%0 Generic %1 Yates2011 %A Yates, Robert M. %A Kauffmann, Guinevere %A Guo, Qi %D 2011 %K mass metallicty relation sfr %T The relation between metallicity, stellar mass and star formation in galaxies: an analysis of observational and model data %U http://arxiv.org/abs/1107.3145 %X We study relations between stellar mass, star formation and gas-phase metallicity in a sample of 177,071 unique emission line galaxies from the SDSS-DR7, as well as in a sample of 43,767 star forming galaxies at z=0 from the cosmological semi-analytic model L-GALAXIES. We demonstrate that metallicity is dependent on star formation rate at fixed mass, but that the trend is opposite for low and for high mass galaxies. Low-mass galaxies that are actively forming stars are more metal-poor than quiescent low-mass galaxies. High-mass galaxies, on the other hand, have lower gas-phase metallicities if their star formation rates are small. Remarkably, the same trends are found for our sample of model galaxies. We find that massive model galaxies with low gas-phase metallicities have undergone a gas-rich merger in the past, inducing a starburst which exhausted their cold gas reservoirs and shut down star formation. This led to a gradual dilution in the gas-phase metallicities of these systems via accretion of gas. These model galaxies have lower-than-average gas-to-stellar mass ratios and higher-than-average central black hole masses. We confirm that massive galaxies with low gas-phase metallicities in our observational sample also have very massive black holes. We propose that accretion may therefore play a significant role in regulating the gas-phase metallicities of present-day massive galaxies.

@misc{Yates2011, abstract = { We study relations between stellar mass, star formation and gas-phase metallicity in a sample of 177,071 unique emission line galaxies from the SDSS-DR7, as well as in a sample of 43,767 star forming galaxies at z=0 from the cosmological semi-analytic model L-GALAXIES. We demonstrate that metallicity is dependent on star formation rate at fixed mass, but that the trend is opposite for low and for high mass galaxies. Low-mass galaxies that are actively forming stars are more metal-poor than quiescent low-mass galaxies. High-mass galaxies, on the other hand, have lower gas-phase metallicities if their star formation rates are small. Remarkably, the same trends are found for our sample of model galaxies. We find that massive model galaxies with low gas-phase metallicities have undergone a gas-rich merger in the past, inducing a starburst which exhausted their cold gas reservoirs and shut down star formation. This led to a gradual dilution in the gas-phase metallicities of these systems via accretion of gas. These model galaxies have lower-than-average gas-to-stellar mass ratios and higher-than-average central black hole masses. We confirm that massive galaxies with low gas-phase metallicities in our observational sample also have very massive black holes. We propose that accretion may therefore play a significant role in regulating the gas-phase metallicities of present-day massive galaxies. }, added-at = {2011-07-19T23:48:28.000+0200}, author = {Yates, Robert M. and Kauffmann, Guinevere and Guo, Qi}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2ca52aaaaa081c0befd8733c54abd12f9/miki}, description = {[1107.3145] The relation between metallicity, stellar mass and star formation in galaxies: an analysis of observational and model data}, interhash = {192ea7626057cdafef8a0a5500d8b252}, intrahash = {ca52aaaaa081c0befd8733c54abd12f9}, keywords = {mass metallicty relation sfr}, note = {cite arxiv:1107.3145Comment: 18 pages, 18 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to MNRAS}, timestamp = {2011-07-19T23:48:28.000+0200}, title = {The relation between metallicity, stellar mass and star formation in galaxies: an analysis of observational and model data}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1107.3145}, year = 2011 }