The stellar metallicities of massive quiescent galaxies at 1.0 < z < 1.3 from KMOS+VANDELS

TL;DR

This study measures the metallicities and ages of massive quiescent galaxies at redshifts 1.0 to 1.3 using stacked spectra from VANDELS and KMOS, finding metallicity evolution consistent with recent studies and no evolution in alpha enhancement.

Contribution

It provides new measurements of metallicity, iron abundance, and alpha enhancement for $z oughly1$ quiescent galaxies, using combined spectral fitting approaches, and discusses implications for galaxy formation history.

Findings

Metallicity decreases by 0.2-0.3 dex from local Universe.

Alpha enhancement [Mg/Fe] shows no evolution over 8 Gyr.

Mean stellar age is approximately 2.5 Gyr, with formation redshift around 2.4.

Abstract

We present a rest-frame UV-optical stacked spectrum representative of massive quiescent galaxies at $1.0<z<1.3$ with log$(M_*/\rm{M_\odot})>10.8$. The stack is constructed using VANDELS survey data, combined with new KMOS observations. We apply two independent full-spectral-fitting approaches, measuring a total metallicity, [Z/H]=$-0.13\pm0.08$ with Bagpipes, and [Z/H]=$0.04\pm0.14$ with Alf, a fall of $\sim0.2-0.3$ dex compared with the local Universe. We also measure an iron abundance, [Fe/H] =$-0.18\pm0.08$, a fall of $\sim0.15$ dex compared with the the local Universe. We measure the alpha enhancement via the magnesium abundance, obtaining [Mg/Fe]=$0.23\pm$0.12, consistent with similar-mass galaxies in the local Universe, indicating no evolution in the average alpha enhancement of log$(M_*/\rm{M_\odot})=11$ quiescent galaxies over the last $\sim8$ Gyr. This suggests the very high alpha enhancements recently reported for several bright $z\sim1-2$ quiescent galaxies are due to their extreme masses, log$(M_*/\rm{M_\odot})\gtrsim11.5$, rather than being typical of the $z\gtrsim1$ population. The metallicity evolution we observe with redshift (falling [Z/H], [Fe/H], constant [Mg/Fe]) is consistent with recent studies. We recover a mean stellar age of $2.5^{+0.6}_{-0.4}$ Gyr, corresponding to a formation redshift, $z_\rm{form}=2.4^{+0.6}_{-0.3}$. Recent studies have obtained varying average formation redshifts for $z\gtrsim1$ massive quiescent galaxies, and, as these studies report consistent metallicities, we identify different star-formation-history models as the most likely cause. Larger spectroscopic samples from upcoming ground-based instruments will provide precise constraints on ages and metallicities at $z\gtrsim1$. Combining these with precise JWST $z>2$ quiescent-galaxy stellar-mass functions will provide an independent test of formation redshifts derived from spectral fitting.