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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.31412 |
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| _version_ | 1866910272443121664 |
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| author | Huang, Rongjun Cortese, Luca Catinella, Barbara Davies, Luke J. M. Brown, Toby Ristea, Andrei Boselli, Alessandro Battisti, Andrew J. Villanueva, Vicente Spekkens, Kristine Ellison, Sara L. Dale, Daniel A. Thater, Sabine Amiri, Amirnezam |
| author_facet | Huang, Rongjun Cortese, Luca Catinella, Barbara Davies, Luke J. M. Brown, Toby Ristea, Andrei Boselli, Alessandro Battisti, Andrew J. Villanueva, Vicente Spekkens, Kristine Ellison, Sara L. Dale, Daniel A. Thater, Sabine Amiri, Amirnezam |
| contents | Although globally-integrated studies often find that, at fixed stellar mass, high star formation rate (SFR) galaxies are relatively metal-poor while lower-SFR systems are more metal-rich, the corresponding coupling between gas-phase metallicity ($Z_{\rm gas}$) and star formation on sub-galactic scales remains poorly constrained. In this study, we analyse 14 Virgo spirals from the MAUVE-MUSE survey to revisit the resolved mass-metallicity relation (rMZR) and its secondary dependence on SFR surface density ($Σ_\mathrm{SFR}$) at $\sim 100$\,pc scales. We construct co-spatial maps of stellar mass surface density ($Σ_*$), $Σ_\mathrm{SFR}$, and oxygen abundance. MAUVE-MUSE galaxies follow a standard rMZR, but when binned by $Σ_*$, we find a mass-dependent inversion in the $Z_\mathrm{gas}$-$Σ_\mathrm{SFR}$ relation using O3N2 calibrations: the standard anti-correlation is confined to low-$Σ_*$ bins, while high-$Σ_*$ regions show a positive correlation, inverting at $\log_{10}(Σ_*/M_\odot\,\mathrm{kpc}^{-2})\simeq 7.5$-8.0. Correlated and anti-correlated \ion{H}{ii} regions coexist within the same discs; the mass dependence emerges only when grouping spaxels by $Σ_*$. We develop a spatially resolved gas-regulator model showing this $Z_\mathrm{gas}$-$Σ_\mathrm{SFR}$ (anti-)correlation arises from competition between star-formation-driven and gas-supply-driven variability. This framework naturally extrapolates to the integrated scenario, providing a unified explanation for resolved and global relations. However, the presence and strength of the $Z_\mathrm{gas}$-$Σ_\mathrm{SFR}$ (anti-)correlation depend strongly on the metallicity indicator used, highlighting the challenge of disentangling physical secondary trends within metallicity scaling relations. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_31412 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | MAUVE-MUSE: When Metallicity Follows or Fights Star Formation -- A Mass-Dependent Inversion in Virgo Galaxies Huang, Rongjun Cortese, Luca Catinella, Barbara Davies, Luke J. M. Brown, Toby Ristea, Andrei Boselli, Alessandro Battisti, Andrew J. Villanueva, Vicente Spekkens, Kristine Ellison, Sara L. Dale, Daniel A. Thater, Sabine Amiri, Amirnezam Astrophysics of Galaxies Although globally-integrated studies often find that, at fixed stellar mass, high star formation rate (SFR) galaxies are relatively metal-poor while lower-SFR systems are more metal-rich, the corresponding coupling between gas-phase metallicity ($Z_{\rm gas}$) and star formation on sub-galactic scales remains poorly constrained. In this study, we analyse 14 Virgo spirals from the MAUVE-MUSE survey to revisit the resolved mass-metallicity relation (rMZR) and its secondary dependence on SFR surface density ($Σ_\mathrm{SFR}$) at $\sim 100$\,pc scales. We construct co-spatial maps of stellar mass surface density ($Σ_*$), $Σ_\mathrm{SFR}$, and oxygen abundance. MAUVE-MUSE galaxies follow a standard rMZR, but when binned by $Σ_*$, we find a mass-dependent inversion in the $Z_\mathrm{gas}$-$Σ_\mathrm{SFR}$ relation using O3N2 calibrations: the standard anti-correlation is confined to low-$Σ_*$ bins, while high-$Σ_*$ regions show a positive correlation, inverting at $\log_{10}(Σ_*/M_\odot\,\mathrm{kpc}^{-2})\simeq 7.5$-8.0. Correlated and anti-correlated \ion{H}{ii} regions coexist within the same discs; the mass dependence emerges only when grouping spaxels by $Σ_*$. We develop a spatially resolved gas-regulator model showing this $Z_\mathrm{gas}$-$Σ_\mathrm{SFR}$ (anti-)correlation arises from competition between star-formation-driven and gas-supply-driven variability. This framework naturally extrapolates to the integrated scenario, providing a unified explanation for resolved and global relations. However, the presence and strength of the $Z_\mathrm{gas}$-$Σ_\mathrm{SFR}$ (anti-)correlation depend strongly on the metallicity indicator used, highlighting the challenge of disentangling physical secondary trends within metallicity scaling relations. |
| title | MAUVE-MUSE: When Metallicity Follows or Fights Star Formation -- A Mass-Dependent Inversion in Virgo Galaxies |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.31412 |