Gas-phase Metallicity as a Diagnostic of the Drivers of Star Formation on Different Spatial Scales

We examine the correlations of star formation rate (SFR) and gas-phase metallicity Z. We first predict how the SFR, cold gas mass, and Z will change with variations in inflow rate or in star formation efficiency (SFE) in a simple gas-regulator framework. The changes Delta log SFR and Delta log Z are found to be negatively (positively) correlated when driving the gas regulator with time-varying inflow rate (SFE). We then study the correlation of Gamma log sSFR (specific SFR) and Delta log(O/H) from observations, at both similar to 100 pc and galactic scales, based on two two-dimensional spectroscopic surveys with different spatial resolutions, MAD and MaNGA. After taking out the overall mass and radial dependences, which may reflect changes in inflow gas metallicity and/or outflow mass loading, we find that Delta log sSFR and Delta log(O/H) on galactic scales are found to be negatively correlated, but Delta log sSFR and Delta log(O/H) are positively correlated on similar to 100 pc scales within galaxies. If we assume that the variations across the population reflect temporal variations in individual objects, we conclude that variations in the SFR are primarily driven by time-varying inflow at galactic scales and driven by time-varying SFE at similar to 100 pc scales. We build a theoretical framework to understand the correlation between SFR, gas mass, and metallicity, as well as their variability, which potentially uncovers the relevant physical processes of star formation at different scales.

Automated summary

The study found that on galactic scales, SFR and gas metallicity are negatively correlated, while on scales within galaxies of about 100 pc, they are positively correlated. The variations in SFR are mainly driven by time-varying inflow at galactic scales, revealing the physical processes of star formation at different scales.