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The metallicity of galactic winds

Creasey, P.; Theuns, T.; Bower, R.G.

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Authors

P. Creasey

R.G. Bower



Abstract

The abundance evolution of galaxies depends critically on the balance between the mixing of metals in their interstellar medium (ISM), the inflow of new gas and the outflow of enriched gas. We study these processes in gas columns perpendicular to a galactic disc using sub-parsec resolution simulations that track stellar ejecta with the flash code. We model a simplified ISM stirred and enriched by supernovae and their progenitors. We vary the density distribution of the gas column and integrate our results over an exponential disc to predict wind and ISM enrichment properties for disc galaxies. We find that winds from more massive galaxies are hotter and more highly enriched, in stark contrast to that which is often assumed in galaxy formation models. We use these findings in a simple model of galactic enrichment evolution, in which the metallicity of forming galaxies is the result of accretion of nearly pristine gas and outflow of enriched gas along an equilibrium sequence. We compare these predictions to the observed mass–metallicity relation, and demonstrate how the galaxy's gas fraction is a key controlling parameter. This explains the observed flattening of the mass–metallicity relation at higher stellar masses.

Citation

Creasey, P., Theuns, T., & Bower, R. (2015). The metallicity of galactic winds. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 446(2), 2125-2143. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu2233

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 23, 2014
Publication Date Jan 11, 2015
Deposit Date Apr 7, 2015
Publicly Available Date Apr 13, 2015
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Electronic ISSN 1365-2966
Publisher Royal Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 446
Issue 2
Pages 2125-2143
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu2233
Keywords ISM: bubbles, Galaxies: evolution, Galaxies: ISM.
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1443427
Related Public URLs http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015MNRAS.446.2125C

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Copyright Statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. ©: 2014 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.






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