Nebular Emission Line Ratios in z ≃ 2–3 Star-forming Galaxies with KBSS-MOSFIRE: Exploring the Impact of Ionization, Excitation, and Nitrogen-to-Oxygen Ratio
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, MS 249-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- Carnegie Observatories, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, New Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
- Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OHA (United Kingdom)
We present a detailed study of the rest-optical (3600–7000 Å) nebular spectra of ∼380 star-forming galaxies at z≃2--3, obtained with Keck/Multi-object Spectrometer for Infrared Exploration (MOSFIRE) as part of the Keck Baryonic Structure Survey (KBSS). The KBSS-MOSFIRE sample is representative of star-forming galaxies at these redshifts, with stellar masses M{sub ∗}=10{sup 9}--10{sup 11.5} M{sub ⊙} and star formation rates SFR = 3–1000 M{sub ⊙} yr{sup −1}. We focus on robust measurements of many strong diagnostic emission lines for individual galaxies: [O ii]λλ3727, 3729, [Ne iii]λ3869, Hβ, [O iii]λλ 4960, 5008, [N ii]λλ 6549, 6585, Hα, and [S ii]λλ6718, 6732. Comparisons with observations of typical local galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and between subsamples of KBSS-MOSFIRE show that high-redshift galaxies exhibit a number of significant differences in addition to the well-known offset in log([O iii]λ5008/Hβ) and log([N ii]λ6585/Hα). We argue that the primary difference between H ii regions in z∼2.3 galaxies and those at z∼0 is an enhancement in the degree of nebular excitation, as measured by [O iii]/Hβ and R23≡log[([O iii]λλ4960,5008+[O ii]λλ3727,3729)/Hβ]. At the same time, KBSS-MOSFIRE galaxies are ∼10 times more massive than z∼0 galaxies with similar ionizing spectra and have higher N/O (likely accompanied by higher O/H) at fixed excitation. These results indicate the presence of harder ionizing radiation fields at fixed N/O and O/H relative to typical z∼0 galaxies, consistent with Fe-poor stellar population models that include massive binaries, and highlight a population of massive, high-specific star formation rate galaxies at high redshift with systematically different star formation histories than galaxies of similar stellar mass today.
- OSTI ID:
- 22869338
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 836, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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