No Arabic abstract
We study the mean properties of a large representative sample of 217 galaxies showing CIII] emission at $2<z<4$, selected from a parent sample of $sim$750 main-sequence star-forming galaxies in the VANDELS survey. These CIII] emitters have a broad range of UV luminosities, thus allowing a detailed stacking analysis to characterize their stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR) and stellar metallicity, as a function of the UV emission line ratios, EWs, and the carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) abundance ratio. Reliable CIII] detections represent $sim$30% of the parent sample. Extreme CIII] emitters (EW(CIII])$gtrsim$8r{A}) are exceedingly rare ($sim$3%) in VANDELS. The UV line ratios of the sample suggest no ionization source other than massive stars. Stacks with larger EW(CIII]) show larger EW(Ly$alpha$) and lower metallicity, but not all CIII] emitters are Ly$alpha$ emitters. The stellar metallicities of CIII] emitters are not significantly different from that of the parent sample, increasing from $sim$10% to $sim$40% solar for stellar masses $log$(M$_{star}$/M$_{odot})sim$9-10.5. The stellar mass-metallicity relation of the CIII] emitters is consistent with previous works showing strong evolution from $z=0$ to $zsim3$. The C/O abundances of the sample range 35%-150% solar, with a noticeable increase with FUV luminosity and a smooth decrease with the CIII] and Ly$alpha$ EWs. We discuss the CIII] emitters in the C/O-Fe/H and the C/O-O/H planes and find they follow stellar and nebular abundance trends consistent with those of Milky Way halo and thick disc stars and local HII galaxies, respectively. A qualitative agreement is also found with chemical evolution models, which suggests that CIII] emitters at $zsim$3 are experiencing an active phase of chemical enrichment.
We present the results of a new study of dust attenuation at redshifts $3 < z < 4$ based on a sample of $236$ star-forming galaxies from the VANDELS spectroscopic survey. Motivated by results from the First Billion Years (FiBY) simulation project, we argue that the intrinsic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of star-forming galaxies at these redshifts have a self-similar shape across the mass range $8.2 leq$ log$(M_{star}/M_{odot}) leq 10.6$ probed by our sample. Using FiBY data, we construct a set of intrinsic SED templates which incorporate both detailed star formation and chemical abundance histories, and a variety of stellar population synthesis (SPS) model assumptions. With this set of intrinsic SEDs, we present a novel approach for directly recovering the shape and normalization of the dust attenuation curve. We find, across all of the intrinsic templates considered, that the average attenuation curve for star-forming galaxies at $zsimeq3.5$ is similar in shape to the commonly-adopted Calzetti starburst law, with an average total-to-selective attenuation ratio of $R_{V}=4.18pm0.29$. We show that the optical attenuation ($A_V$) versus stellar mass ($M_{star}$) relation predicted using our method is consistent with recent ALMA observations of galaxies at $2<z<3$ in the emph{Hubble} emph{Ultra} emph{Deep} emph{Field} (HUDF), as well as empirical $A_V - M_{star}$ relations predicted by a Calzetti-like law. Our results, combined with other literature data, suggest that the $A_V - M_{star}$ relation does not evolve over the redshift range $0<z<5$, at least for galaxies with log$(M_{star}/M_{odot}) gtrsim 9.5$. Finally, we present tentative evidence which suggests that the attenuation curve may become steeper at log$(M_{star}/M_{odot}) lesssim 9.0$.
We present the results of a study utilising ultra-deep, rest-frame UV, spectroscopy to quantify the relationship between stellar mass and stellar metallicity for 681 star-forming galaxies at $2.5<z<5.0$ ($langle z rangle = 3.5 pm 0.6$) drawn from the VANDELS survey. Via a comparison with high-resolution stellar population models, we determine stellar metallicities for a set of composite spectra formed from subsamples selected by mass and redshift. Across the stellar mass range $8.5 < mathrm{log}(langle M_{ast} rangle/rm{M}_{odot}) < 10.2$ we find a strong correlation between stellar metallicity and stellar mass, with stellar metallicity monotonically increasing from $Z_{ast}/mathrm{Z}_{odot} < 0.09$ at $langle M_{ast} rangle = 3.2 times 10^{8} rm{M}_{odot}$ to $Z_{ast}/Z_{odot} = 0.27$ at $langle M_{ast} rangle = 1.7 times 10^{10} rm{M}_{odot}$. In contrast, at a given stellar mass, we find no evidence for significant metallicity evolution across the redshift range of our sample. However, comparing our results to the $z=0$ stellar mass-metallicity relation, we find that the $langle z rangle = 3.5$ relation is consistent with being shifted to lower metallicities by $simeq 0.6$ dex. Contrasting our derived stellar metallicities with estimates of gas-phase metallicities at similar redshifts, we find evidence for enhanced $rm{O}/rm{Fe}$ ratios of the order (O/Fe) $gtrsim 1.8$ $times$ (O/Fe)$_{odot}$. Finally, by comparing our results to simulation predictions, we find that the $langle z rangle = 3.5$ stellar mass-metallicity relation is consistent with current predictions for how outflow strength scales with galaxy mass. This conclusion is supported by an analysis of analytic models, and suggests that the mass loading parameter ($eta=dot{M}_{mathrm{outflow}}/M_{ast}$) scales as $eta propto M_{ast}^{beta}$ with $beta simeq -0.4$.
We use VANDELS spectroscopic data overlapping with the $simeq$7 Ms Chandra Deep Field South survey to extend studies of high-mass X-ray binary systems (XRBs) in 301 normal star-forming galaxies in the redshift range $3 < z < 5.5$. Our analysis evaluates correlations between X-ray luminosities ($L_X$), star formation rates (SFR) and stellar metallicities ($Z_star$) to higher redshifts and over a wider range in galaxy properties than hitherto. Using a stacking analysis performed in bins of both redshift and SFR for sources with robust spectroscopic redshifts without AGN signatures, we find convincing evolutionary trends in the ratio $L_X$/SFR to the highest redshifts probed, with a stronger trend for galaxies with lower SFRs. Combining our data with published samples at lower redshift, the evolution of $L_X$/SFR to $zsimeq5$ proceeds as $(1 + z)^{1.03 pm 0.02}$. Using stellar metallicities derived from photospheric absorption features in our spectroscopic data, we confirm indications at lower redshifts that $L_X$/SFR is stronger for metal-poor galaxies. We use semi-analytic models to show that metallicity dependence of $L_X$/SFR alone may not be sufficient to fully explain the observed redshift evolution of X-ray emission from high-mass XRBs, particularly for galaxies with SFR $<30$ $M_odot$ yr$^{-1}$. We speculate that the discrepancy may arise due to reduced overall stellar ages in the early Universe leading to higher $L_X$/SFR for the same metallicity. We use our data to define the redshift-dependent contribution of XRBs to the integrated X-ray luminosity density and, in comparison with models, find that the contribution of high-mass XRBs to the cosmic X-ray background at $z>6$ may be $gtrsim 0.25$ dex higher than previously estimated.
Water ($rm H_{2}O$), one of the most ubiquitous molecules in the universe, has bright millimeter-wave emission lines easily observed at high-redshift with the current generation of instruments. The low excitation transition of $rm H_{2}O$, p$-$$rm H_{2}O$(202 $-$ 111) ($ u_{rest}$ = 987.927 GHz) is known to trace the far-infrared (FIR) radiation field independent of the presence of active galactic nuclei (AGN) over many orders-of-magnitude in FIR luminosity (L$_{rm FIR}$). This indicates that this transition arises mainly due to star formation. In this paper, we present spatially ($sim$0.5 arcsec corresponding to $sim$1 kiloparsec) and spectrally resolved ($sim$100 kms$^{-1}$) observations of p$-$$rm H_{2}O$(202 $-$ 111) in a sample of four strong gravitationally lensed high-redshift galaxies with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). In addition to increasing the sample of luminous ($ > $ $10^{12}$L$_{odot}$) galaxies observed with $rm H_{2}O$, this paper examines the L$_{rm H_{2}O}$/L$_{rm FIR}$ relation on resolved scales for the first time at high-redshift. We find that L$_{rm H_{2}O}$ is correlated with L$_{rm FIR}$ on both global and resolved kiloparsec scales within the galaxy in starbursts and AGN with average L$_{rm H_{2}O}$/L$_{rm FIR}$ =$2.76^{+2.15}_{-1.21}times10^{-5}$. We find that the scatter in the observed L$_{rm H_{2}O}$/L$_{rm FIR}$ relation does not obviously correlate with the effective temperature of the dust spectral energy distribution (SED) or the molecular gas surface density. This is a first step in developing p$-$$rm H_{2}O$(202 $-$ 111) as a resolved star formation rate (SFR) calibrator.
We present a Bayesian full-spectral-fitting analysis of 75 massive ($M_* > 10^{10.3} M_odot$) UVJ-selected galaxies at redshifts of $1.0 < z < 1.3$, combining extremely deep rest-frame ultraviolet spectroscopy from VANDELS with multi-wavelength photometry. By the use of a sophisticated physical plus systematic uncertainties model, constructed within the Bagpipes code, we place strong constraints on the star-formation histories (SFHs) of individual objects. We firstly constrain the stellar mass vs stellar age relationship, finding a steep trend towards earlier average formation with increasing stellar mass of $1.48^{+0.34}_{-0.39}$ Gyr per decade in mass, although this shows signs of flattening at $M_* > 10^{11} M_odot$. We show that this is consistent with other spectroscopic studies from $0 < z < 2$. This relationship places strong constraints on the AGN-feedback models used in cosmological simulations. We demonstrate that, although the relationships predicted by Simba and IllustrisTNG agree well with observations at $z=0.1$, they are too shallow at $z=1$, predicting an evolution of $<0.5$ Gyr per decade in mass. Secondly, we consider the connections between green-valley, post-starburst and quiescent galaxies, using our inferred SFH shapes and the distributions of galaxy physical properties on the UVJ diagram. The majority of our lowest-mass galaxies ($M_* sim 10^{10.5} M_odot$) are consistent with formation in recent ($z<2$), intense starburst events, with timescales of $lesssim500$ Myr. A second class of objects experience extended star-formation epochs before rapidly quenching, passing through both green-valley and post-starburst phases. The most massive galaxies in our sample are extreme systems: already old by $z=1$, they formed at $zsim5$ and quenched by $z=3$. However, we find evidence for their continued evolution through both AGN and rejuvenated star-formation activity.