Probing the Mass Assembly and Chemical Evolution of High-z Galaxies with MASSIV

TL;DR

The MASSIV survey investigates the kinematics and chemical properties of 84 high-redshift star-forming galaxies to understand galaxy assembly mechanisms during early cosmic epochs.

Contribution

This study provides the first large, statistically representative sample of high-z galaxies with spatially-resolved chemical data, advancing galaxy evolution models.

Findings

Diverse kinematic states observed in high-z galaxies.

Evidence of chemical enrichment patterns indicating ongoing assembly.

Correlation between galaxy mass and chemical properties.

Abstract

Understanding the different mechanisms of galaxy assembly at various cosmic epochs is a key issue for galaxy evolution and formation models. We present MASSIV (Mass Assembly Survey with SINFONI in VVDS) in this context, an on-going survey with VLT/SINFONI aiming to probe the kinematics and chemical abundances of a unique sample of 84 star-forming galaxies selected in the redshift range z ~ 1-2. This large sample, spanning a wide range of stellar masses, is unique at these high redshifts and statistically representative of the overall galaxy population. In this paper, we give an overview of the MASSIV survey and then focus on the spatially-resolved chemical properties of high-z galaxies and their implication on the process of galaxy assembly.