the Milky Way, with a vide variety of star formation history, gas content, and mass to light ratios. In this overview the current understanding of the formation and evolution of low-mass galaxies across cosmic time will be presented, and the possibility of drawing links between the properties of individual systems and the broader Local Group and cosmological context will be discussed. Local Group dwarfs will remain a uniquely powerful testbed to constrain the properties of dark matter and to evaluate the performance of simulations for the foreseeable future.


Author(s):  
S Duivenvoorden ◽  
S Oliver ◽  
M Béthermin ◽  
D L Clements ◽  
G De Zotti ◽  
...  

Abstract The cosmic infrared background (CIB) provides a fundamental observational constraint on the star-formation history of galaxies over cosmic history. We estimate the contribution to the CIB from catalogued galaxies in the COSMOS field by using a novel map fitting technique on the Herschel SPIRE maps. Prior galaxy positions are obtained using detections over a large range in wavelengths in the Ks–3 GHz range. Our method simultaneously fits the galaxies, the system foreground, and the leakage of flux from galaxies located in masked areas and corrects for an “over-fitting” effect not previously accounted for in stacking methods. We explore the contribution to the CIB as a function of galaxy survey wavelength and depth. We find high contributions to the CIB with the deep r (mAB ≤ 26.5), Ks (mAB ≤ 24.0) and 3.6 μm (mAB ≤ 25.5) catalogues. We combine these three deep catalogues and find a total CIB contributions of 10.5 ± 1.6, 6.7 ± 1.5 and 3.1 ± 0.7 nWm−2sr−1 at 250, 350 and 500 μm, respectively. Our CIB estimates are consistent with recent phenomenological models, prior based SPIRE number counts and with (though more precise than) the diffuse total measured by FIRAS. Our results raise the interesting prospect that the CIB contribution at λ ≤ 500 μm from known galaxies has converged. Future large-area surveys like those with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope are therefore likely to resolve a substantial fraction of the population responsible for the CIB at 250 μm ≤λ ≤ 500 μm.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Cignoni ◽  
Monica Tosi

In this tutorial paper we summarize how the star formation (SF) history of a galactic region can be derived from the colour-magnitude diagram (CMD) of its resolved stars. The procedures to build synthetic CMDs and to exploit them to derive the SF histories (SFHs) are described, as well as the corresponding uncertainties. The SFHs of resolved dwarf galaxies of all morphological types, obtained from the application of the synthetic CMD method, are reviewed and discussed. To summarize: (1) only early-type galaxies show evidence of long interruptions in the SF activity; late-type dwarfs present rather continuous, orgasping, SF regimes; (2) a few early-type dwarfs have experienced only one episode of SF activity concentrated at the earliest epochs, whilst many others show extended or recurrent SF activity; (3) no galaxy experiencing now its first SF episode has been found yet; (4) no frequent evidence of strong SF bursts is found; (5) there is no significant difference in the SFH of dwarf irregulars and blue compact dwarfs, except for the current SF rates. Implications of these results on the galaxy formation scenarios are briefly discussed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 789 (2) ◽  
pp. 96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hakim Atek ◽  
Jean-Paul Kneib ◽  
Camilla Pacifici ◽  
Matthew Malkan ◽  
Stephane Charlot ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Schombert ◽  
Tamela Maciel ◽  
Stacy McGaugh

This paper presents optical and Hαimaging for a large sample of LSB galaxies selected from the PSS-II catalogs (Schombert et al., 1992). As noted in previous work, LSB galaxies span a range of luminosities () and sizes (), although they are consistent in their irregular morphology. Their Hαluminosities (L(Hα)) range from 1036to 1041 ergs s−1(corresponding to a range in star formation, using canonical prescriptions, from 10−5to 1  yr−1). Although their optical colors are at the extreme blue edge for galaxies, they are similar to the colors of dwarf galaxies (Van Zee, 2001) and gas-rich irregulars (Hunter and Elmegreen, 2006). However, their star formation rates per unit stellar mass are a factor of ten less than other galaxies of the same baryonic mass, indicating that they are not simply quiescent versions of more active star-forming galaxies. This paper presents the data, reduction techniques, and new philosophy of data storage and presentation. Later papers in this series will explore the stellar population and star formation history of LSB galaxies using this dataset.


2013 ◽  
Vol 434 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda E. Bauer ◽  
Andrew M. Hopkins ◽  
Madusha Gunawardhana ◽  
Edward N. Taylor ◽  
Ivan Baldry ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S323) ◽  
pp. 184-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Zijlstra ◽  
K. Gesicki ◽  
M. M. Miller Bertolami

AbstractPlanetary nebulae form in stellar populations with ages from 1 to 10 Gyr, and can be used to trace their star formation histories. Here we apply this to the Galactic bulge, where there are indications both for an old origin and for younger stars. We use new stellar models, which have significant different evolutionary speeds during the post-AGB phase. We apply these new models to a sample of 32 planetary nebulae with HST imaging and VLT spectroscopy. The results show evidence for an old starburst, followed by continuous star formation until at least 2Gyr ago. This agrees very well with recent analysis of colour-magnitude diagrams of the bulge. We show that the new models can also explain the [OIII] luminosity functions, and predict the uniform luminosity cut-off both in spiral galaxies and old elliptical galaxies.


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