Astraeus V: The emergence and evolution of metallicity scaling relations during the Epoch of Reionization

Abstract

In this work, we have implemented a detailed physical model of galaxy chemical enrichment into the $Astraeus$ (semi-numerical rAdiative tranSfer coupling of galaxy formaTion and Reionization in N-body dark matter simUlationS) framework which couples galaxy formation and reionization in the first billion years. Simulating galaxies spanning over 2.5 orders of magnitude in halo mass with $M_h\sim 10^{8.9-11.5}{M}_{\odot }$ ($M_h\sim 10^{8.9-12.8}{M}_{\odot }$) at $z\sim 10(5)$, we find: (i) smooth-accretion of metal-poor gas from the intergalactic medium (IGM) plays a key role in diluting the interstellar medium (ISM) metallicity which is effectively restored due to self-enrichment from star formation; (ii) a redshift averaged gas-mass loading factor that depends on the stellar mass as ${\eta }_g\approx 1.38(M_{\ast }/10^{10}{M}_{\odot }{)}^{-0.43}$; (iii) the mass-metallicity relation is already in place at $z\sim 10$ and shows effectively no redshift evolution down to $z\sim 5$; (iv) for a given stellar mass, the metallicity decreases with an increase in the star formation rate (SFR); (v) the key properties of the gas-phase metallicity (in units of 12+log(O/H), stellar mass, SFR and redshift are linked through a high-redshift fundamental plane of metallicity (HFPZ) for which we provide a functional form; (vi) the mass-metallicity-SFR relations are effectively independent of the reionization radiative feedback model for $M_{\ast }\ge 10^{6.5}{M}_{\odot }$ galaxies; (vii) while low-mass galaxies ($M_h\le 10^9{M}_{\odot }$) are the key contributors to the metal budget of the IGM at early times, higher mass halos provide about 50% of the metal budget at lower-redshifts.

Accepted to MNRAS

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• Evolution of the Mass-Metallicity Relation from Redshift $z\approx 8$ to the Local Universe
• The impact of an evolving stellar initial mass function on early galaxies and reionisation
• The gas and stellar content of a metal-poor galaxy at $z=8.496$ as revealed by JWST and ALMA
• The Extreme Low-mass End of the Mass-Metallicity Relation at $z\sim 7$
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• Synergising semi-analytical models and hydrodynamical simulations to interpret JWST data from the first billion years
• The mass-metallicity relation as a ruler for galaxy evolution: insights from the James Webb Space Telescope
• Astraeus VIII: A new framework for Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters applied to different reionisation scenarios
• On the general nature of 21cm-Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters cross-correlations during reionisation
• Explaining the Weak Evolution of the High-Redshift Mass-Metallicity Relation with Galaxy Burst Cycles
• Insights on Metal Enrichment and Environmental Effect at $z\approx 5-7$ with JWST ASPIRE/EIGER and Chemical Evolution Model