Mapping Metallicity Variations across Nearby Galaxy Disks
Article
Kreckel, K., Ho, I.-T, Blanc, G. A., Groves, B., Santoro, F., Schinnerer, E., Bigiel, F., Chevance, M., Congiu, E., Emsellem, E., Faesi, C., Glover, S. C. O., Grasha, K., Kruijssen, J. M. D., Lang, P., Leroy, A. K., Meidt, Sharon, McElroy, R., Pety, J., ..., Schruba, A.. 2019. "Mapping Metallicity Variations across Nearby Galaxy Disks." The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics. 887 (1). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab5115
Article Title | Mapping Metallicity Variations across Nearby Galaxy Disks |
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ERA Journal ID | 1057 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Kreckel, K., Ho, I.-T, Blanc, G. A., Groves, B., Santoro, F., Schinnerer, E., Bigiel, F., Chevance, M., Congiu, E., Emsellem, E., Faesi, C., Glover, S. C. O., Grasha, K., Kruijssen, J. M. D., Lang, P., Leroy, A. K., Meidt, Sharon, McElroy, R., Pety, J., Rosolowsky, E., Saito, T., Sandstrom, K., Sanchez-Blazquez, P. and Schruba, A. |
Journal Title | The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics |
Journal Citation | 887 (1) |
Article Number | 80 |
Number of Pages | 39 |
Year | 2019 |
Publisher | IOP Publishing |
Place of Publication | United States |
ISSN | 0004-637X |
1538-4357 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab5115 |
Web Address (URL) | https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ab5115 |
Abstract | The distribution of metals within a galaxy traces the baryon cycle and the buildup of galactic disks, but the detailed gas phase metallicity distribution remains poorly sampled. We have determined the gas phase oxygen abundances for 7138 H ii regions across the disks of eight nearby galaxies using Very Large Telescope/Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) optical integral field spectroscopy as part of the PHANGS–MUSE survey. After removing the first-order radial gradients present in each galaxy, we look at the statistics of the metallicity offset (ΔO/H) and explore azimuthal variations. Across each galaxy, we find low (σ = 0.03–0.05 dex) scatter at any given radius, indicative of efficient mixing. We compare physical parameters for those H ii regions that are 1σ outliers toward both enhanced and reduced abundances. Regions with enhanced abundances have high ionization parameter, higher Hα luminosity, lower Hα velocity dispersion, younger star clusters, and associated molecular gas clouds showing higher molecular gas densities. This indicates recent star formation has locally enriched the material. Regions with reduced abundances show increased Hα velocity dispersions, suggestive of mixing introducing more pristine material. We observe subtle azimuthal variations in half of the sample, but cannot always cleanly associate this with the spiral pattern. Regions with enhanced and reduced abundances are found distributed throughout the disk, and in half of our galaxies we can identify subsections of spiral arms with clearly associated metallicity gradients. This suggests spiral arms play a role in organizing and mixing the interstellar medium. |
Keywords | H II regions; Galaxy abundances; Chemical abundances; Metallicity |
Related Output | |
Is supplemented by | Erratum: "Mapping Metallicity Variations across Nearby Galaxy Disks" (2019, ApJ, 887, 80) |
Is supplemented by | Gas phase oxygen abundances for HII regions : J/ApJ/887/80 |
Contains Sensitive Content | Does not contain sensitive content |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 510102. Astronomical instrumentation |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
This article has been corrected. Please see the Related Output. | |
Byline Affiliations | Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany |
Heidelberg University, Germany | |
Carnegie Institution for Science, United States | |
University of Chile, Chile | |
University of Western Australia | |
Australian National University | |
University of Bonn, Germany | |
INAF - Brera Astronomical Observatory, Italy | |
European Southern Observatory (ESO), Germany | |
Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, France | |
Ohio State University, United States | |
University of Gent, Belgium | |
Paris Sciences and Letters University, France | |
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique (IRAM), France | |
University of Alberta, Canada | |
University of California San Diego, United States | |
Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain | |
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Germany |
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https://research.usq.edu.au/item/z75vz/mapping-metallicity-variations-across-nearby-galaxy-disks
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