JADES: the mass-metallicity relation at z=1−10. New calibrations, extremely metal-poor galaxies, and chemical diversity
15 affiliations
- 1INAF , Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio , Via P. Gobetti 93/3 , I-40129 Bologna , Italy
- 2Cavendish Laboratory , University of Cambridge , 19 JJ Thomson Avenue , Cambridge , CB3 0HE , UK
- 3Kavli Institute for Cosmology , University of Cambridge , Madingley Road , Cambridge , CB3 0HA , UK
- 4Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive , Baltimore , Maryland 21218 , USA
- 5Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden St. , Cambridge MA 02138 USA
- 6Department for Astrophysical and Planetary Science , University of Colorado , Boulder , CO 80309 , USA
- 7Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (MPE) , Gießenbachstraße 1 , 85748 Garching , Germany
- 8DARK , Niels Bohr Institute , University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 155A , 2200 Copenhagen , Denmark
- 9Department of Physics , University of Oxford , Denys Wilkinson Building , Keble Road , Oxford OX1 3RH , UK
- 10Scuola Normale Superiore , Piazza dei Cavalieri 7 , I-56126 Pisa , Italy
- 11Sorbonne Université , CNRS , UMR 7095 , Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris , 98 bis bd Arago , 75014 Paris , France
- 12Centre for Astrophysics Research , Department of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics , University of Hertfordshire , Hatfield AL10 9AB , UK
- 13Steward Observatory , University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue , Tucson , AZ 85721 , USA
- 14Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics , University of California , Santa Cruz , 1156 High Street , Santa Cruz CA 96054 , USA
- 15NSF National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 North Cherry Avenue , Tucson , AZ 85719 , USA
Abstract
We present gas-phase metallicities of star-forming galaxies at z=1-10 with deep JWST/NIRSpec spectra from the JADES full data release, Dark Horse, and OASIS programmes. We stack ∼1500 medium-resolution spectra, yielding detections of the [OIII]λ4363 auroral line down to 12+log(O/H)=7.0 to derive stack-based strong-line calibrations over the metallicity range 12+log(O/H)=7.0-8.7. At a fixed metallicity, our stacks exhibit [OIII]λ5007/Hβ and [OIII]λ5007/[OII]λλ3726,3729 values generally lower than calibrations based on high-z individual auroral-line emitters, suggesting an observational bias towards higher excitation introduced when requiring auroral line detections in individual spectra. Based on our new calibrations, we obtain canonical mass-metallicity relations (MZRs) at z=1-10, identifying a decrease in metallicities from z∼0 to z∼4-10, without significant change in slope. Moreover, we identify 50 promising candidates of extremely metal-poor galaxies (EMPGs) with 12+log(O/H)=6.7-7.3 (1-4\% solar metallicity) at z=1.2-9.1. The MZRs of EMPGs are characterised by a large scatter, with those having lower metallicities generally exhibiting lower sSFRs, opposite of what expected from the local Fundamental Metallicity Relation. These results support a stochastic star-formation history involving gas consumption/ejection and metal-poor inflow, strongly affecting metallicities of low-mass galaxies. Furthermore, we identify two Little Red Dots in our EMPG candidates, both exhibiting broad Hα and prominent Lyα, offering insights into the early black-hole growth in extremely metal-poor environments.
Related
- Mass-Metallicity Relation of the Fossil Disk in Six Nearby Galaxies using JWST RGB Stars
- Galaxies Below the Fundamental Metallicity Relation Are Morphologically Disturbed: Merian Hα Morphologies and DESI Metallicities
- The Role of Star Formation and Morphology in the Mass-Metallicity Relation of Galaxies at Cosmic Noon
- The JADES Mass–Metallicity and Fundamental Metallicity Relations at z ≳ 2 Using New High-redshift Metallicity Calibrations
- Theoretical emission lines and metallicity calibrations of H II regions in ASTRID simulation
BibTeX
@misc{isobe2026jades,
title = {{JADES: the mass-metallicity relation at $z=1-10$. New calibrations, extremely metal-poor galaxies, and chemical diversity}},
author = {Yuki Isobe and Mirko Curti and R. Maiolino and Qiao Duan and William McClymont and Dávid Puskás and Francesco D'Eugenio and Pierluigi Rinaldi and James Trussler and Jan Scholtz and Tobias J. Looser and Erica Nelson and Xihan Ji and Danial Langeroodi and Sandro Tacchella and Gareth C. Jones and Ignas Juodžbalis and Robert G. Pascalau and Tiger Yu-Yang Hsiao and Hannah Übler and Baker, William M. and Andrew J. Bunker and Stefano Carniani and S. Charlot and Emma Curtis-Lake and Sophia Geris and M. Koller and Jianwei Lyu and Brant E. Robertson and Christina C. Williams and Zihao Wu},
howpublished = {arXiv (Cornell University)},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2606.11345},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.11345},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - JADES: the mass-metallicity relation at z=1−10. New calibrations, extremely metal-poor galaxies, and chemical diversity
AU - Yuki Isobe
AU - Mirko Curti
AU - R. Maiolino
AU - Qiao Duan
AU - William McClymont
AU - Dávid Puskás
AU - Francesco D'Eugenio
AU - Pierluigi Rinaldi
AU - James Trussler
AU - Jan Scholtz
AU - Tobias J. Looser
AU - Erica Nelson
AU - Xihan Ji
AU - Danial Langeroodi
AU - Sandro Tacchella
AU - Gareth C. Jones
AU - Ignas Juodžbalis
AU - Robert G. Pascalau
AU - Tiger Yu-Yang Hsiao
AU - Hannah Übler
AU - Baker, William M.
AU - Andrew J. Bunker
AU - Stefano Carniani
AU - S. Charlot
AU - Emma Curtis-Lake
AU - Sophia Geris
AU - M. Koller
AU - Jianwei Lyu
AU - Brant E. Robertson
AU - Christina C. Williams
AU - Zihao Wu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/09
PB - arXiv (Cornell University)
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2606.11345
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.11345
AB - We present gas-phase metallicities of star-forming galaxies at z=1-10 with deep JWST/NIRSpec spectra from the JADES full data release, Dark Horse, and OASIS programmes. We stack ∼1500 medium-resolution spectra, yielding detections of the [OIII]λ4363 auroral line down to 12+log(O/H)=7.0 to derive stack-based strong-line calibrations over the metallicity range 12+log(O/H)=7.0-8.7. At a fixed metallicity, our stacks exhibit [OIII]λ5007/Hβ and [OIII]λ5007/[OII]λλ3726,3729 values generally lower than calibrations based on high-z individual auroral-line emitters, suggesting an observational bias towards higher excitation introduced when requiring auroral line detections in individual spectra. Based on our new calibrations, we obtain canonical mass-metallicity relations (MZRs) at z=1-10, identifying a decrease in metallicities from z∼0 to z∼4-10, without significant change in slope. Moreover, we identify 50 promising candidates of extremely metal-poor galaxies (EMPGs) with 12+log(O/H)=6.7-7.3 (1-4\% solar metallicity) at z=1.2-9.1. The MZRs of EMPGs are characterised by a large scatter, with those having lower metallicities generally exhibiting lower sSFRs, opposite of what expected from the local Fundamental Metallicity Relation. These results support a stochastic star-formation history involving gas consumption/ejection and metal-poor inflow, strongly affecting metallicities of low-mass galaxies. Furthermore, we identify two Little Red Dots in our EMPG candidates, both exhibiting broad Hα and prominent Lyα, offering insights into the early black-hole growth in extremely metal-poor environments.
SN - 2331-8422
ER -