Metal-enriched galactic outflows shape the mass-metallicity relationship

Abstract

The gas-phase metallicity of low-mass galaxies increases with increasing stellar mass ($M_{\ast }$) and is nearly constant for high-mass galaxies. Theory suggests that this tight mass-metallicity relationship is shaped by galactic outflows removing metal-enriched gas from galaxies. Here, we observationally model the outflow metallicities of the warm outflowing phase from a sample of seven local star-forming galaxies with stellar masses between 10${}^7$-10${}^{11}$ M${}_{\odot }$. We estimate the outflow metallicities using four weak rest-frame ultraviolet absorption lines, the observed stellar continua, and photoionization models. The outflow metallicity is flat with $M_{\ast }$, with a median metallicity of $1.0\pm 0.6$ Z${}_{\odot }$. The observed outflows are metal-enriched: low and high-mass galaxies have outflow metallicities 10-50 and 2.6 times larger than their ISM metallicities, respectively. The observed outflows are mainly composed of entrained ISM gas with at most 22% of the metals directly coming from recent supernovae enrichment. The metal outflow rate shallowly increases with $M_{\ast }$, as $M_{\ast }^{0.2\pm 0.1}$, because the mass outflow rate shallow increases with $M_{\ast }$. Finally, we normalize the metal outflow rate by the rate at which star formation retains metals to calculate the metal-loading factor. The metal-loading factor inversely scales with $M_{\ast }$. The normalization and scaling of the metal-loading factor agree with analytic expressions that reproduce observed mass-metallicity relations. Galactic outflows fundamentally shape the observed mass-metallicity relationship.

arXiv comment15 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

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