The chemical enrichment in the early Universe as probed by JWST via direct metallicity measurements at z~8

Abstract

We analyse the chemical properties of three z~8 galaxies behind the galaxy cluster SMACS J0723.3-7327, observed as part of the Early Release Observations programme of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Exploiting [O III]4363 auroral line detections in NIRSpec spectra, we robustly apply the direct Te method for the very first time at such high redshift, measuring metallicities ranging from extremely metal poor (12+log(O/H)~7) to about one-third solar. We also discuss the excitation properties of these sources, and compare them with local strong-line metallicity calibrations. We find that none of the considered diagnostics match simultaneously the observed relations between metallicity and strong-line ratios for the three sources, implying that a proper re-assessment of the calibrations may be needed at these redshifts. On the mass-metallicity plane, the two galaxies at z~7.6 (log(M*/M_sun) = 8.1, 8.7) have metallicities that are consistent with the extrapolation of the mass-metallicity relation at z~2-3, while the least massive galaxy at z~8.5 (log(M*/M_sun) = 7.8) shows instead a significantly lower metallicity . The three galaxies show different level of offset relative to the Fundamental Metallicity Relation, with two of them (at z~7.6) being marginally consistent, while the z~8.5 source deviating significantly, being probably far from the smooth equilibrium between gas flows, star formation and metal enrichment in place at later epochs.

13 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication on MNRAS

References in corpus (41)

• Cosmic Star Formation History
• The EAGLE project: Simulating the evolution and assembly of galaxies and their environments
• The EAGLE simulations of galaxy formation: calibration of subgrid physics and model variations
• Improving the full spectrum fitting method: accurate convolution with Gauss-Hermite functions
• Stellar Population Inference with Prospector
• The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope I. Overview of the instrument and its capabilities
• PyNeb: a new tool for analyzing emission lines. I. Code description and validation of results
• Strong Nebular Line Ratios in the Spectra of z~2-3 Star-forming Galaxies: First Results from KBSS-MOSFIRE
• Understanding Galaxy Evolution through Emission Lines
• Star formation in AEGIS field galaxies since z=1.1 . Staged galaxy formation, and a model of mass-dependent gas exhaustion
• The Mass-Metallicity and the Fundamental Metallicity Relation revisited on a fully Te-based abundance scale for galaxies
• Clues to the Origin of the Mass-Metallicity Relation: Dependence on Star Formation Rate and Galaxy Size
• The Universal Relation of Galactic Chemical Evolution: The Origin of the Mass-Metallicity Relation
• New fully empirical calibrations of strong-line metallicity indicators in star forming galaxies
• A complete sample of twelve very X-ray luminous galaxy clusters at z>0.5
• The MOSDEF Survey: The Evolution of the Mass-Metallicity Relation from $z=0$ to $z\sim 3.3$
• 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
• The JWST Early Release Observations
• The MOSDEF Survey: Excitation Properties of $z\sim 2.3$ Star-forming Galaxies
• The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope II. Multi-object spectroscopy (MOS)
• Techniques and Review of Absolute Flux Calibration from the Ultraviolet to the Mid-Infrared
• On the Stellar Populations of Galaxies at z=9-11: The Growth of Metals and Stellar Mass at Early Times
• MUFASA: Galaxy star formation, gas, and metal properties across cosmic time
• Gravitationally Lensed Galaxies at 2<z<3.5: Direct Abundance Measurements of Lya Emitters
• Diagnostics for PopIII galaxies and Direct Collapse Black Holes in the early universe
• The MOSDEF Survey: the Variation of the Dust Attenuation Curve with Metallicity
• New Grids of Pure-Hydrogen White-Dwarf NLTE Model Atmospheres \newline and the HST/STIS Flux Calibration
• EMPRESS. V. Metallicity Diagnostics of Galaxies over 12+log(O/H)=~6.9-8.9 Established by a Local Galaxy Census: Preparing for JWST Spectroscopy
• A survey of high-$z$ galaxies: SERRA simulations
• The KLEVER Survey: Spatially resolved metallicity maps and gradients in a sample of 1.2 < z < 2.5 lensed galaxies
• First Insights into the ISM at $z>8$ with JWST: Possible Physical Implications of a High [O III]$\lambda 4363$/[O III]$\lambda 5007$
• The Lyman Continuum Escape Survey: Connecting Time-Dependent [OIII] and [OII] Line Emission with Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction in Simulations of Galaxy Formation
• The KLEVER survey: Nitrogen abundances at $z\sim$2 and probing the existence of a fundamental nitrogen relation
• Assessing the sources of reionisation: a spectroscopic case study of a 30$\times$ lensed galaxy at $z\sim 5$ with Lyα, CIV, MgII, and [NeIII]
• J2229+2725: an extremely low-metallicity dwarf compact star-forming galaxy with an exceptionally high [OIII]5007/[OII]3727 flux ratio of 53
• Chemical abundances in Seyfert galaxies -- V. The discovery of shocked emission outside the AGN ionization axis
• The MOSDEF Survey: First Measurement of Nebular Oxygen Abundance at $z>4$
• Chemical abundances of Seyfert 2 AGNs IV. Composite models calculated by photoionization + shocks
• X-ray selected galaxy clusters in the Pan-STARRS Medium-Deep Survey
• Bayesian hierarchical modelling of the ${\mathrm{M}}_{\star }$-SFR relation from 1<z<6 in ASTRODEEP
• GBT/MUSTANG-2 9" resolution imaging of the SZ effect in MS0735.6+7421: Confirmation of the SZ Cavities through direct imaging

Cited by in corpus (131)

• A Comprehensive Study on Galaxies at z~9-16 Found in the Early JWST Data: UV Luminosity Functions and Cosmic Star-Formation History at the Pre-Reionization Epoch
• JADES NIRSpec Spectroscopy of GN-z11: Lyman-$\alpha$ emission and possible enhanced nitrogen abundance in a $z=10.60$ luminous galaxy
• GA-NIFS: A massive black hole in a low-metallicity AGN at $z\sim 5.55$ revealed by JWST/NIRSpec IFS
• Identification and properties of intense star-forming galaxies at redshifts z>10
• JADES: Probing interstellar medium conditions at $z\sim 5.5-9.5$ with ultra-deep JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy
• CEERS Spectroscopic Confirmation of NIRCam-Selected z > 8 Galaxy Candidates with JWST/NIRSpec: Initial Characterization of their Properties
• EIGER II. first spectroscopic characterisation of the young stars and ionised gas associated with strong H$\beta$ and [OIII] line-emission in galaxies at z=5-7 with JWST
• Nitrogen enhancements 440 Myr after the Big Bang: super-solar N/O, a tidal disruption event or a dense stellar cluster in GN-z11?
• JWST NIRCam+NIRSpec: Interstellar medium and stellar populations of young galaxies with rising star formation and evolving gas reservoirs
• A First Look at the Abundance Pattern -- O/H, C/O, and Ne/O -- in $z>7$ Galaxies with JWST/NIRSpec
• The Physical Conditions of Emission-Line Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn from JWST/NIRSpec Spectroscopy in the SMACS 0723 Early Release Observations
• The ultra-dense, interacting environment of a dual AGN at z $\sim$ 3.3 revealed by JWST/NIRSpec IFS
• RUBIES: a complete census of the bright and red distant Universe with JWST/NIRSpec
• The JWST-PRIMAL Legacy Survey. A JWST/NIRSpec reference sample for the physical properties and Lyman-$\alpha$ absorption and emission of $\sim 500$ galaxies at $z=5.5-13.4$
• A Magnified Compact Galaxy at Redshift 9.51 with Strong Nebular Emission Lines
• A SPectroscopic survey of biased halos In the Reionization Era (ASPIRE): JWST Reveals a Filamentary Structure around a z=6.61 Quasar
• Feedback-Free Starbursts at Cosmic Dawn: Observable Predictions for JWST
• The MillenniumTNG Project: The galaxy population at $z\ge 8$
• Finding Peas in the Early Universe with JWST
• JADES: Detecting [OIII]$\lambda 4363$ Emitters and Testing Strong Line Calibrations in the High-$z$ Universe with Ultra-deep JWST/NIRSpec Spectroscopy up to $z\sim 9.5$
• JADES: A large population of obscured, narrow line AGN at high redshift
• First Sample of H$\alpha$+[O III] $\lambda$5007 Line Emitters at $z>6$ Through JWST/NIRCam Slitless Spectroscopy: Physical Properties and Line Luminosity Functions
• JADES: Carbon enrichment 350 Myr after the Big Bang in a gas-rich galaxy
• Templates for Fitting Photometry of Ultra-High-Redshift Galaxies
• Closing in on the sources of cosmic reionization: first results from the GLASS-JWST program
• Spatially Resolved Properties of High Redshift Galaxies in the SMACS0723 JWST ERO Field
• First Insights into the ISM at $z>8$ with JWST: Possible Physical Implications of a High [O III]$\lambda 4363$/[O III]$\lambda 5007$
• CEERS Key Paper IV: Galaxies at $4<z<9$ are Bluer than They Appear -- Characterizing Galaxy Stellar Populations from Rest-Frame $\sim 1$ micron Imaging
• CLASSY IV: Exploring UV diagnostics of the interstellar medium in local high-$z$ analogs at the dawn of the JWST era
• High-z galaxies with JWST and local analogues -- it is not only star formation
• Blue Monsters. Why are JWST super-early, massive galaxies so blue?
• JADES: Discovery of extremely high equivalent width Lyman-alpha emission from a faint galaxy within an ionized bubble at z=7.3
• The ionising photon production efficiency at z~6 for Lyman-alpha emitters using JEMS and MUSE
• New AGN diagnostic diagrams based on the [OIII]$\lambda 4363$ auroral line
• X-Shooting ULLYSES: massive stars at low metallicity. I. Project Description
• Evolution of the Mass-Metallicity Relation from Redshift $z\approx 8$ to the Local Universe
• EPOCHS IV: SED Modelling Assumptions and their impact on the Stellar Mass Function at 6.5 < z < 13.5 using PEARLS and public JWST observations
• Temperature inhomogeneities cause the abundance discrepancy in H II regions
• The impact of an evolving stellar initial mass function on early galaxies and reionisation
• Early Results from GLASS-JWST. XXI: Rapid assembly of a galaxy at z=6.23 revealed by its C/O abundance
• The gas and stellar content of a metal-poor galaxy at $z=8.496$ as revealed by JWST and ALMA
• Dusty winds clear JWST super-early galaxies
• Gas-phase metallicity gradients in galaxies at $z\sim 6-8$
• The assembly of dusty galaxies at $z\ge 4$: the build-up of stellar mass and its scaling relations with hints from early JWST data
• A needle in a haystack? Catching Pop III stars in the Epoch of Reionization: I. Pop III star forming environments
• Dust attenuation evolution in $z\sim 2$-$12$ JWST galaxies
• JWST/NIRSpec Measurements of the Relationships Between Nebular Emission-line Ratios and Stellar Mass at z~3-6
• The first large catalogue of spectroscopic redshifts in Webb's First Deep Field, SMACS J0723.3$-$7327
• A novel approach to correcting $T_e$-based mass-metallicity relations
• JADES: Primaeval Lyman-$\alpha$ emitting galaxies reveal early sites of reionisation out to redshift $z\sim 9$
• JWST high-z galaxy constraints on warm and cold dark matter models
• A Preview of JWST Metallicity Studies at Cosmic Noon: The First Detection of Auroral [O II] Emission at High Redshift
• Ionized gas kinematics and chemical abundances of low-mass star-forming galaxies at $z\sim 3$
• GA-NIFS: High number of dual active galactic nuclei at z~3
• The Extreme Low-mass End of the Mass-Metallicity Relation at $z\sim 7$
• Insight into the Starburst Nature of Galaxy GN-z11 with JWST MIRI Spectroscopy
• Seeing sharper and deeper: JWST's first glimpse of the photometric and spectroscopic properties of galaxies in the epoch of reionisation
• Observable and ionizing properties of star-forming galaxies with very massive stars and different IMFs
• LYRA III: The smallest Reionization survivors
• JADES: Balmer Decrement Measurements at redshifts 4 < z < 7
• Redshift-dependent galaxy formation efficiency at $z=5-13$ in the FirstLight simulations
• A comprehensive view of the interstellar medium in a quasar host galaxy at z~6.4
• CECILIA: The Faint Emission Line Spectrum of z~2-3 Star-forming Galaxies
• The Dual Nature of GHZ9: Coexisting Active Galactic Nuclei and Star Formation Activity in a Remote X-ray Source at z = 10.145
• HOMERUN a new approach to photoionization modelling. I -- reproducing observed emission lines with percent accuracy and obtaining accurate physical properties of the ionized gas
• Early Results from GLASS-JWST XXII: Rest frame UV-optical spectral properties of Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies at 3 $<$ z $<$ 6
• Narrow line AGN selection in CEERS: spectroscopic selection, physical properties, X-ray and radio analysis
• A solar metallicity galaxy at $z>$ 7? Possible detection of the [N II] 122 $\mu$m and [O III] 52 $\mu$m lines
• Accurate Oxygen Abundance of Interstellar Gas in Mrk 71 from Optical and Infrared Spectra
• The cosmic build-up of dust and metals. Accurate abundances from GRB-selected star-forming galaxies at $1.7<z<6.3$
• A high fraction of close massive binary stars at low metallicity
• Resolving Ambiguities in the Inferred Star Formation Histories of Intense [O III] Emitters in the Reionisation Era
• Ly-alpha emission in low-redshift most metal-deficient compact star-forming galaxies
• Early results from GLASS-JWST. XXVII. The mass-metallicity relation in lensed field galaxies at cosmic noon with NIRISS
• Anatomy of an ionized bubble: NIRCam grism spectroscopy of the $z=6.6$ double-peaked Lyman-$\alpha$ emitter COLA1 and its environment
• Metallicity calibrations based on auroral lines from PHANGS-MUSE data
• Catalogue of model star clusters in the Milky Way and M31 galaxies
• X-Shooting ULLYSES: Massive stars at low metallicity. IV. Spectral analysis methods and exemplary results for O stars
• Hitting the slopes: A spectroscopic view of UV continuum slopes of galaxies reveals a reddening at z > 9.5
• Spatially resolved emission lines in galaxies at $4\le z<10$ from the JADES survey: evidence for enhanced central star formation
• ALMA observations of super-early galaxies: attenuation-free model predictions
• Trading oxygen for iron I: the [O/Fe] -- specific star formation rate relation of galaxies
• The bright end of the galaxy luminosity function at $z\simeq 7$ from the VISTA VIDEO survey
• Chemical abundances in Seyfert galaxies X. Sulphur abundance estimates
• The GLASS-JWST Early Release Science Program. IV. Data release of 263 spectra from 245 unique sources
• ColdSIM predictions of [C II] emission in primordial galaxies
• First Light And Reionisation Epoch Simulations (FLARES) XI: [OIII] emitting galaxies at $5<z<10$
• Evolution of the UV slope of galaxies at cosmic morning (z > 4): the properties of extremely blue galaxies
• The missing FeII bump in faint JWST AGN: possible evidence for metal-poor broad-line regions at early cosmic times
• Uncovering the physical origin of the prominent Lyman-$\alpha$ emission and absorption in GS9422 at $z=5.943$
• GA-NIFS: The highly overdense system BR1202-0725 at z $\sim$ 4.7. A double AGN with fast outflows plus eight companion galaxies
• Deep Spitzer/IRAC Data for z~10 galaxies Reveal Blue Balmer Break Colors: Young Stellar Populations at ~500 Myr of Cosmic Time
• The Extremely Metal-Poor SN 2023ufx: A Local Analog to High-Redshift Type II Supernovae
• Behind the Spotlight: A systematic assessment of outshining using NIRCam medium-bands in the JADES Origins Field
• Exploring Spatially-Resolved Metallicities, Dynamics and Outflows in Low-Mass Galaxies at $z\sim 7.6$
• Star Formation and Chemical Enrichment in Protoclusters
• JADES -- The small blue bump in GN-z11: insights into the nuclear region of a galaxy at z=10.6
• Intermediate-Mass Black Holes in Green Pea Galaxies (IMBH-GP) I: a Candidate Sample from LAMOST and SDSS
• Expanding on the Fundamental Metallicity Relation in Dwarf Galaxies with MUSE
• Explaining the Weak Evolution of the High-Redshift Mass-Metallicity Relation with Galaxy Burst Cycles
• The JWST Emission Line Survey (JELS): Extending rest-optical narrow-band emission line selection into the Epoch of Reionization
• Insights on Metal Enrichment and Environmental Effect at $z\approx 5-7$ with JWST ASPIRE/EIGER and Chemical Evolution Model
• Inferring redshift and galaxy properties via a multi-task neural net with probabilistic outputs: An application to simulated MOONS spectra
• The JWST EXCELS Survey: gas-phase metallicity evolution at 2 < z < 8
• GA-NIFS: Dissecting the multiple sub-structures and probing their complex interactions in the \Lyalpha emitter galaxy CR7 at z = 6.6 with JWST/NIRSpec
• The MAGPI survey: The interdependence of the mass, star formation rate, and metallicity in galaxies at z~0.3
• Ionized gas metallicity of the strong [OIII]λ emission-line compact galaxies in the LAMOST survey
• Metal line emission around z<1 galaxies
• Low Metallicity Galaxies from the Dark Energy Survey
• MARTA: Temperature-temperature relationships and strong-line metallicity calibrations from multiple auroral-line detections at cosmic noon
• Euclid preparation. Optical emission-line predictions of intermediate-z galaxy populations in GAEA for the Euclid Deep and Wide Surveys
• The ALPINE-ALMA [CII] Survey: Modelling ALMA and JWST lines to constrain the interstellar medium of $z\sim 5$ galaxies
• Primordial black holes as dark matter candidates: Multi-frequency constraints from cosmic radiation backgrounds
• Discovery of Five Green Pea Galaxies with Double-peaked Narrow [OIII] Lines
• Cloudy-Maraston: Integrating nebular continuum and line emission with the Maraston stellar population synthesis models
• Both Stellar Mass and Gravitational Potential Shape the Gas-Phase Metallicity
• IFUM Integrated Field Spectroscopy of Ten M104 Satellite Galaxy Candidates
• Characterising the z $\sim$ 7.66 Type-II AGN candidate SMACS S06355 using BEAGLE-AGN and JWST NIRSpec/NIRCam
• JADES Dark Horse: demonstrating high-multiplex observations with JWST/NIRSpec dense-shutter spectroscopy in the JADES Origins Field
• A Tentative Detection of Molecular Hydrogen (H${}_2$) Emission Lines at Cosmic Dawn
• JWST reveals a supernova following a gamma-ray burst at z $\simeq$ 7.3
• The mass-metallicity relation at z>3 down to M_*= 10^4 M_Sun. A local perspective using the metallicity distribution of RR Lyrae stars
• MARTA: The connection between chemical enrichment, feedback, and dust in a Wolf-Rayet galaxy at z$\sim$2
• The ionization structure and chemical history in isolated H II regions of dwarf galaxies with IFU I. The Sagittarius Dwarf Irregular Galaxy
• Direct detection of cool molecular gas in a star-forming galaxy at $z=7.31$
• The implications of overmassive black holes at $z>5$ for quasar and black hole growth
• SILCC -- IX. The multi-phase interstellar medium at low metallicity
• First joint absorption and T${}_e$-based metallicity measured in a GRB host galaxy at $z=4.28$ using JWST/NIRSpec
• Power-law Emission-line Wings and Radiation-Driven Superwinds in Local Lyman Continuum Emitters
• Beyond the [OIII]$\lambda$4363 auroral line: [NeIII]$\lambda$3868 as a direct tracer of electron temperature
• Shocks and complex chemodynamics in the metal-poor starburst galaxy CGCG 007-025 revealed through high-resolution echelle spectroscopy