The JWST EXCELS survey: direct estimates of C, N, and O abundances in two relatively metal-rich galaxies at $\mathbf{z\simeq5}$

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Arellano-Córdova, K. Z., Cullen, F., Carnall, A. C., Scholte, D., Stanton, T. M., Kobayashi, C., Martinez, Z., Berg, D. A., Barrufet, L., Begley, R., Donnan, C. T., Dunlop, J. S., Hamadouche, M. L., McLeod, D. J., McLure, R. J., Rowlands, K., Shapley, A. E.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Arellano-Córdova, K. Z.
Cullen, F.
Carnall, A. C.
Scholte, D.
Stanton, T. M.
Kobayashi, C.
Martinez, Z.
Berg, D. A.
Barrufet, L.
Begley, R.
Donnan, C. T.
Dunlop, J. S.
Hamadouche, M. L.
McLeod, D. J.
McLure, R. J.
Rowlands, K.
Shapley, A. E.
author_facet Arellano-Córdova, K. Z.
Cullen, F.
Carnall, A. C.
Scholte, D.
Stanton, T. M.
Kobayashi, C.
Martinez, Z.
Berg, D. A.
Barrufet, L.
Begley, R.
Donnan, C. T.
Dunlop, J. S.
Hamadouche, M. L.
McLeod, D. J.
McLure, R. J.
Rowlands, K.
Shapley, A. E.
contents We present a spectroscopic analysis of two star-forming galaxies at $z\simeq5$ observed with JWST/NIRSpec as part of the EXCELS survey. The detection of the CIII]~$λλ$1906,09, [OII] $λλ$3726,29, [OIII] $λλ$4363,5007, and [NII] $λ$6584 emission lines enables an investigation of the $\mathrm{C/O}$, $\mathrm{N/O}$, and $\mathrm{C/N}$ abundance ratios using the temperature-sensitive method. The galaxies have stellar masses of ${\mathrm{log}(M_{\star}/\mathrm{M}_{\odot}) = 8.09^{+\, 0.24}_{-0.15}}$ and ${\mathrm{log}(M_{\star}/\mathrm{M}_{\odot}) = 8.02^{+\, 0.06}_{-0.08}}$ with metallicities of $Z \simeq 0.2 \, \rm{Z_{\odot}}$ and $Z \simeq 0.3 \, \rm{Z_{\odot}}$. These metallicities are somewhat higher than is typical for other $z\gtrsim 5$ galaxies with similar stellar mass and are comparable to $z \simeq 0$ analogues. Both galaxies display evidence for elevated N/O ratios with respect to the typical star-forming galaxies at $z\simeq0$, with ${\mathrm{log(N/O)} = -1.07^{+\,0.17}_{-0.13}}$ and ${\mathrm{log(N/O)} = -0.86^{+\,0.15}_{-0.11}}$ respectively. In contrast, we find low C abundances, with ${\mathrm{log(C/O)}=-0.82\pm0.22}$ and ${\mathrm{log(C/O)}=-1.02\pm0.22}$, consistent with the predicted yields of core-collapse supernovae. Following the trend observed in other high-redshift sources, we find that the $\mathrm{C/N}$ ratios are lower at fixed $\mathrm{O/H}$ compared to the majority of local galaxies. Via a comparison to detailed chemical evolution models, we find that a standard or bottom-heavy IMF can explain the observed abundance ratios where the N-enrichment comes from intermediate mass ($\simeq 4-7 \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot}$) stars. Our results demonstrate that robust measurements of CNO abundances with \emph{JWST} can reveal unique enrichment pathways in galaxies as a function of both metallicity and redshift.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_10557
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The JWST EXCELS survey: direct estimates of C, N, and O abundances in two relatively metal-rich galaxies at $\mathbf{z\simeq5}$
Arellano-Córdova, K. Z.
Cullen, F.
Carnall, A. C.
Scholte, D.
Stanton, T. M.
Kobayashi, C.
Martinez, Z.
Berg, D. A.
Barrufet, L.
Begley, R.
Donnan, C. T.
Dunlop, J. S.
Hamadouche, M. L.
McLeod, D. J.
McLure, R. J.
Rowlands, K.
Shapley, A. E.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We present a spectroscopic analysis of two star-forming galaxies at $z\simeq5$ observed with JWST/NIRSpec as part of the EXCELS survey. The detection of the CIII]~$λλ$1906,09, [OII] $λλ$3726,29, [OIII] $λλ$4363,5007, and [NII] $λ$6584 emission lines enables an investigation of the $\mathrm{C/O}$, $\mathrm{N/O}$, and $\mathrm{C/N}$ abundance ratios using the temperature-sensitive method. The galaxies have stellar masses of ${\mathrm{log}(M_{\star}/\mathrm{M}_{\odot}) = 8.09^{+\, 0.24}_{-0.15}}$ and ${\mathrm{log}(M_{\star}/\mathrm{M}_{\odot}) = 8.02^{+\, 0.06}_{-0.08}}$ with metallicities of $Z \simeq 0.2 \, \rm{Z_{\odot}}$ and $Z \simeq 0.3 \, \rm{Z_{\odot}}$. These metallicities are somewhat higher than is typical for other $z\gtrsim 5$ galaxies with similar stellar mass and are comparable to $z \simeq 0$ analogues. Both galaxies display evidence for elevated N/O ratios with respect to the typical star-forming galaxies at $z\simeq0$, with ${\mathrm{log(N/O)} = -1.07^{+\,0.17}_{-0.13}}$ and ${\mathrm{log(N/O)} = -0.86^{+\,0.15}_{-0.11}}$ respectively. In contrast, we find low C abundances, with ${\mathrm{log(C/O)}=-0.82\pm0.22}$ and ${\mathrm{log(C/O)}=-1.02\pm0.22}$, consistent with the predicted yields of core-collapse supernovae. Following the trend observed in other high-redshift sources, we find that the $\mathrm{C/N}$ ratios are lower at fixed $\mathrm{O/H}$ compared to the majority of local galaxies. Via a comparison to detailed chemical evolution models, we find that a standard or bottom-heavy IMF can explain the observed abundance ratios where the N-enrichment comes from intermediate mass ($\simeq 4-7 \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot}$) stars. Our results demonstrate that robust measurements of CNO abundances with \emph{JWST} can reveal unique enrichment pathways in galaxies as a function of both metallicity and redshift.
title The JWST EXCELS survey: direct estimates of C, N, and O abundances in two relatively metal-rich galaxies at $\mathbf{z\simeq5}$
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.10557