%0 Generic %1 Dayal2012 %A Dayal, Pratika %A Ferrara, Andrea %A Dunlop, James S. %D 2012 %K inflow metallicity outflows relation %T The physics of the fundamental metallicity relation %U http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.4770 %X We present a simple, redshift-independent analytic model that explains the local Fundamental Metallicity Relation (FMR), taking into account the physical processes of star formation, inflow of metal-poor intergalactic medium (IGM) gas, and the outflow of metal rich interstellar medium (ISM) gas. We show that the physics of the FMR can be summarised as follows: for massive galaxies with stellar mass larger than 10^11 solar masses, ISM metal enrichment due to star formation is compensated by inflow of metal poor IGM gas, leading to a constant value of the gas metallicity with star formation rate (SFR); outflows are rendered negligible as a result of the large potential wells of these galaxies. On the other hand, as a result of their smaller SFR, less massive galaxies produce less heavy elements that are also more efficiently ejected due to their shallow potential wells; as a result, for a given stellar mass, the gas metallicity decreases with SFR. For such galaxies, the outflow efficiency determines both the slope, and the knee of the metallicity-SFR relation. The model is then successfully matched to results from numerical simulations including metal enrichment and feedback at higher redshifts.

@misc{Dayal2012, abstract = { We present a simple, redshift-independent analytic model that explains the local Fundamental Metallicity Relation (FMR), taking into account the physical processes of star formation, inflow of metal-poor intergalactic medium (IGM) gas, and the outflow of metal rich interstellar medium (ISM) gas. We show that the physics of the FMR can be summarised as follows: for massive galaxies with stellar mass larger than 10^11 solar masses, ISM metal enrichment due to star formation is compensated by inflow of metal poor IGM gas, leading to a constant value of the gas metallicity with star formation rate (SFR); outflows are rendered negligible as a result of the large potential wells of these galaxies. On the other hand, as a result of their smaller SFR, less massive galaxies produce less heavy elements that are also more efficiently ejected due to their shallow potential wells; as a result, for a given stellar mass, the gas metallicity decreases with SFR. For such galaxies, the outflow efficiency determines both the slope, and the knee of the metallicity-SFR relation. The model is then successfully matched to results from numerical simulations including metal enrichment and feedback at higher redshifts. }, added-at = {2012-02-23T18:33:26.000+0100}, author = {Dayal, Pratika and Ferrara, Andrea and Dunlop, James S.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/25ae4155a87b9e0b3c3d59efefb6e6229/miki}, description = {[1202.4770] The physics of the fundamental metallicity relation}, interhash = {93639718feeebe97fbecacb25088c0a7}, intrahash = {5ae4155a87b9e0b3c3d59efefb6e6229}, keywords = {inflow metallicity outflows relation}, note = {cite arxiv:1202.4770 Comment: Submitted to MNRAS letters. Comments welcome}, timestamp = {2012-02-23T18:33:26.000+0100}, title = {The physics of the fundamental metallicity relation}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.4770}, year = 2012 }