The JWST EXCELS Survey: gas-phase metallicity evolution at 2 < z < 8

Abstract

We present an analysis of the gas-phase mass-metallicity relationship (MZR) and fundamental metallicity relationship (FMR) for $65$ star-forming galaxies at $2<z<8$ from the JWST/EXCELS survey. We calculate gas-phase metallicities (12 + log(O/H)) using strong-line calibrations explicitly tested against the EXCELS sample, and report direct-method metallicities for $19$ galaxies. Our sample spans $8.1<\log ({\mathrm{M}}_{\star }/{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot })<10.3$ and $0<\log (SFR/{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }\mathrm{y}{\mathrm{r}}^{-1})<2$, consistent with main-sequence star-forming galaxies at the same redshifts. We find a clear MZR at both $2<z<4$ ($⟨z⟩=3.2$) and $4<z<8$ ($⟨z⟩=5.5$), with consistent slopes and mild evolution in normalization of $\simeq 0.1\mathrm{dex}$, matching trends from simulations and recent observations. Our results demonstrate rapid gas-phase enrichment in the early Universe; galaxies at $z\simeq 3$ (within the first $\simeq 15$ per cent of cosmic time) are enriched to $\simeq 40$ per cent of the metallicity of equivalent mass galaxies at $z=0$. We find tentative evidence for SFR-dependence in the MZR scatter, though results remain inconclusive and highlight the need for larger high-redshift samples. Comparison with locally derived FMRs reveals a clear offset consistent with other $z>3$ studies. We discuss potential drivers of this offset, noting that high-redshift samples have significantly different physical properties compared to local samples used to define the $z=0$ FMR. Our results confirm that low-mass, high specific star-formation rate galaxies common at high redshift are inconsistent with the equilibrium conditions underlying the local FMR, and highlight the rapid chemical enrichment at early cosmic epochs.

24 pages, 16 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (124)

• SciPy 1.0--Fundamental Algorithms for Scientific Computing in Python
• Array Programming with NumPy
• On the variation of the Initial Mass Function
• The Astropy Project: Sustaining and Growing a Community-oriented Open-source Project and the Latest Major Release (v5.0) of the Core Package
• The Host Galaxies of AGN
• The EAGLE project: Simulating the evolution and assembly of galaxies and their environments
• The Origin of the Mass--Metallicity Relation: Insights from 53,000 Star-Forming Galaxies in the SDSS
• Theoretical Modeling of Starburst Galaxies
• dynesty: A Dynamic Nested Sampling Package for Estimating Bayesian Posteriors and Evidences
• First results from the IllustrisTNG simulations: matter and galaxy clustering
• First results from the IllustrisTNG simulations: the stellar mass content of groups and clusters of galaxies
• First results from the IllustrisTNG simulations: the galaxy color bimodality
• A Highly Consistent Framework for the Evolution of the Star-Forming "Main Sequence" from z~0-6
• The EAGLE simulations of galaxy formation: calibration of subgrid physics and model variations
• Physical Models of Galaxy Formation in a Cosmological Framework
• Properties of galaxies reproduced by a hydrodynamic simulation
• First results from the IllustrisTNG simulations: A tale of two elements -- chemical evolution of magnesium and europium
• The ages and metallicities of galaxies in the local universe
• Simba: Cosmological Simulations with Black Hole Growth and Feedback
• The Circumgalactic Medium
• A fundamental relation between mass, SFR and metallicity in local and high redshift galaxies
• First results from the IllustrisTNG simulations: radio haloes and magnetic fields
• The Mass-Metallicity Relation at z~2
• AMAZE. I. The evolution of the mass-metallicity relation at z>3
• Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis Version 2.1: construction, observational verification and new results
• Gas-regulation of galaxies: the evolution of the cosmic sSFR, the metallicity-mass-SFR relation and the stellar content of haloes
• Inferring the star-formation histories of massive quiescent galaxies with BAGPIPES: Evidence for multiple quenching mechanisms
• The chemical make-up of the Sun: A 2020 vision
• Metallicities of 0.3<z<1.0 Galaxies in the GOODS-North Field
• De Re Metallica: The cosmic chemical evolution of galaxies
• 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
• PHIBSS: Unified Scaling Relations of Gas Depletion Time and Molecular Gas Fractions
• Strong Nebular Line Ratios in the Spectra of z~2-3 Star-forming Galaxies: First Results from KBSS-MOSFIRE
• Reevaluating Old Stellar Populations
• Dust Attenuation Curves in the Local Universe: Demographics and New Laws for Star-forming Galaxies and High-redshift Analogs
• The Mass-Metallicity Relation with the Direct Method on Stacked Spectra of SDSS Galaxies
• The Stellar, Gas and Dynamical Masses of Star-Forming Galaxies at z~2
• Understanding Galaxy Evolution through Emission Lines
• The Illustris Simulation: Public Data Release
• An Analytic Model for the Evolution of the Stellar, Gas, and Metal Content of Galaxies
• The Origin of the Galaxy Mass-Metallicity Relation and Implications for Galactic Outflows
• The Evolution of the Star-forming Interstellar Medium across Cosmic Time
• Reconciling the Stellar and Nebular Spectra of High Redshift Galaxies
• A fundamental plane for field star-forming galaxies
• The Mass-Metallicity and the Fundamental Metallicity Relation revisited on a fully Te-based abundance scale for galaxies
• JADES. The diverse population of infant Black Holes at 4<z<11: merging, tiny, poor, but mighty
• Ionization State of Inter-Stellar Medium in Galaxies: Evolution, SFR-M_star-Z Dependence, and Ionizing Photon Escape
• Clues to the Origin of the Mass-Metallicity Relation: Dependence on Star Formation Rate and Galaxy Size
• The Main Sequence of star-forming galaxies across cosmic times
• The chemical enrichment in the early Universe as probed by JWST via direct metallicity measurements at z~8
• The MOSDEF Survey: The Evolution of the Mass-Metallicity Relation from $z=0$ to $z\sim 3.3$
• How to measure galaxy star-formation histories I: Parametric models
• Metallicity evolution, metallicity gradients and gas fractions at z~3.4
• The relation between metallicity, stellar mass and star formation in galaxies: an analysis of observational and model data
• The Mass-Metallicity and Luminosity-Metallicity Relation from DEEP2 at z ~ 0.8
• Constraints on star-formation driven galaxy winds from the mass-metallicity relation at z=0
• The evolution of the mass-metallicity relation in IllustrisTNG
• Data analysis recipes: Fitting a model to data
• Ly$\alpha$ profile, dust, and prediction of Ly$\alpha$ escape fraction in Green Pea Galaxies
• AGN Emission Line Diagnostics and the Mass-Metallicity Relation up to Redshift z~2: the Impact of Selection Effects and Evolution
• A fundamental relation between the metallicity, gas content, and stellar mass of local galaxies
• IZI: Inferring the Gas Phase Metallicity (Z) and Ionization Parameter (q) of Ionized Nebulae using Bayesian Statistics
• ISM excitation and metallicity of star-forming galaxies at z~3.3 from near-IR spectroscopy
• Nebular spectroscopy: A guide on H II regions and planetary nebulae
• The MOSDEF survey: a stellar mass-SFR-metallicity relation exists at $z\sim 2.3$
• "Direct" Gas-Phase Metallicity in Local Analogs of High-Redshift Galaxies: Empirical Metallicity Calibrations for High-Redshift Star-Forming Galaxies
• Galaxy metallicity scaling relations in the EAGLE simulations
• The MOSDEF Survey: Significant Evolution in the Rest-Frame Optical Emission Line Equivalent Widths of Star-Forming Galaxies at z=1.4-3.8
• Metal-enriched galactic outflows shape the mass-metallicity relationship
• Blueberry galaxies: the lowest mass young starbursts
• Mass-metallicity relation from z=5 to the present: Evidence for a transition in the mode of galaxy growth at z=2.6 due to the end of sustained primordial gas infall
• A First Look at the Abundance Pattern -- O/H, C/O, and Ne/O -- in $z>7$ Galaxies with JWST/NIRSpec
• Low Masses and High Redshifts: The Evolution of the Mass-Metallicity Relation
• A Critical Look at the Mass-Metallicity-SFR Relation in the Local Universe. I. An Improved Analysis Framework and Confounding Systematics
• The VANDELS survey: the stellar metallicities of star-forming galaxies at 2.5 < z < 5.0
• Similar star formation rate and metallicity evolution timescales drive the fundamental metallicity relation
• The Mass-Metallicity-SFR Relation at z >~ 2 with 3D-HST
• 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
• The fundamental plane of star formation in galaxies revealed by the EAGLE hydrodynamical simulations
• Fundamental metallicity relation in CALIFA, SDSS-IV MaNGA and high-z galaxies
• The KLEVER Survey: Spatially resolved metallicity maps and gradients in a sample of 1.2 < z < 2.5 lensed galaxies
• JADES: Detecting [OIII]$\lambda 4363$ Emitters and Testing Strong Line Calibrations in the High-$z$ Universe with Ultra-deep JWST/NIRSpec Spectroscopy up to $z\sim 9.5$
• Testing the Universality of the Fundamental Metallicity Relation at High Redshift Using Low-Mass Gravitationally Lensed Galaxies
• JADES: A large population of obscured, narrow line AGN at high redshift
• The MOSDEF-LRIS Survey: The Interplay Between Massive Stars and Ionized Gas in High-Redshift Star-Forming Galaxies
• The NIRVANDELS Survey: a robust detection of $\alpha$-enhancement in star-forming galaxies at $z\simeq 3.4$
• Coevolution of metallicity and star formation in galaxies to z=3.7: I. A fundamental plane
• BOND: Bayesian Oxygen and Nitrogen abundance Determinations in giant H II regions using strong and semi-strong lines
• [ArIII]/[OIII] and [SIII]/[OIII]: well-behaved oxygen abundance indicators for HII regions and star forming galaxies
• CHAOS VI: Direct Abundances in NGC 2403
• New AGN diagnostic diagrams based on the [OIII]$\lambda 4363$ auroral line
• Evolution of the Mass-Metallicity Relation from Redshift $z\approx 8$ to the Local Universe
• Exploring Systematic Effects in the Relation Between Stellar Mass, Gas Phase Metallicity, and Star Formation Rate
• Density biases and temperature relations for DESIRED HII regions
• Chemical abundance scaling relations for multiple elements in z~2-3 star-forming galaxies
• The Mass-Metallicity Relation of Dwarf Galaxies at Cosmic Noon from JWST Observations
• Stellar Mass--Gas-phase Metallicity Relation at $0.5\le z\le 0.7$: A Power Law with Increasing Scatter toward the Low-mass Regime
• Atomic Data Assessment with PyNeb
• The stellar mass versus stellar metallicity relation of star-forming galaxies at $1.6\le z\le 3.0$ and implications for the evolution of the $\alpha$-enhancement
• The metallicity properties of zCOSMOS galaxies at 0.2<z<0.8
• The Te[N II]-Te[O III] temperature relation in H II regions and the reliability of strong-line methods
• The ALMA REBELS Survey: The Cosmic HI Gas Mass Density in Galaxies at $z\approx 7$
• The Extreme Low-mass End of the Mass-Metallicity Relation at $z\sim 7$
• The MOSDEF Survey: The Mass-Metallicity relationship and the existence of the FMR at z~1.5
• The gas-phase metallicities of star-forming galaxies in aperture-matched SDSS samples follow potential rather than mass or average surface density
• CO Emission, Molecular Gas, and Metallicity in Main-Sequence Star-Forming Galaxies at $z\sim 2.3$
• CECILIA: The Faint Emission Line Spectrum of z~2-3 Star-forming Galaxies
• The THESAN-ZOOM project: Burst, quench, repeat -- unveiling the evolution of high-redshift galaxies along the star-forming main sequence
• Early results from GLASS-JWST. XXVII. The mass-metallicity relation in lensed field galaxies at cosmic noon with NIRISS
• Gas-phase Fe/O and Fe/N abundances in Star-Forming Regions. Relations between nucleosynthesis, metallicity and dust
• PRIMER & JADES reveal an abundance of massive quiescent galaxies at 2 < z < 5
• Novel $z\sim 10$ auroral line measurements extend the gradual offset of the FMR deep into the first Gyr of cosmic time
• 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
• The AURORA Survey: High-Redshift Empirical Metallicity Calibrations from Electron Temperature Measurements at z=2-10
• Rapid, out of equilibrium metal enrichment indicated by a flat mass-metallicity relation at z~6 from NIRCam grism spectroscopy
• Both Stellar Mass and Gravitational Potential Shape the Gas-Phase Metallicity
• A Uniform Analysis of Gas-phase Metallicity Evolution with 1-3 Gyr Time Sampling over the Past 12 Billion Years
• JADES: the chemical enrichment pattern of distant galaxies -- $\alpha$ enhancement, silicon depletion, and iron enhancement
• The JWST EXCELS survey: Insights into the nature of quenching at cosmic noon
• Electron temperature relations and the direct N, O, Ne, S and Ar abundances of 49959 star-forming galaxies in DESI Data Release 2
• The AURORA Survey: The Mass -- Metallicity and Fundamental Metallicity Relations at $z\sim 2.3$ Based Purely on Direct $T_e$ Metallicities
• The Star-forming Main Sequence and Bursty Star-formation Histories at $z>1.4$ in JADES and AURORA