The MAGPI survey: The interdependence of mass, star formation rate, and metallicity in galaxies at z~0.3

Author(s)

M. Koller, B. Ziegler, B. I. Ciocan, S. Thater, J. T. Mendel, Emily Wisnioski, A. J. Battisti, K. E. Harborne, C. Foster, C. Lagos, S. M. Croom, K. Grasha, P. Papaderos, R. S. Remus, Gauri Sharma, S. M. Sweet, L. M. Valenzuela, G. van de Ven, T. Zafar

Abstract

Aims. Star formation rates (SFRs), gas-phase metallicities, and stellar masses are crucial for studying galaxy evolution. The different relations resulting from these properties give insights into the complex interplay of gas inside galaxies and their evolutionary trajectory and current characteristics. We aim to characterize these relations at z ~ 0.3, corresponding to a 3- 4 Gyr lookback time, to gather insight into the galaxies'redshift evolution. Methods. We utilized optical integral field spectroscopy data from 65 emission-line galaxies from the MUSE large program MAGPI at a redshift of 0.28 < z < 0.35 (average redshift of z ~ 0.3) and spanning a total stellar mass range of 8.2 < log(M

_∗/M

_⊙) < 11.4. We measured emission line fluxes and stellar masses, allowing us to determine spatially resolved SFRs, gas-phase metallicities, and stellar mass surface densities. We derived the resolved star formation main sequence (rSFMS), resolved mass metallicity relation (rMZR), and resolved fundamental metallicity relation (rFMR) at z ~ 0.3, and compared them to results for the local Universe. Results. We find a relatively shallow rSFMS slope of ~0.425±0.014 compared to the expected slope at this redshift for an ordinary least square (OLS) fitting routine. For an orthogonal distance regression (ODR) routine, a much steeper slope of ~1.162±0.022 is measured. We confirm the existence of an rMZR at z ~ 0.3 with an average metallicity located ~0.03 dex above the local Universe's metallicity. Via partial correlation coefficients, evidence is found that the local metallicity is predominantly determined by the stellar mass surface density and has a weak secondary (inverse) dependence on the SFR surface density Σ

_SFR. Additionally, a significant dependence of the local metallicity on the total stellar mass M

_∗ is found. Furthermore, we find that the stellar mass surface density Σ

_∗ and M

_∗ have a significant influence in determining the strength with which Σ

_SFR correlates with the local metallicity. We observe that at lower stellar masses, there is a tighter correlation between Σ

_SFR and the gas-phase metallicity, resulting in a more pronounced rFMR.

Organisation(s)

Department of Astrophysics

External organisation(s)

Australian National University, ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D), Université Claude-Bernard-Lyon-I, University of Western Australia, University of New South Wales, The University of Sydney, Universidade do Porto, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Université de Strasbourg, University of Queensland, Macquarie University

Journal

Astronomy & Astrophysics

Volume

689

No. of pages

15

ISSN

0004-6361

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202450715

Publication date

09-2024

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

103003 Astronomy, 103004 Astrophysics

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/d2f5168e-9304-4857-8229-1439410794d4