Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): The M-Z relation for galaxy groups

TL;DR

This study investigates how stellar mass and gas metallicity relate in galaxies within groups compared to field galaxies, revealing environmental effects on galaxy evolution.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of the mass-metallicity relation specifically for galaxies in groups using GAMA data.

Findings

Galaxies in groups show lower gas metallicity than field galaxies.

The mass-metallicity relation depends on environment.

Environmental effects influence galaxy chemical evolution.

Abstract

The stellar mass and metallicity are among the fundamental parameters of galaxies. An understanding of the interplay between those properties as well as their environmental dependence will give us a general picture of the physics and feedback processes ongoing in groups of galaxies. We study the relationships and environmental dependencies between the stellar mass, and gas metallicity for more than 1900 galaxies in groups up to redshift 0.35 using the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. Using a control sample of more than 28,000 star-forming field galaxies, we find evidence for a decrement of the gas metallicity for galaxies in groups.