CLASSY VIII: Exploring the Source of Ionization with UV ISM diagnostics in local High-$z$ Analogs

TL;DR

This study evaluates UV emission line diagnostics in local galaxies to improve interpretation of high-redshift galaxy spectra, aiding understanding of early universe galaxy properties with JWST data.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of UV diagnostic diagrams using the CLASSY galaxy sample, comparing them with optical diagnostics and models to identify ionization sources.

Findings

C III], He II, and O III] lines effectively distinguish ionization sources at low metallicity.

Alternative UV diagrams without O III] still useful but with limitations.

Detection of UV lines requires low metallicity and high ionization environments.

Abstract

In the current JWST era, rest-frame UV spectra play a crucial role in enhancing our understanding of the interstellar medium (ISM) and stellar properties of the first galaxies in the epoch of reionization (EoR, $z>6$). Here, we compare well-known and reliable optical diagrams sensitive to the main ionization source (i.e., star formation, SF; active galactic nuclei, AGN; shocks) to UV counterparts proposed in the literature - the so-called ``UV-BPT diagrams'' - using the HST COS Legacy Archive Spectroscopic SurveY (CLASSY), the largest high-quality, high-resolution and broad-wavelength range atlas of far-UV spectra for 45 local star-forming galaxies. In particular, we explore where CLASSY UV line ratios are located in the different UV diagnostic plots, taking into account state-of-the-art photoionization and shock models and, for the first time, the measured ISM and stellar properties (e.g., gas-phase metallicity, ionization parameter, carbon abundance, stellar age). We find that the combination of C III] $\lambda\lambda$1907,9 He II $\lambda1640$ and O III] $\lambda$1666 can be a powerful tool to separate between SF, shocks and AGN at sub-solar metallicities. We also confirm that alternative diagrams without O III] $\lambda$1666 still allow us to define a SF-locus with some caveats. Diagrams including C IV $\lambda\lambda$1548,51 should be taken with caution given the complexity of this doublet profile. Finally, we present a discussion detailing the ISM conditions required to detect UV emission lines, visible only in low gas-phase metallicity (12+log(O/H) $\lesssim8.3$) and high ionization parameter (log($U$) $\gtrsim-2.5$) environments. Overall, CLASSY and our UV toolkit will be crucial in interpreting the spectra of the earliest galaxies that JWST is currently revealing.