The Mass-Metallicity and Luminosity-Metallicity Relation from DEEP2 at z ~ 0.8

We present the mass-metallicity (MZ) and luminosity-metallicity (LZ) relations at z ~ 0.8 from ~1350 galaxies in the Deep Extragalactic Evolutionary Probe 2 (DEEP2) survey. We determine stellar masses by fitting the spectral energy distribution inferred from photometry with current stellar population synthesis models. This work raises the number of galaxies with metallicities at z ~ 0.8 by more than an order of magnitude. We investigate the evolution in the MZ and LZ relations in comparison with local MZ and LZ relations determined in a consistent manner using ~21,000 galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We show that high stellar mass galaxies (log(M/M_solar)~10.6) at z ~ 0.8 have attained the chemical enrichment seen in the local universe, while lower stellar mass galaxies (log(M/M_solar)~9.2) at z ~ 0.8 have lower metallicities (Delta log(O/H)~0.15 dex) than galaxies at the same stellar mass in the local universe. We find that the LZ relation evolves in both metallicity and B-band luminosity between z ~ 0.8 and z~ 0, with the B-band luminosity evolving as a function of stellar mass. We emphasize that the B-band luminosity should not be used as a proxy for stellar mass in chemical evolution studies of star-forming galaxies. Our study shows that both the metallicity evolution and the B-band luminosity evolution for emission-line galaxies between the epochs are a function of stellar mass, consistent with the cosmic downsizing scenario of galaxy evolution.Comment: Accepted Version: 18 pages, 13 figure

No temperature fluctuations in the giant HII region H 1013

While collisionally excited lines in HII regions allow one to easily probe the chemical composition of the interstellar medium in galaxies, the possible presence of important temperature fluctuations casts some doubt on the derived abundances. To provide new insights into this question, we have carried out a detailed study of a giant HII region, H 1013, located in the galaxy M101, for which many observational data exist and which has been claimed to harbour temperature fluctuations at a level of t^2 = 0.03-0.06. We have first complemented the already available optical observational datasets with a mid-infrared spectrum obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Combined with optical data, this spectrum provides unprecedented information on the temperature structure of this giant HII region. A preliminary analysis based on empirical temperature diagnostics suggests that temperature fluctuations should be quite weak. We have then performed a detailed modelling using the pyCloudy package based on the photoionization code Cloudy. We have been able to produce photoionization models constrained by the observed Hb surface brightness distribution and by the known properties of the ionizing stellar population than can account for most of the line ratios within their uncertainties. Since the observational constraints are both strong and numerous, this argues against the presence of significant temperature fluctuations in H 1013. The oxygen abundance of our best model is 12 + log O/H = 8.57, as opposed to the values of 8.73 and 8.93 advocated by Esteban et al. (2009) and Bresolin (2007), respectively, based on the significant temperature fluctuations they derived. However, our model is not able to reproduce the intensities of the oxygen recombination lines . This cannot be attributed to observational uncertainties and requires an explanation other than temperature fluctuations.Comment: accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysic

The globular cluster system of NGC 1316 IV. Nature of the star cluster complex SH2

The light of the merger remnant NGC 1316 is dominated by old and intermediate-age stars. The only sign of current star formation in this big galaxy is the HII region SH2, an isolated star cluster complex with a ring-like morphology and an estimated age of 0.1 Gyr at a galactocentric distance of about 35 kpc. A nearby intermediate-age globular cluster, surrounded by weak line emission and a few more young star clusters, is kinematically associated. The origin of this complex is enigmatic. The nebular emission lines permit a metallicity determination which can discriminate between a dwarf galaxy or other possible precursors. We used the Integrated Field Unit of the VIMOS instrument at the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory to study the morphology, kinematics, and metallicity employing line maps, velocity maps, and line diagnostics of a few characteristic spectra. The line ratios of different spectra vary, indicating highly structured HII regions, but define a locus of uniform metallicity. The strong-line diagnostic diagrams and empirical calibrations point to a nearly solar or even super-solar oxygen abundance. The velocity dispersion of the gas is highest in the region offset from the bright clusters. Star formation may be active on a low level. There is evidence for a large-scale disk-like structure in the region of SH2, which would make the similar radial velocity of the nearby globular cluster easier to understand. The high metallicity does not fit to a dwarf galaxy as progenitor. We favour the scenario of a free-floating gaseous complex having its origin in the merger 2 Gyr ago. Over a long period the densities increased secularly until finally the threshold for star formation was reached. SH2 illustrates how massive star clusters can form outside starbursts and without a considerable field population.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for Astronomy & Astrophysic

The Dark Energy Equation of State using Alternative High-z Cosmic Tracers

We propose to use alternative cosmic tracers to measure the dark energy equation of state and the matter content of the Universe [w(z) & Omega_m]. Our proposed method consists of two components: (a) tracing the Hubble relation using HII galaxies which can be detected up to very large redshifts, z~4, as an alternative to supernovae type Ia, and (b) measuring the clustering pattern of X-ray selected AGN at a median redshift of z~1. Each component of the method can in itself provide interesting constraints on the cosmological parameters, especially under our anticipation that we will reduce the corresponding random and systematic errors significantly. However, by joining their likelihood functions we will be able to put stringent cosmological constraints and break the known degeneracies between the dark energy equation of state (whether it is constant or variable) and the matter content of the universe and provide a powerful and alternative route to measure the contribution to the global dynamics and the equation of state of dark energy. A preliminary joint analysis of X-ray selected AGN (based on the largest to-date XMM survey; the 2XMM) and the currently largest SNIa sample (Hicken et al.), using as priors a flat universe and the WMAP5 normalization of the power-spectrum, provides: Omega_m=0.27+-0.02 and w=-0.96+-0.07. Equivalent and consistent results are provided by the joint analysis of X-ray selected AGN clustering and the latest Baryonic Acoustic Oscillation measures, providing: Omega_m=0.27+-0.02 and w=-0.97+-0.04.Comment: Different versions of this paper appear in the "Dark Universe" conference (Paris, July 2009) and in the "1st Mediterranean Conference in Classical & Quantum Gravity" (invited

The Environment of HII Galaxies revisited

We present a study of the close (< 200 kpc) environment of 110 relatively local (z< 0.16) HII galaxies, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS; DR7). We use available spectroscopic and photometric redshifts in order to investigate the presence of a close and possibly interacting companion galaxy. Our aim is to compare the physical properties of isolated and interacting HII galaxies and investigate possible systematic effects in their use as cosmological probes. We find that interacting HII galaxies tend to be more compact, less luminous and have a lower velocity dispersion than isolated ones, in agreement with previous studies on smaller samples. However, as we verified, these environmental differences do not affect the cosmologically important L_{H{\beta}}-{\sigma} correlation of the HII galaxies.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in A&

Chemical abundances in M31 from HII regions

We have obtained multi-slit spectroscopic observations from 3700A to 9200A with LRIS at the Keck I telescope for 31 HII regions in the disk of the Andromeda galaxy (M31), spanning a range in galactocentric distance from 3.9 kpc to 16.1 kpc. In 9 HII regions we measure one or several auroral lines ([OIII]4363, [NII]5755, [SIII]6312, [OII]7325), from which we determine the electron temperature (Te) of the gas and derive chemical abundances using the 'direct Te-based method'. We analyze, for the first time in M31, abundance trends with galactocentric radius from the 'direct' method, and find that the Ne/O, Ar/O, N/O and S/O abundance ratios are consistent with a constant value across the M31 disc, while the O/H abundance ratio shows a weak gradient. We have combined our data with all spectroscopic observations of HII regions in M31 available in the literature, yielding a sample of 85 HII regions spanning distances from 3.9 kpc to 24.7 kpc (0.19 - 1.2 R25) from the galaxy center. We have tested a number of empirical calibrations of strong emission line ratios. We find that the slope of the oxygen abundance gradient in M31 is -0.023+/-0.002 dex/kpc, and that the central oxygen abundance is in the range 12+log(O/H) = 8.71 - 8.91 dex (i.e. between 1.05 and 1.66 times the solar value, for 12+log(O/H)_solar=8.69), depending on the calibration adopted. The HII region oxygen abundances are compared with the results from other metallicity indicators (supergiant stars and planetary nebulae). The comparison shows that HII region O/H abundances are systematically ~0.3 dex below the stellar ones. This discrepancy is discussed in terms of oxygen depletion onto dust grains and possible biases affecting Te-based oxygen abundances at high metallicity.Comment: 21 pages and 11 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA