2026ApJ...997...95Y -
Astrophys. J., 997, 95 (2026/January-3)
MAMMOTH-Grism: Revisiting the Mass-Metallicity Relation in Protocluster Environments at Cosmic Noon.
YANG Y., WANG X., HE X., TSAI C.-W., CAI Z., LI Z., MALKAN M.A., SHI D.D., ALAVI A., BIAN F., COLBERT J., FAN X., HENRY A.L., TEPLITZ H.I. and ZHENG X.Z.
Abstract (from CDS):
We present one of the first measurements of the mass-metallicity relation (MZR) in multiple massive protoclusters at cosmic noon, using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) G141 slitless spectroscopy from the MAMMOTH-Grism survey. We identify 63 protocluster member galaxies across three overdense structures at z = 2-3 with robust detections of [O III], Hβ, and [O II] emission. The sample spans gas-phase metallicities of $12+\mathrm{log}({\rm{O}}/{\rm{H}})=8.2-8.6$, dust-corrected Hβ-based star formation rates (SFRs) of 10-250 M⊙ yr–1, and stellar masses of M* ∼ 109.4-1010.5M⊙, derived via spectral energy distribution fitting using deep HST and ground-based photometry. We stack spectra in five M* bins to obtain average metallicities and SFRs. Relative to field galaxies at similar redshifts, protocluster members show elevated SFRs at M* < 1010.25M⊙ and a systematically shallower MZR: $12+\mathrm{log}({\rm{O}}/{\rm{H}})$ =(6.96 ± 0.13) + (0.143 ± 0.017) $\times \,\mathrm{log}({M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot })$. We detect a mass-dependent environmental offset: massive protocluster galaxies are metal-poor compared to field counterparts of similar mass, whereas lower-mass systems exhibit comparable or mildly enhanced metallicities. This trend is consistent with a scenario where cold-mode accretion dilutes the interstellar medium (ISM) across the full mass range, while efficient recycling of feedback-driven outflows preferentially enriches the ISM in low-mass galaxies. Finally, we assess the dependence of metallicity offsets on local overdensity and find no significant trend, likely reflecting the survey's bias toward protocluster cores.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Protoclusters - Galaxy evolution - Galaxy abundances - Galaxy formation - High-redshift galaxies
Nomenclature:
Table 5: [WLC2022] NNNNN N=34 added among (Nos 00313-06235).
Status at CDS
:
Large table(s) will be appraised for possible ingestion in VizieR.
Simbad objects:
69
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