THE CHEMICAL EVOLUTION OF STAR-FORMING GALAXIES OVER THE LAST 11 BILLION YEARS
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2680 Woodlawn Dr., Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
- Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
We calculate the stellar mass-metallicity relation at five epochs ranging to z {approx} 2.3. We quantify evolution in the shape of the mass-metallicity relation as a function of redshift; the mass-metallicity relation flattens at late times. There is an empirical upper limit to the gas-phase oxygen abundance in star-forming galaxies that is independent of redshift. From examination of the mass-metallicity relation and its observed scatter, we show that the flattening at late times is a consequence of evolution in the stellar mass where galaxies enrich to this empirical upper metallicity limit; there is also evolution in the fraction of galaxies at a fixed stellar mass that enrich to this limit. The stellar mass where metallicities begin to saturate is {approx}0.7 dex smaller in the local universe than it is at z {approx} 0.8.
- OSTI ID:
- 22118704
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 771, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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