The stellar metallicities of massive quiescent galaxies at 1.0 < z < 1.3 from KMOS+VANDELS

Abstract

We present a rest-frame UV-optical stacked spectrum representative of massive quiescent galaxies at $1.0<z<1.3$ with log$(M_{\ast }/{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot })>10.8$. The stack is constructed using VANDELS survey data, combined with new KMOS observations. We apply two independent full-spectral-fitting approaches, measuring a total metallicity, [Z/H]=$-0.13\pm 0.08$ with Bagpipes, and [Z/H]=$0.04\pm 0.14$ with Alf, a fall of $\sim 0.2-0.3$ dex compared with the local Universe. We also measure an iron abundance, [Fe/H] =$-0.18\pm 0.08$, a fall of $\sim 0.15$ dex compared with the the local Universe. We measure the alpha enhancement via the magnesium abundance, obtaining [Mg/Fe]=$0.23\pm$0.12, consistent with similar-mass galaxies in the local Universe, indicating no evolution in the average alpha enhancement of log$(M_{\ast }/{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot })=11$ quiescent galaxies over the last $\sim 8$ Gyr. This suggests the very high alpha enhancements recently reported for several bright $z\sim 1-2$ quiescent galaxies are due to their extreme masses, log$(M_{\ast }/{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot })\gtrsim 11.5$, rather than being typical of the $z\gtrsim 1$ population. The metallicity evolution we observe with redshift (falling [Z/H], [Fe/H], constant [Mg/Fe]) is consistent with recent studies. We recover a mean stellar age of $2.5_{-0.4}^{+0.6}$ Gyr, corresponding to a formation redshift, $z_\rm{form}=2.4^{+0.6}_{-0.3}$. Recent studies have obtained varying average formation redshifts for $z\gtrsim 1$ massive quiescent galaxies, and, as these studies report consistent metallicities, we identify different star-formation-history models as the most likely cause. Larger spectroscopic samples from upcoming ground-based instruments will provide precise constraints on ages and metallicities at $z\gtrsim 1$. Combining these with precise JWST $z>2$ quiescent-galaxy stellar-mass functions will provide an independent test of formation redshifts derived from spectral fitting.

16 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

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