The High-Redshift Gas-Phase Mass-Metallicity Relation in FIRE-2

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Marszewski, Andrew, Sun, Guochao, Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André, Hayward, Christopher C., Feldmann, Robert
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Marszewski, Andrew
Sun, Guochao
Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André
Hayward, Christopher C.
Feldmann, Robert
author_facet Marszewski, Andrew
Sun, Guochao
Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André
Hayward, Christopher C.
Feldmann, Robert
contents The unprecedented infrared spectroscopic capabilities of JWST have provided high-quality interstellar medium (ISM) metallicity measurements and enabled characterization of the gas-phase mass-metallicity relation (MZR) for galaxies at $z \gtrsim 5$ for the first time. We analyze the gas-phase MZR and its evolution in a high-redshift suite of FIRE-2 cosmological zoom-in simulations at $z=5-12$ and for stellar masses $M_* \sim 10^6-10^{10} \rm{M}_\odot$. These simulations implement a multi-channel stellar feedback model and produce broadly realistic galaxy properties, including when evolved to $z=0$. The simulations predict very weak redshift evolution of the MZR over the redshift range studied, with the normalization of the MZR increasing by less than $0.01$ dex as redshift decreases from $z = 12$ to $z=5$. The median MZR in the simulations is well-approximated as a constant power-law relation across this redshift range given by $\log(Z/Z_\odot) = 0.37\log(M_*/\rm{M}_\odot) - 4.3$. We find good agreement between our best-fit model and recent observations made by JWST at high redshift. The weak evolution of the MZR at $z > 5$ contrasts with the evolution at $z \lesssim 3$, where increasing normalization of the MZR with decreasing redshift is observed and predicted by most models. The FIRE-2 simulations predict increasing scatter in the gas-phase MZR with decreasing stellar mass, in qualitative agreement with some observations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_08853
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The High-Redshift Gas-Phase Mass-Metallicity Relation in FIRE-2
Marszewski, Andrew
Sun, Guochao
Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André
Hayward, Christopher C.
Feldmann, Robert
Astrophysics of Galaxies
The unprecedented infrared spectroscopic capabilities of JWST have provided high-quality interstellar medium (ISM) metallicity measurements and enabled characterization of the gas-phase mass-metallicity relation (MZR) for galaxies at $z \gtrsim 5$ for the first time. We analyze the gas-phase MZR and its evolution in a high-redshift suite of FIRE-2 cosmological zoom-in simulations at $z=5-12$ and for stellar masses $M_* \sim 10^6-10^{10} \rm{M}_\odot$. These simulations implement a multi-channel stellar feedback model and produce broadly realistic galaxy properties, including when evolved to $z=0$. The simulations predict very weak redshift evolution of the MZR over the redshift range studied, with the normalization of the MZR increasing by less than $0.01$ dex as redshift decreases from $z = 12$ to $z=5$. The median MZR in the simulations is well-approximated as a constant power-law relation across this redshift range given by $\log(Z/Z_\odot) = 0.37\log(M_*/\rm{M}_\odot) - 4.3$. We find good agreement between our best-fit model and recent observations made by JWST at high redshift. The weak evolution of the MZR at $z > 5$ contrasts with the evolution at $z \lesssim 3$, where increasing normalization of the MZR with decreasing redshift is observed and predicted by most models. The FIRE-2 simulations predict increasing scatter in the gas-phase MZR with decreasing stellar mass, in qualitative agreement with some observations.
title The High-Redshift Gas-Phase Mass-Metallicity Relation in FIRE-2
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.08853