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http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12386/31889
Title: | The VANDELS survey: a strong correlation between Ly α equivalent width and stellar metallicity at 3 ≤ z ≤ 5 | Authors: | Cullen, F. McLure, R. J. Dunlop, J. S. Carnall, A. C. McLeod, D. J. Shapley, A. E. Amorín, R. BOLZONELLA, MICOL CASTELLANO, MARCO Cimatti, A. Cirasuolo, M. CUCCIATI, Olga FONTANA, Adriano FONTANOT, Fabio GARILLI, BIANCA MARIA ROSA Guaita, L. Jarvis, M. J. PENTERICCI, Laura POZZETTI, Lucia Talia, M. Zamorani, G. Calabrò, A. CRESCI, GIOVANNI Fynbo, J. P. U. Hathi, N. P. Giavalisco, M. Koekemoer, A. MANNUCCI, FILIPPO SAXENA, AAYUSH |
Issue Date: | 2020 | Journal: | MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY | Number: | 495 | Issue: | 1 | First Page: | 1501 | Abstract: | We present the results of a new study investigating the relationship between observed Ly α equivalent width (W<SUB>λ</SUB>(Ly α)) and the metallicity of the ionizing stellar population ( Z<SUB>⋆</SUB>) for a sample of 768 star-forming galaxies at 3 ≤ z ≤ 5 drawn from the VANDELS survey. Dividing our sample into quartiles of rest-frame W<SUB>λ</SUB>(Ly α) across the range $-58 \,\rm {\mathring{\rm A}} \lesssim$ W<SUB>λ</SUB>(Ly α) $\lesssim 110 \,\rm {\mathring{\rm A}}$ , we determine Z<SUB>⋆</SUB> from full spectral fitting of composite far-ultraviolet spectra and find a clear anticorrelation between W<SUB>λ</SUB>(Ly α) and Z<SUB>⋆</SUB>. Our results indicate that Z<SUB>⋆</SUB> decreases by a factor ≳ 3 between the lowest W<SUB>λ</SUB>(Ly α) quartile (<W<SUB>λ</SUB>(Ly α) $\rangle =-18\,\rm {\mathring{\rm A}}$ ) and the highest W<SUB>λ</SUB>(Ly α) quartile (<W<SUB>λ</SUB>(Ly α) $\rangle =24\,\rm {\mathring{\rm A}}$ ). Similarly, galaxies typically defined as Lyman alpha emitters (LAEs; W<SUB>λ</SUB>(Ly α) $\gt 20\,\rm {\mathring{\rm A}}$ ) are, on average, metal poor with respect to the non-LAE galaxy population (W<SUB>λ</SUB>(Ly α) $\le 20\,\rm {\mathring{\rm A}}$ ) with Z<SUB>⋆</SUB><SUB>non-LAE</SUB> ≳ 2 × Z<SUB>⋆</SUB><SUB>LAE</SUB>. Finally, based on the best-fitting stellar models, we estimate that the increasing strength of the stellar ionizing spectrum towards lower Z<SUB>⋆</SUB> is responsible for ${\simeq}15{-}25{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the observed variation in W<SUB>λ</SUB>(Ly α) across our sample, with the remaining contribution ( ${\simeq}75{-}85{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ ) being due to a decrease in the H I/dust covering fractions in low- Z<SUB>⋆</SUB> galaxies. | URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12386/31889 | URL: | https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/495/1/1501/5835232?login=true http://arxiv.org/abs/2001.11063v2 |
ISSN: | 0035-8711 | DOI: | 10.1093/mnras/staa1260 | Bibcode ADS: | 2020MNRAS.495.1501C | Fulltext: | open |
Appears in Collections: | 1.01 Articoli in rivista |
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Cullen20.pdf | Pdf editoriale | 1.58 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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