Bibcode
Lara-López, M. A.; Cepa, J.; Bongiovanni, A.; Pérez García, A. M.; Castañeda, H.; Fernández Lorenzo, M.; Pović, M.; Sánchez-Portal, M.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 505, Issue 2, 2009, pp.529-539
Advertised on:
10
2009
Journal
Citations
30
Refereed citations
28
Description
Context: The chemical composition of the gas in galaxies over cosmic
time provides a very important tool for understanding galaxy evolution.
Although there are many studies at high redshift, they are rather scarce
at lower redshifts. However, low redshift studies can provide important
clues about the evolution of galaxies, furnishing the required link
between the local and high redshift universe. In this work, we focus on
the metallicity of the gas of star-forming galaxies at low redshift,
looking for signs of chemical evolution. Aims: We aim to analyze
the metallicity contents star-forming galaxies of similar luminosities
and masses at different redshifts. With this purpose, we present a study
of the metallicity of relatively massive (log(M_star/M&sun;)
≳ 10.5) star forming galaxies from SDSS-DR5 (Sloan Digital Sky
Survey-data release 5), using different redshift intervals from 0.04 to
0.4. Methods: We used data processed with the STARLIGHT spectral
synthesis code, correcting the fluxes for dust extinction, estimating
metallicities using the R23 method, and segregating the
samples with respect to the value of the [N ii] λ6583/[O ii]
λ3727 line ratio in order to break the R23 degeneracy
selecting the upper branch. We analyze the luminosity and
mass-metallicity relations, and the effect of the Sloan fiber diameter
looking for possible biases. Results: By dividing our redshift
samples in intervals of similar magnitude and comparing them,
significant signs of metallicity evolution are found. Metallicity
correlates inversely with redshift: from redshift 0 to 0.4 a decrement
of ~0.1 dex in 12 + log(O/H) is found.