LOCAL ANALOGS FOR HIGH-REDSHIFT GALAXIES: RESEMBLING THE PHYSICAL CONDITIONS OF THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM IN HIGH-REDSHIFT GALAXIES

Journal Article · Tue May 10 04:00:00 EDT 2016 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/822/2/62· OSTI ID:22862968

Bian, Fuyan; Kewley, Lisa J.; Dopita, Michael A. ^[1]; Juneau, Stephanie ^[2]

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1. Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mount Stromlo Observatory, Australian National University, Weston Creek, ACT, 2611 (Australia)
2. CEA-Saclay, DSM/IRFU/SAp, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

We present a sample of local analogs for high-redshift galaxies selected in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The physical conditions of the interstellar medium (ISM) in these local analogs resemble those in high-redshift galaxies. These galaxies are selected based on their positions in the [O iii]/Hβ versus [N ii]/Hα nebular emission-line diagnostic diagram. We show that these local analogs share similar physical properties with high-redshift galaxies, including high specific star formation rates (sSFRs), flat UV continuums, and compact galaxy sizes. In particular, the ionization parameters and electron densities in these analogs are comparable to those in z ≃ 2–3 galaxies, but higher than those in normal SDSS galaxies by ≃0.6 dex and ≃0.9 dex, respectively. The mass–metallicity relation (MZR) in these local analogs shows −0.2 dex offset from that in SDSS star-forming galaxies at the low-mass end, which is consistent with the MZR of the z∼2--3 galaxies. We compare the local analogs in this study with those in other studies, including Lyman break analogs (LBA) and green pea (GP) galaxies. The analogs in this study share a similar star formation surface density with LBAs, but the ionization parameters and electron density in our analogs are higher than those in LBAs by factors of 1.5 and 3, respectively. The analogs in this study have comparable ionization parameters and electron densities to the GP galaxies, but our method can select galaxies in a wider redshift range. We find the high sSFR and SFR surface density can increase the electron density and ionization parameters, but still cannot fully explain the difference in ISM condition between nearby galaxies and the local analogs/high-redshift galaxies.

• OSTI ID: 22862968
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 822; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DENSITY
ELECTRON DENSITY
EMISSION
GALAXIES
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
IONIZATION
MASS
METALLICITY
RED SHIFT
STARS
SURFACES