The MOSDEF Survey: Environmental Dependence of the Gas-phase Metallicity of Galaxies at 1.4 ≤ z ≤ 2.6

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal 2021-02, Vol.908 (2), p.120
• Main Authors: Chartab, Nima, Mobasher, Bahram, Shapley, Alice E., Shivaei, Irene, Sanders, Ryan L., Coil, Alison L., Kriek, Mariska, Reddy, Naveen A., Siana, Brian, Freeman, William R., Azadi, Mojegan, Barro, Guillermo, Fetherolf, Tara, Leung, Gene, Price, Sedona H., Zick, Tom
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abd71f

Using the near-IR spectroscopy of the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field survey, we investigate the role of the local environment in the gas-phase metallicity of galaxies. The local environment measurements are derived from accurate and uniformly calculated photometric redshifts with well-calibrated probability distributions. Based on rest-frame optical emission lines, [N ii ] λ 6584 and H α , we measure gas-phase oxygen abundances of 167 galaxies at 1.37 ≤ z ≤ 1.7 and 303 galaxies at 2.09 ≤ z ≤ 2.61, located in diverse environments. We find that at z ∼ 1.5, the average metallicity of galaxies in overdensities with M * ∼ 10 9.8 M ⊙ , 10 10.2 M ⊙, and 10 10.8 M ⊙ is higher relative to their field counterparts by 0.094 ± 0.051, 0.068 ± 0.028, and 0.052 ± 0.043 dex, respectively. However, this metallicity enhancement does not exist at higher redshift, z ∼ 2.3, where, compared to the field galaxies, we find 0.056 ± 0.043, 0.056 ± 0.028, and 0.096 ± 0.034 dex lower metallicity for galaxies in overdense environments with M * ∼ 10 9.8 M ⊙ , 10 10.2 M ⊙ and 10 10.7 M ⊙ , respectively. Our results suggest that, at 1.37 ≤ z ≤ 2.61, the variation of mass–metallicity relation with local environment is small (